Ace of Spades HQ

September 29, 2006

Iron Man coming to the Big Screen [Jack M.]
— Ace

And since Robert Downey Jr. is slated to play Tony Stark, this classic cover of Iron Man #128 instantly came to mind:

Why Robert Downey Jr. you ask?

"The Marvel characters are not just about how high they jump or how fast they fly, they're about their character flaws," Feige said. "They're about their inner demons. They're about the struggles that they go through between being a man and being a hero."
Downey, who has battled his fair share of inner demons, worked hard to get the role, getting in shape and even growing a goatee like the one Stark sports in the comic books.
"In every casting announcement we've done, people in their mind's eye have their own view of it and let us know about it. We're used to it," Feige said. "The point is, we looked at everybody, and we found the best person for the role. It's as confident a casting move as we've ever done. The proof will be in the pudding, but he is Tony Stark."

Here's one thing I know, if Downey doesn't get nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of a skirt chasing, drug addicted, booze hound Tony Stark there is no justice in the world.

After all, he's spent his whole life preparing for this part. It makes his preparations for the lead role in "Chaplin" seem pathetic by comparison.

Posted by: Ace at 12:46 PM | Comments (25)
Post contains 245 words, total size 2 kb.

1 "Downey ... worked hard to get the role ... even growing a goatee..."

Wow, it must be tough to be an actor.

Posted by: Sobek at September 29, 2006 12:55 PM (6GK9U)

2 The few issues of Iron Man I read seemed to make TS a fit playboy (this is when he and the black guy were beginning to joust over who would be iron man, there was a move to Cali involved, Ithink). So, in my ignorance, Downey wouldn't seem to fit the role. Shit, I would think Jeremy Piven with a wig would be a better fit.

Posted by: joeindc44 at September 29, 2006 12:59 PM (SvDDM)

3 I remember readibg somewhere that Tom Cruise was originally slated for this role.

Posted by: rsp at September 29, 2006 01:08 PM (i66Th)

4 The black guy was James Rhodes who was Iron Man for two years whlie Tony Stark was a festering drunk. He... didn't want to give it up when Stark recovered--thus the fight you describe, Joe.

And stark has a 1960's pornographer's mustache, not a goatee!
(I don't even read Iron Man comics and I know this stuff. Get. Me. A. Woman.)

Posted by: z ryan at September 29, 2006 01:11 PM (zqgUK)

5 Comic book movies suck. So do comic books for that matter.

Can Hollywood not do anything original?

Posted by: a at September 29, 2006 01:28 PM (OEbrS)

6 screw you, man. Spiderman 2 was the best movie ever!!!!

One more Iron Man note, Jon "Zathura" Favre will be directing. Mmmm, can you smell the suck?

Posted by: joeindc44 at September 29, 2006 01:33 PM (SvDDM)

7 Contact the director through Right Thinking Girl and tell her to tell him not to make a shitty movie.

Hopefully they don't Hollywood out and make it an evil American corporation that kidnaps Stark--they better go balls out and have him kidnapped by al Queda.

That would get my $8.

Posted by: z ryan at September 29, 2006 01:56 PM (zqgUK)

8 " if Downey doesn't get nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of a skirt chasing, drug addicted, booze hound Tony Stark there is no justice in the world."

Hey, There's a lot of us with that kinda resume out there. If I knew anything about acting - Why I'd be Charlie Sheen, Dammit!

Posted by: at September 29, 2006 02:17 PM (3BSvU)

9 Too bad Tony Stark/Iron Man wasn't a recovering alcoholic anti-Semite superhero....because Mel Gibson would've been perfect.

Seriously, my first reaction as a comics fan upon hearing the news was Ugh!, but he may surprise like Michael Keaton in "Batman." Downey Jr. really surprised me in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" which I didn't expect to like between him and world-class flake Val Kilmer.

Posted by: GMNJ at September 29, 2006 03:43 PM (7hKZq)

10 I was confused at first when I saw the news, but then at the same time the real story is Tony Stark's battle with alcohol, that's where the acting is primarily. Wearing a full suit of body armor? Less so. So you need someone that can pull off the playboy drunkard role well and Downey is definitely good at that. He's quite talented, but his personal life is such a mess.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at September 29, 2006 03:45 PM (FuM7z)

11 Predictions for this movie:

1. Stark will build his armor while a prisoner of a Caucasian villain. Can't have any swarthy or Asian bad guys.

2. He will probably have some unresolved conflict with his dead father, the "real" reason he becomes a drunk. World events and superheroics are never as important as not having Daddy read you a story when you were six.

