Iron Man II Re-Treated - Iron Man: Masque and Wonder

The MCU experiment has run it’s initial course, with Endgame serving as a capstone on Kevin Feige's original vision that began eleven years ago. Make no mistake, this was an unprecedented moment in film history, one marked by some of the great films in the last decade, influencing culture in massive shifts and forms. That said, we can’t look at the MCU as a piece of perfection; like anything, there are weak points. Don’t misunderstand, I am not saying the whole of the MCU is riddled with bad films, but rather, that some movies… were fine. Not bad, not heinous, not even unbearable, just… fine. Fine is fine, lots of movies are fine, some of the most popular movies are fine, and that helps with their popularity. When you have this big a scope and plan, needing this many cooks, all aimed at the largest audience possible, fine is actually probably the best target you can aim for. And, like so many elements within an interconnected structure, these just fine films can’t really be changed without having repercussions on the truly great films. Thor the Dark World, or Avengers: Age of Ultron, or any of the Iron Man movies after Mr. Stark’s famous admision that he is, Iron Man, I’ve heard any number of people see these as very b list films. Some call them hold overs or placeholder films, as these tend to be movies that keep the audience aware of the larger universe, while being coupled with the necessity of world building, resulting in a movie that feels more like a story told out of need, than one told because it’s a great or emotionally moving story. Each film has their faults, but their composite plots all work to hold and reinforce important elements, which allow this larger universe to blossom when the truly great films come along. This is all to say that, even if I could, I’m not sure I would change these films, because just like removing a stone from the timeline, you have no idea what ripples will result, potentially spoiling the fruit of this filmic orchard; I’d just as soon have those great stories, and be made to slog thru the just fine, than change the just fine, and ruin the whole picture. 

But (of course there’s a but) I am a comic book fanboy; I’ve loved the Avengers since LOOOOONG before they became a household name. I remember defending Captain America, Ant Man and (still fighting this war) Hawkeye, when people said ‘well that’s dumb’, or ‘I don’t see the appeal’, or ‘how can you like someone who wears the flag as a costume?’ I was confused when I heard people refer to Iron Man as a D lister hero, and for my money, I think the only person who can give Steve Rogers a run for his money as leader of the Avengers, is Janet Van Dyne, the original Wasp herself. Don’t misunderstand, I’m no expert, but I’ve read these comics for years, and enjoyed the dynamic and challenges these characters brought and faced. I can’t help but look at some of the decisions and wonder… What If…

In Marvel comics (and hopefully, their movies in the next 10 years) there is a series of one shot comics called ‘What If’ stories. These stories are exactly that: What if Spider-Man never got rid of the Symbiote costume, or became the 5th member of the Fantastic Four instead of going it alone. What if Ultron won, and destroyed all the heroes, hell what if all the heroes were sentient zombies, who had to deal with the fact that they themselves have become the monsters? So, in keeping with that tradition, I would like to submit for your entertainment, the Alfred Jutsum What If MCU.

As noted before, most of these movies are solid. I would go so far as to say the vast majority of Phase one (that being Iron Man I & II, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America: TFA, and Marvel’s The Avengers) is as great as you could hope. Iron Man I is an undeniable classic, to try and tinker with it would be the same as cutting open an ornate bottle to get the last few drops of liquor out, ruining the thing just for some momentary pleasure. While there are some lows in it’s fellow films, I’ve always found much to enjoy in The Incredible Hulk (a far under served film in my eyes, really well balanced, maybe cast someone younger than Tim Roth, though I do love him in the film, and maybe play up the Leader some more, you have Tim Blake Nelson, use him, otherwise high marks) Thor (fix the color pallet, otherwise again, pretty much the best version of that film you could hope for, the art design is incredible, and Kenneth Branagh really delivers a visual feast… when it can be seen thru the glower and gloom…) and Cap. America: TFA (... I honestly have nothing here, I love this movie. Maybe fix the pacing and tone down some of the sillier elements of Hydra, but even that’s a maybe). The Avengers, given that the plot is a little all over the place when you stop and think about it, is PERFECT and should not be touched. 

I’m clearly leaving out one red headed step child, Iron Man II. IM II fits really does very little to advance the plot or characters, instead setting up elements for down the road: introducing Black Widow and War Machine, building Tony and Pepper’s relationship, going over Tony’s daddy issues. These are all important things, and they all need to be done in order to get to Avengers Endgame, but that doesn’t exempt the film from being ham fisted. The allusion (I can’t really call it use, since it’s more a cursory element) to the very influential Iron Man comic Demon in a Bottle, is a great and natural place to start when writing this film. 

