Plagued by anxiety attacks following the events of New York, Tony Stark finds his personal world destroyed at the hands of a formidable terrorist known as the Mandarin. Stranded without his technology and stripped of his armor, Stark must rely on his ingenuity and instincts to survive, protect those closest to him, and uncover the truth behind a series of mysterious explosions, all while answering the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit, or does the suit make the man?
Information |
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Language |
English |
Country |
United States |
Premiere date |
May 3, 2013 |
Running time |
130 minutes |
Genre |
Action Adventure Sci-Fi |
Budget |
$200,000,000 |
Box Office |
$1,215,439,994 |
Crew |
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Directed by |
Shane Black |
Produced by |
Kevin Feige |
Written by |
Drew Pearce Shane Black |
Music by |
Brian Tyler |
Cinematography |
John Toll |
Edited by |
Jeffrey Ford Peter S. Elliot |
Production Co. |
Marvel Studios |
Distributed by |
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
Top Cast |
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Official Trailer |
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Movie Collection |
Movie Order: #03 in Iron Man Collection
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The Plot
New Year's Eve, 1999
Tony Stark begins his narrative by reflecting on the nature of demons and how they are often self-created. The story drifts back to a pivotal night: New Year's Eve, 1999, in Bern, Switzerland. Amidst the revelry of the turn of the millennium, a younger, more reckless Stark meets the eccentric and physically disabled Aldrich Killian. Killian is desperate to promote his think tank, Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.), and pitch his concepts to the famous industrialist. However, Stark is far more interested in Maya Hansen, a botanist researching a regenerative biological treatment known as "Extremis."
In a callous move that would haunt him years later, Stark misleads Killian into believing he is interested in his proposal. He instructs Killian to wait for him on the roof of the hotel for a private meeting, fully intending never to show up. Instead, Stark spends the night with Maya, witnessing the volatile power of Extremis first-hand as it genetically manipulates living organisms, causing a plant to explode. As the clock strikes midnight and fireworks herald the year 2000, Aldrich Killian is left standing alone on the cold rooftop, humiliated and contemplating suicide, while Stark forgets him entirely.
The Haunting of Tony Stark
Thirteen years later, following the cataclysmic Battle of New York, Tony Stark is a changed man. The near-death experience of guiding a nuclear missile through a wormhole to destroy the Chitauri mothership has left deep psychological scars. Suffering from severe insomnia and undiagnosed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Stark has spent every waking hour obsessively building dozens of new Iron Man suits, creating an "Iron Legion" to protect himself and those he loves from threats he feels powerless to stop.
While Stark battles his internal demons, a very public threat emerges in the form of the Mandarin. This powerful terrorist leader claims responsibility for a series of cryptic bombings across the globe, broadcasting hacking videos that instill fear in the populace. To reassure a nervous public that the United States government can handle the threat without the Avengers, the War Machine armor is rebranded. James Rhodes is given a patriotic, Captain America-inspired paint job and the new moniker "Iron Patriot," though the reception from the American public is mixed.
Anxiety in the Public Eye
Stark meets Rhodes in a diner to discuss the rising threat. Rhodes reveals unsettling details that haven't hit the news: there have been more bombings than reported, and intelligence agencies are baffled by the complete lack of physical evidence—no bomb parts or shell casings are ever found at the scenes. Rhodes firmly insists that Stark stay out of the investigation, emphasizing that the U.S. government needs to be seen handling this internal threat independently to restore national confidence.
Their conversation is interrupted when two young children approach Stark, asking him to sign a crayon drawing. The image depicts Stark carrying the nuclear missile into the wormhole over New York. The visual trigger sends Stark into a severe panic attack. Overwhelmed by anxiety and the feeling of impending doom, he abruptly flees the diner and retreats to his suit, leaving Rhodes concerned about his friend's mental stability.
Shadows at the Mansion
That night, Stark’s trauma manifests in his sleep. A nightmare about the wormhole causes him to unconsciously summon one of his automated suits, which nearly attacks his girlfriend, Pepper Potts, after detecting his distress. Terrified and frustrated, Pepper prepares to leave the room. Stark finally breaks down, admitting that he hasn't been the same since New York and that his obsession with the suits is a distraction from his fear of failing to protect her.
The situation complicates further when Pepper is visited at Stark Industries by her old flame, Aldrich Killian. No longer the disabled, awkward man from 1999, Killian is now suave, physically perfected, and confident. He invites Pepper to join Advanced Idea Mechanics, showcasing his own advancements in brain-mapping technology. Pepper, sensing something off, rejects the invitation. Meanwhile, Happy Hogan, now the head of security for Stark Industries, becomes suspicious of Killian's bodyguard, Eric Savin, and decides to tail him.