3. He will uncover a Sinister Plot which will point initially at foreign bad guys but will ultimately (gasp!) turn out to involve the highest levels of the U.S. Government! Because all sinister plots involve (gasp!) the highest levels of the U.S. Government.

4. He will have a Latino sidekick. Because Tony's too white and Latinos are the hot thing right now. The Latino sidekick will have no trouble with English terms like "recalibrate the repulsor phase induction coils" but won't be able to say "yes" in any language but Spanish.

Posted by: Trimegistus at September 29, 2006 04:16 PM (zfSPJ)

12 Bloody fucking hell on a biscut, ENOUGH WITH THE MOTHERFUCKING COMIC BOOK MOVIES ALREADY!!!

Look, I'll admit that there have been some pretty good comic book movies (and anyone who tries to correct me by saying "graphic novel" I'll skull-fuck with a rusty shovel), but knock it the hell off already dammit!

Between the "Incredibly Bad Hulk", the "League of Extraorinary Excrement" and "X-Men part 36", it's time to come up with some original ideas, Hollywood.

And I don't mean another shitty movie based on a video game either, cum-snorters. I forbid you to make another comic book movie for 7 years.

I have a friend who owns a comic book shop. Now I want to go burn it down and piss on the ashes.

Posted by: Hollowpoint at September 29, 2006 04:29 PM (KPvry)

13 When does the "Power Man / Iron Fist" movie come out?

Posted by: Don Carne at September 29, 2006 06:53 PM (RJDcF)

14 Trimegistus,

You just about hit the head of every nail.

...

Don Carne,

It.is.to.Laugh.

Iron Fist

What the hell was up with that?

It was sort of Blaxploitation Shaft meets Kung Fu.

Whatever.

Anyway, Iron Man - Iron Fist on the big screen would be Awesome.

!

I.am.not.kidding.

Just as long as someone really cool plays Iron Fist.

...

I can only think of Jim Brown, but he's like 384 years old.

Still bad.

Just sayin'.

Posted by: MTT at September 29, 2006 07:29 PM (HBIp5)

15 Putting it mildly, comic books are a massive, untapped opportunity for stories... and they are pre-storyboarded. They're laid out for cinema and very exciting stories.

There will be more coming out and it's a good thing, there are a million stories that have been told, with great characters and exciting situations. I'm glad they are starting to make good comic book movies, it's been a dream for a long time for me.

Now if they could only make a D&D that's worth a crap.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at September 29, 2006 07:31 PM (FuM7z)

16 moonbattery prediction: high

Posted by: someone at September 29, 2006 07:53 PM (LS1TS)

17 “I forbid you to make another comic book movie for 7 years. I have a friend who owns a comic book shop. Now I want to go burn it down and piss on the ashes.”

How dare you try to stop the next Batman movie from coming out! If your mental illness finally drives you to commit arson, then I hope afterwards you get the shit beat out of you by a teeming horde of enraged comic geeks dressed up in silly self-made costumes.

Posted by: Watcher at September 29, 2006 08:13 PM (TUbkA)

18 How dare you try to stop the next Batman movie from coming out!

They're what- on Batman 9? If I can stop another Batman movie before I die, my life will be complete. I can only hope my tombstone reads "Died saving humanity from yet another fucking Batman movie".

Posted by: Hollowpoint at September 29, 2006 11:16 PM (KPvry)

19 Actually, the superhero movie I'm most looking forward to seeing (although I have no doubt it will suck) is Ghost Rider w/ Nicholas Cage.

The Defenders were my favorite comic as a kid, and GR was one of my favorite solo titles, so I could be a little biased here.

Posted by: Jack M. at September 29, 2006 11:25 PM (Jb1EJ)

20 Fotget about the superheroes. I say make a movie about the villians, ohhhhh, say about me.

Now THAT would be frickin awesome!

Only thing is, whose big enough to play me? Arnolds getting long in the tooth. Theres Lou Ferrigno, but he is up there as well. Anyone got any ideas?

Posted by: THANOS at September 30, 2006 01:11 AM (1htud)

21 I think Lou Ferrigno died, man.

Posted by: z ryan at September 30, 2006 09:08 AM (zqgUK)

22 Well if SPIDERMAN,THE FANTASTIC FOUR and THE INCREDIBLE HULK can do it so can IRONMAN

Posted by: spurwing plover at October 02, 2006 06:39 PM (g1M1/)

23 Good to see you back, Spurwing. We missed ya.

Posted by: Jack M. at October 02, 2006 06:45 PM (Jb1EJ)

Great article, looking forward to reading more in the future.

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