Demon in a Bottle is an Iron Man comic series from 1979, written by David Michelinie and Bob Layton, and focuses on Tony’s struggle with alcohol addiction. I would lean in on that, really show that Tony thinks he’s more invincible than ever. He’s taken down some super villains, and as we see in his testimony to congress, his competition is still years away from hitting the field, so it would make sense that he thinks himself above it all. Or, for a different angle, maybe the drinking is something that he’s taken to, trying to help calm himself down, or as an unfortunate hold over from his father’s habits. It’s not that the palladium illness angle is bad, but it just feels kind of forced, as if creating a problem was easier than developing the character to have incurred this dilemma of his own volition. What I mean by this is that, in Iron Man I, there were no hintings or notes saying the arc reactor itself would kill Tony, nor did he have the rash we see crawling over his torso; if these elements had been in the initial film, than the interpretation here would have felt more earned and fleshed out; instead it feels like they needed a C plot and thought this would suffice. 

Villains are also an issue here. Marvel has a long and sorted history with on-again/off-again villains. Some are ok, some a good, a few are great, but the majority are wishy washy at best, and lame at worst. The movies are so successful because the plight of the heroes hits us on a core level, their struggles are something we can understand and appreciate because we know what those issues feel like. We also find ourselves looking up to them, idolizing the idea that someone could insert themselves into a situation and fight for the masses, while actually being a hero and stand up person. The villains, by contrast, very rarely have that type of development, and no where is that more evident than in Mickey Rourke’s Whiplash. Revenge is a very popular storyline, and revenge against the hero means we immediately want to know more (why is revenge needed, what happened, is our hero the good guy they purport to be, or do they have skeletons in their closet?) The problem here though, is that the revenge is more redirected at Tony, as it was his father Howard’s actions, which actually lead to this moment. At this point, we don’t know who the hell Howard Stark is, nor why we should care if he did something; we understand Whiplash’s plight in the most straightforward way possible, but there’s nothing earned in this story. We are told that Whiplash wants revenge, because their father’s were at war, and Howard stole something and by now you’re wondering ‘haven’t I heard this story a million times?’ Yes, yes you have. 

So, we need to inject some energy into this story. It’s boring, it’s slow, it just reuses tired beats, while adding nothing new or interesting. Worst of all, the ending is just an amped up version of the climax from the first movie; instead of two guys in robot suits fighting, it’s three guys in robot suits, and a bunch of drone mechs… scary… Even the inclusion of Justin Hammer, despite the charismatic performance by Sam Rockwell, feels lame. THere’s never really a feeling of threat from this team, and their infighting completely undermines any sense of terror or concern they may develop.  

With that said, let’s start with the easiest fix, the villain. There’s no ifs or buts about it, I’m cutting both Whiplash and Hammer all together from the story. While Hammer is an interesting character who carries a potential for long term use as a rival to Tony Stark, he never actually achieves that tier; despite the performance by Rockwell and the stature of the character, Marvel has only brought him back for a minor cameo in one of their Marvel One Shots. The villainous heavily lifting was intended to be taken on by Whiplash, who is set up to be a physically intimidating person who’s more interested in just burning everything down than revenge by meticulous planning. The trouble is, he doesn’t challenge our hero in a meaningful way, nor do we really care about his plight, he’s just there to be menacing, but any villain can be menacing. I’m a firm believer that when you hit a wall on an adaptation, you go back to the source material, and see what nuggets you looked past the first time. And oh boy, am I taking a trip in the way back machine for this one, all the way back to October 1964 and Avengers #9, and a character named Simon Williams, better known, as Wonder Man. 

Simon like Tony, is an industrialist and the heir to a major corporation, William’s Innovations. The mission of WI is different depending on the story, time of publication, and which universe the story takes place in, but we’ve seen WI  provided everything from munitions to energy, the later of which is more interesting to me here (we’ll come back to this later). The precipitating action that drives Simon into the the super hero lifestyle was actually Tony and Stark Industries power over the market, leading Simon to embezzle funds in order to keep things running, resulting in his arrest and the loss of his company. Blaming Tony for this fallout, Simon is wooed by Baron Zemo (hey we know that name!) and The Enchantress (think Hela from Thor Ragnarok, but she’s less evil, very power hungry, and has a mean lady boner for Thor), who promise Simon a chance at revenge, so long as he undergoes a procedure. 

Wouldn’t you know it, that procedure transforms Simon WIlliams into a being of pure Ionic energy, essentially giving him super strength, near invulnerability, the ability to change his size, and everyone’s favorite, energy blasts. The new Wonder Man is sent to infiltrate the Avengers, and eventually take down Stark, but after spending several missions with the team, Wonder Man has a change of heart, and sacrifices himself to save the team. Simon left the comics for years, before finally being revived by Tony Stark and some of his fellow big brains,  and ultimately becoming not just a central figure in many Avengers teams, but also serving as the basis for Vision’s brain patterns, becoming an on again/off again lover for Scarlet Witch, forming a deep friendship with Captain Marvel, and being roommates with Beast; dudes got roots leading to so many other trees!

