Great article, thanks. Made we want to read the script. Turns out they didn't have one! Their deadlines came around before a working script had been written. They only had an outline and would show up to their trailers each morning and do improv before the shoot. check out this article: http://io9.com/5417310/jeff-bridges-admits-iron-man-movie-had-no-script Would love to see how detailed that outline was, though!

That was a good choice, Jason. RDJ really does have a unique charisma and presence as Stark and, as you alluded to, makes his scenes as interesting as his superhero alter-ego's, which is quite a feat when you think about it.

There are times when the gods reach down and sprinkle fairy dust on movie productions when they need help. "Casablanca" the greatest example. Perhaps they dropped some on "Iron Man" as well! I thought it was a terrific movie.

Techno Logic freaks meet their match, so beware the solid shielding Red Machine is here and there or anywhere.

Thats really interesting - if they started with just an outline than even more kudos across the board because they set a huge new standard for super heros = the hero can actually be as cool and fun without the suit and mask as with them on. The colorful and light tone of "Iron Man" works just like the dark and brooding tone is a perfect fit for "The Dark Knight." Joss Whedon took this "Iron Man" action/comedy angle to his own level of awesome with "The Avengers" - and won big!

I agree Scott - they truly put the character Tony Stark in a world that belonged in. I just watched "Iron Man" two nights ago and the only thing that seemed dated was the "Myspace" comment...lol Hey, at least it marked the moment. Great characters will always give us great movies to return to - because we don't mind hanging out with them again.

Thanks CJ - it WAS quite a feat to make Tony Stark just as interesting as flying, shooting from his palms and gold and red metal (no tights and capes). His backstory wasn't full of instantly redeeming qualities to begin with either. But Robert Downey Jr. gave Tony that mojo that throws any forced sympathy out the window. He earns it scene after scene.

The shawarma comment is a lovely piece of character writing: if I remember rightly, Stark says something like "I don't know what it is but I want to try it" - which is his character in a nutshell. He sees a situation, he jumps in head-first. See also: Rogers: We need a plan of attack. Stark: I have a plan. Attack. And everyone loves a character who acts on his impulses, because we'd all love to be able to do anything we want to as well...

Amazing what you can do when you spend almost 50 years doing character development.

Thanks for the article, Jason. I think it's fair to say that Tony Stark is one of the most memorable movie characters to take their bow in the last decade, regardless of whether or not you're into the whole superhero deal. Tony Stark, Tony's arc. There are a lot of reasons 'Iron Man' hit big - it was funny and fun, good popcorn entertainment, great casting, had a healthy serving of spectacle - but I think Tony's character arc is the reason it stuck with people and effectively spawned the whole 'Avengers' franchise. I imagine few of us can relate to a billionaire industrialist refining an energy source to escape his terrorist captors and maintain his own life span, but plenty more of us understand that there's a price to pay for hedonism and selfishness, and better ways to be. I'll stick my neck out and say I'm less than thrilled by the (Spoiler) news that The Mandarin is apparently in the background for 'Iron Man 3', purely because this suggests to me that they're looking to extend these movies further still. I'm not sure that's a good idea. More than happy to see crossovers, cameos and an 'Avengers' sequel, but are 'Iron Man 4' etc. really necessary? You can have too much of a good thing. Ask Tony Stark.