Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Let's talk about Tony Stark for a moment.

I know that everyone is talking about Avengers: Infinity War everywhere, but I honestly just wanted to talk about one more thing before I lay it to rest. And there is a spoiler warning here for those of you who have not seen it because it would ruin the movie for you if you read further. So please avoid this post if this is the case.

I have deep empathy and sorrowful feelings for Tony Stark. Yes, I know he's a fictional character, but this guy is one of the most beat up heroes that I have ever seen. In Civil War, he learned that his parents were murdered by the Winter Soldier and that his close friend knew about it and kept it from him on purpose. Then, he goes and starts this amazing friendship with a kid and then he starts talking to Pepper Potts about them having children only to have this kid, Peter Parker, killed in front of him. If that isn't a perfect reminder that he should never have kids, I don't know what is. And then (of course) there's the whole, "I failed to stop Thanos and now half the universe is dead because of it" thing that you just damn well know he's going to internalize all on his own. He's going to blame himself for the entirety of the Snapture, because that's what his character would do.

If HBO's The Leftovers taught any of us anything, it's that having a huge event like the Snapture suddenly "happen" will cause those who survive to have a "Guilty Remnant" kind of complex. They'll stand around and ask the eternal question: why was I spared? And why did this happen? Tony (for sure) is going to have these feelings, and I think it's going to go beyond any PTSD definition. I actually have no idea what happens with his character next. Right now he's broken, but pushed beyond that? Is there a classification for that? Insanity maybe.

Out of all the superhero survivors in the Avengers, I think Tony is the most beaten down, and the most likely to end up losing his mind. I just wonder what the implications of all that are going to be. For the record books and to any writer out there who is watching all of this play out, this is a perfect example of "torture your darlings" in action. But this particular story arc is extremely painful to watch.

9 comments:

  1. Still haven't watched it yet. Probably next week.

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  2. I suppose it depends on who ends up being the one to reshape Reality since they have no Adam Warlock.

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    1. I'm reading the Infinity Gauntlet slipcase that I ordered off Amazon. I really had no idea who Adam Warlock was, but I'm starting to understand how crucial he is to the comic book storyline. It'll be interesting to see where the MCU goes with it. They did introduce his cocoon in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

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  3. Is the actor signed on to do more movies? This may be his way out of the series.

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  4. Robert Downey Junior is at end of contract with Avengers 2 that comes out in May. This is most certainly a "swan song" as it were for the original Avengers like Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man (possibly Black Widow). I was thinking more outside that knowledge though and to the actual character of Tony Stark (rather than trying to bring in knowledge I have of Marvel's upcoming movies).

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  5. I agree, I feel sorry for poor Tony and I think he's going to be a mess in the next film. I just want to see him walk happily off into the sunset with Pepper, but I'm not sure that's going to happen. Who knows if she even survived.

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  6. I'm sure Robert Downey Jr feels much the same. He's been the linchpin of these these films for 10 years and it has limited his ability to get involved in other movies. I think he's really only done the 2 Sherlock Holmes movies (oh wow - just realized Infinity War pair two Sherlocks together).

    I'm sure the $50+ million RDJ gets per film soothes the pain but I have to believe he's going to be a happy man after Avengers 4. It will be interesting to see where he focuses his talents after that. I'm looking forward to it because while I love what he's done with Iron Man, we've really missed out on seeing him stretch himself like he did in Tropic Thunder.

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  7. I thought for sure with all the talk of kids and the wedding they'd kill Pepper Potts off. Maybe he'll find out she's dead in the next movie.

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