Iron Man 3 (鋼鐵人3) is set for international release on April 25. It'll land in the US of A on May 3rd! I can't wait. I've been an Iron Man fanboy since, well, I was a wee lad. I remember the concept of a man who creates his own suit of armor to be a super hero to be completely fascinating. I reminded me of the Japanese manga my older siblings owned, like Gundam and Mazinger Z.
However, as I got older and more mature, the origin of Iron Man was a bit of a turn off. Trapped in Southeast Asia, he's helped by Ho Chin to build his armor and survive. The archenemy was a funmanchu yellow peril caricature named Mandarin. And in general, the Iron Man series has had its share of "Asian" topics that are borderline or blatantly racist.
So, why stay an Iron Man fan? Because the essence of Tony Stark and Iron Man is what draws me. NOT the mandarin story lines that perpetuate negative fumanchu stereotypes.
As the release date approaches, the build up to the release is hitting fever pitch. The Iron Man 3 action figures have already been at Target for the past month.
The new Iron Man 2 (鋼鐵人2) trailer is out. Let me tell you, it is pretty awesome. I am mad that the rest of the world will get to see Iron Man 2 on April 30th. But here in Los Angeles, I have to wait until May 7th.
The movie is a fanboys delight. From the over the top Tony Stark, to the the beginnings of "The hall of armors", to War Machine. The story is very much bits and pieces of the run by David Michelinie, Bob Layton, and John Romita Jr. from 1979-1982.
One thing that I am glad that they haven't explored yet is the stupid Mandarin storyline. Iron Man 1 hinted at "rings", but didn't dive into it. If number 3 or future ones do cover Mandarin. It's gonna suck. You can imagine all the stupid Chinese stereotypes getting worked in.
Also coming out this week were the Iron Man 2 toys. Dood! There's like a gazillion Iron Man 2 toys. Seriously great toys. Why weren't these out when I was a wee lad?!
Iron Man is my favorite comic book character. I remember being very excited about the movie coming out back in May. The past few Marvel movies, I've been able to see it on the premiere night or weekend. But I was vacationing in Hawaii. So I had to settle with seeing it on its 10th day of release.
I really didn't know what to expect. The clips from youtube did reveal a lot, but there wasn't a story to piece together. I was very happy they decided against using Mandarin. I'll have to get pissed in 2 or 3 now. "Ten Rings" is a BIG sign of what's to come. Tony having a drink in his hand most of the time before his injury is also played to maximum effect. As well as his bar activities at the Walt Disney concert hall.
So, I think it was an amazing film. I want to congratulate all the parties that had its hand in creating a truly great movie.
2 weeks ago, the DVD for it came out. Its packed with some 4 hours of extras. There are a lot different type of things presented. I really liked it. Makes you want to get into the industry.
I am sad that TDK made more $$ than Iron Man. Because it would've been nice to have Iron Man as the #1. Had a nice ring for 10 weeks.
Up to today, Iron Man is the #1 movie for the year 2008. It'll most likely be surpassed by Indy 4 in the next 2 weeks. Its very likely, in 4 weeks, The Dark Knight.
I was hoping that Iron Man would be #1 for the year of 2008. Highly unlikely now. Other movies for the year have yet to come out. Harry 6 might have a chance at the end of the year.
On the international front, Iron Man is #2, but will probably end the year in #4, after Indy, Batman, and Harry.
About 1.5 years ago, I decide to stop collecting comics. I've been cold turkey since that blog entry of April 2007. My last quicken entry for comic books was February 2007.
However, I went back to Frank & Sons this week and spend $99 on all the Iron Man comics I could find since than, plus a Iron Man Mighty Mugg.
Iron Man has been very popular since Civil War and the Iron Man Movie propelled it outta space. Recently, the last five years, there have been 5 one-offs of the main series and just a few months ago, they started a 2nd Iron Man series. Can the Iron Man fanbase carry all these titles? Does this dilute and main Iron Man series? Does Iron Man demand the kind of attention of a Spidey, Supes, or Bats?
I became an Iron Man fan in 1981 when I read a beat up Iron Man 149. The cover had Iron Man flying towards the eye of doom. It drew me and I was hooked and an Iron Man fan for life. I've actively collected Iron Man since January 1986 with Iron Man 205. Since than, I've amassed a few Iron Man issues. Dating back to the TOS stuff. I am prolly missing about 30 or so issues now. Mostly from the 60s. Since I don't go monthly like I did in the 90s and 80s, I have a handful of missing issues in the 2000s era. But only a handful.
Comic books are not normally very PC and in the case of Iron Man, the archenemy is a villian by the name The Mandarin. Through the years, I cringe when The Mandarin appears. Why? Because of how racist the stories are. I have a bad feeling, but The Mandarin will appear in an Iron Man film. I am sad that we're going to see lots of Chinese Stereotypes like honor, face, blah, blah... The best Iron Man story arcs do not ever revolve around The Mandarin, but they keep bringing him back. Over and Over, bad stories, bad stereotypes, etc!
My 2 favorite creative teams on the series are Denny O'Neil/Mark Bright and David Michelinie/Bob Layton. Any arc that Michelinie/Layton did were awesome.
I go back to the West Coast Avengers Vol 2, 1-20 years with very fond memories. Iron man 200-208 was great. Doomquest, demon in the bottle, armor wars, heroes reborn, heroes return. extermis (non mandarin storyline). All great arcs! Non have the mandarin. nuff said