Tragedy at the Chinese Theatre
Happy Hogan follows Savin to the TCL Chinese Theatre, where he witnesses a drug deal between Savin and a man named Jack Taggart. The exchange goes wrong when Taggart begins to glow uncontrollably due to an unstable reaction in his body. He suddenly combusts with the force of a powerful bomb. The explosion obliterates the theater and severely injures Hogan, putting him into a coma at Cedars-Sinai Hospital. Amidst the chaos, Savin is seen emerging from the wreckage, his injuries regenerating instantly before he escapes.
Furious and grief-stricken after visiting Happy in the hospital, Stark is confronted by a swarm of reporters. When asked about the Mandarin, Stark loses his temper. He issues a direct, televised threat to the terrorist, declaring that this is not just politics, but "good old-fashioned revenge." To punctuate his challenge, he recites his home address in Malibu into the cameras, daring the Mandarin to come for him.
The Fall of the House of Stark
Stark returns to his Malibu mansion and begins researching the explosion, discovering heat signatures consistent with the Mandarin's other attacks. He is unexpectedly visited by Maya Hansen, who arrives to warn him about her boss, Killian. However, before she can explain, the Mandarin responds to Stark's challenge. Helicopter gunships armed with missiles descend upon the cliffside estate. The attack is swift and brutal, destroying the mansion and sending it crumbling into the Pacific Ocean.
Stark commands the prototype Mark 42 armor to encase Pepper, protecting her from the collapsing debris so she can escape with Maya. Once she is safe, the armor returns to Stark, but the systems are failing. He is dragged underwater by the wreckage but manages to blast free. The suit’s flight navigation system, following a flight plan previously set for an investigation, takes an unconscious Stark across the country. He crash-lands in rural Rose Hill, Tennessee, miles from civilization. The world, watching the news footage of the destruction, believes Tony Stark is dead.
The Mechanic of Rose Hill
Stark drags his powered-down suit through the snow to a local garage, where J.A.R.V.I.S. finally shuts down completely. Left with nothing but his clothes and a non-functional prototype, Stark befriends a local boy named Harley Keener. Using the boy's garage as a base, Stark adopts a "mechanic" persona, using his ingenuity rather than his technology to investigate a local explosion that occurred years prior—an event that bears the same thermal signature as the Chinese Theatre attack but was never claimed by the Mandarin.
Piecing together the clues, Stark discovers that the "bombs" are actually people. Soldiers injected with the Extremis virus—Maya Hansen’s creation—gain regenerative abilities but suffer from a fatal flaw: if they cannot regulate their internal body temperature, they superheat and explode. The Mandarin has been using these accidental explosions as cover for terrorist attacks.
Fire and Ice
Stark’s investigation is interrupted when two of the Mandarin's agents, Ellen Brandt and Eric Savin, track him to Rose Hill. Without his armor, Stark is forced to improvise. He fights Brandt in a local bar, using a microwave and a gas leak to trigger an explosion that kills her. Outside, Savin uses his thermal abilities to burn through the supports of a water tower, bringing it crashing down on Stark.
Stark survives the deluge and manages to stun Savin. He steals the agent's car and abandons the frozen, recharging Mark 42 armor in Harley’s care, urging the boy to guard it. Stark departs Tennessee, driving toward the source of the Mandarin's broadcasts, finally understanding that the soldiers are all connected to Killian’s Advanced Idea Mechanics.
The Mandarin's True Face
Stark traces the Mandarin's signal to Miami. He infiltrates the estate using a variety of homemade weapons crafted from hardware store supplies. Inside, he confronts the Mandarin, only to discover a shocking truth: the terrifying terrorist leader is actually Trevor Slattery, a drug-addled, washed-up British character actor. Slattery is completely oblivious to the real violence being carried out in his name; he merely performs scripts given to him in exchange for drugs and women.
The true mastermind is revealed to be Aldrich Killian. He used Maya Hansen’s research to cure his own disability and then expanded the program to injured war veterans. When the veterans became unstable and exploded, Killian invented the "Mandarin" persona to mask the failures as targeted attacks, manipulating the geopolitical landscape for profit. Stark realizes he is responsible for setting Killian on this path all those years ago on the roof in Bern.
Captivity and Leverage
Killian’s men capture Stark. In a secure room, Killian reveals that he has kidnapped Pepper Potts and subjected her to the Extremis treatment. He intends to use her as leverage to force Stark to fix the thermal flaw in the virus. Maya Hansen, realizing that Killian has twisted her life's work into a weapon of mass destruction, attempts to intervene. she threatens to overdose herself with Extremis and blow up the room if Killian doesn't release Stark. Unmoved, Killian shoots Maya dead, stating that she is no longer necessary to his plans.
Killian leaves Stark to be executed, but Stark manages to summon his suit—now fully charged and en route from Tennessee. The Mark 42 pieces fly into the room, attaching to Stark just in time for him to fight his way out. He reunites with Rhodes, who has also been manipulated; Killian used false intelligence to lure the Iron Patriot into a trap, stealing the armor for his own nefarious purposes.
Attack on Air Force One
Killian sends Eric Savin, disguised in the Iron Patriot armor, to board Air Force One. His mission is to abduct President Matthew Ellis. Savin kills the Secret Service agents and blows open the airlock. Stark arrives in the Mark 42 just as the plane depressurizes. He kills Savin, but not before the villain triggers an explosive that blows a hole in the fuselage, sucking out the crew and passengers.
While Killian escapes with the President, Stark is forced to choose between pursuit and rescue. He dives after the falling passengers, successfully linking them together in a "barrel of monkeys" chain and depositing them safely in the water. However, immediately after the rescue, the Mark 42 is struck by a truck on a bridge and shattered into pieces, revealing that Stark was piloting it remotely from a boat nearby.
The House Party Protocol
Stark and Rhodes track Killian to an impounded oil drilling platform at a port. Killian plans to execute President Ellis on live television. The Vice President, Gil Rodriguez, is revealed to be complicit; he ignores the President's distress calls in exchange for Killian’s promise to cure his daughter’s disability with Extremis. Killian intends to install the Vice President as a puppet leader, effectively controlling the War on Terror for profit.
Without their suits, Stark and Rhodes infiltrate the rig. Rhodes goes to save the President, while Stark searches for Pepper. Realizing they are outgunned by Killian's army of Extremis soldiers, Stark initiates the "House Party Protocol." J.A.R.V.I.S. pilots every remaining Iron Man suit from the ruins of the Malibu mansion to the shipyard. The "Iron Legion" arrives, engaging the Extremis soldiers in a chaotic aerial battle. Rhodes manages to rescue President Ellis and fly him to safety in the recovered Iron Patriot armor.
The Final Showdown
Stark finds Pepper, who is trapped under debris on a crane. Before he can reach her, the rig structure collapses due to the fighting. Despite his desperate attempt to catch her hand, Pepper falls two hundred feet into the inferno below, appearing to fall to her death. Enraged and heartbroken, Stark engages Killian in a brutal hand-to-hand fight, hopping from one suit to another as they are destroyed by Killian's heat-generating powers.
Finally, Stark manages to trap Killian inside the Mark 42 armor. He commands J.A.R.V.I.S. to self-destruct the suit, blowing Killian apart. However, a deformed and burning Killian emerges from the wreckage, declaring that he is the true Mandarin. Before he can kill a defenseless Stark, Pepper intervenes. Having survived the fall due to her Extremis powers, she attacks Killian, using a repulsor arm and an explosive to obliterate him once and for all.
Clean Slate
With the threat neutralized, Stark approaches a confused and frightened Pepper. He promises her that he will find a cure for her condition and that he will sort out his own chaos. As a sign of his commitment, he orders J.A.R.V.I.S. to initiate the "Clean Slate Protocol." One by one, the remaining suits of the Iron Legion self-destruct in the sky, creating a massive fireworks display reminiscent of the one in Bern thirteen years ago.
In the aftermath, Vice President Rodriguez and Trevor Slattery are arrested. Stark stabilizes Pepper's condition and cures her of the Extremis virus. He then decides to fix himself; he undergoes surgery to finally remove the shrapnel near his heart, rendering the chest-mounted Arc Reactor obsolete. He throws the reactor into the sea from the cliff where his house once stood. He also rewards Harley Keener, filling the boy's garage with state-of-the-art technology. Stark concludes his narrative by stating that while his armor and toys are gone, one fact remains: he is Iron Man.
The Therapy Session
The screen cuts to black, and Stark's voiceover finishes. The scene reveals that Tony has been recounting this entire story to Dr. Bruce Banner (the Hulk), treating it as a therapy session. However, Banner has fallen asleep near the beginning of the story. When Stark wakes him, Banner awkwardly admits that he is not that kind of doctor and doesn't have the temperament for listening. Undeterred and annoyed, Stark begins telling the story again from the start as Banner puts his head in his hands.