As you may have guessed, I’m a fan of Simon. He’s a very interesting, and occasionally incredibly tortured soul, who’s been both friend and foe to the Avengers for years (he even formed his own Master’s Of Evil of rejected and burned ex Avenger allies, to try and overthrow the team, seeing them as out of touch with the common man and causing more harm than good; dude has layers). What I find most interesting here are the parallels to Tony Stark, both heirs to major industries, both seen as captains in those industries, but one is struggling, one is ascending. 

Simon would only be part of this resolution, I still want to use a more human level villain as well; someone who can pull Tony into intrigue, and push buttons on any number of characters. For that, I’m turning to one Whitney Frost, also known as the long time Iron Man foe Madame Masque. Whitney was born the daughter of Count Nafaria (I know, that name though… comics are great) who is the leader of what is essentially a super version of the mob, the Maggia (those who played the Spider-Man DLC on PS4 know these guys), but she was raised by wealthy socialites. Through them, Whitney was exposed to the top of the upper class, even getting engaged to a young politician, before her adoptive parents died. Whitney had received the best education, making her one of the smartest and most cunning villains to tangle with the Avengers. Her adoptive parent’s death brings Nafaria comes forward; he wants Whitney to leave the high life, and join the family business, paving a road for her to become the head of the Maggia. Whitney isn’t interested, until her connections to the Maggia scare off her fiance, and leave her with nothing to her name. The loss of important people and stability would be an ongoing theme for Whitney, as time and again, despite her education and background, she finds herself sequester away from power, and often sees it taken away from her. As if that wasn’t enough, she suffered a burn over her entire face in a plane crash after her fiance’s departure, leaving her hiding behind an ornate golden mask, and so paranoid she even begins cloning herself, unwilling to trust anyone else to help carry out her plans. We’re going to hold off on that last portion of Whitney’s story (though it is an incredibly bizarre but fascinating storyline), but I think the idea of a woman who finds power constantly stolen out from under her by the men in her life, who have also been using her for their own means, a very good fit for the world of Tony Stark. Whitney would easily fit that mold of villains who are sympathetic to the audience.

The table is set, so let’s dive into the changes to the film. Tony comes out as Iron Man, kicking off the Stark Expo, just like in the original. There, he plans to unveil a new prototype of the arc reactor, which will distribute energy wirelessly to entire regions at a time, via central hub with a large dish. This just furthers the public's love for him, when it seemed he had already found a ceiling for love and admiration. That’s because, during the last year or so of him being very publically in the armor, Tony has shown that he is above the rest, and can’t be touched by any punk. He topples regimes during the day, and parties thru the night, really just exemplifying the American rich extrovert dream. Stark Industries’ use of the Arc Reactor sends great waves thru the energy business world, leapfrogging SI ahead of even the old leaders in energy and future energy, Williams Innovation. It doesn’t take long before Stark Industries is secretly buying Williams Innovations out from under Simon. Upon realizing he's lost control of the company started by his father and truly built by himself, Simon falls from being distraught, to vengeful. 

In the middle of this turmoil is another individual, Whitney Frost, who is on Simon’s board. When the boards for each company meet, she and Pepper are the only women in the room, a point Whitney finds reprehensible. In spite of her derision, Tony is drawn to her, something that Pepper is annoyed by, and Whitney leans into. Much like Natasha in the original IM2, Tony sees this as a chance to poach Whitney from Simon. Pepper blocks this move, acquiescing instead to Tony’s request to hire Natasha (who has appeared similarly to act as notary in the signing of Stark Industries over to Pepper herself) as a personal assistant. Whitney though, hangs around, inviting herself to Stark’s house, taking him out to drink, and ultimately helping his alcoholism along, until it’s full blown. 

So Whitney is influencing Stark’s inner demons, while also seeing Simon falling apart under the burden of losing his father’s company. Simon feels the only way he would be able to compete with Tony would be to go thru a transformation as dramatic and devastating as Tony had, and Whitney may have a way. Nafaria had experimented with enhancements thru Ionic energy, an unstable form of power which, if bonded with a person, could grant them incredible ability, but the process tore most people apart. It wasn’t until Nafaria found a small shard of an amber stone, that the process became more stable. Thinking it was safe, Nafaria went thru the procedure himself, only to find that while his mind and body were still one, the form was unstable, and decayed and faded. Since then, Whitney has been studying not just the procedure, but the stone fragment her father found, and unlocked some incredible findings. The shard put out power greater than anything previously known to mankind, but it is also wildly unstable, save for when Whitney herself is present at the demonstrations. She has an almost eerie connection to it, and when in possession of it, many find they couldn’t help but see things only from her perspective, forgetting their own ideals and wants completely. 

Whitney sees Simon’s anger, and the opportunity it presents. She shows Simon the machine her father used, and he volunteers to get in it. Whitney has mixed feelings about this, but if her plans have a future, she will need a soldier to help enact them… When Simon reappears as Wonder Man, he has more control and strength than anyone else had ever shown after treatment. He also seems, different, focused only on Tony Stark and toppling everything he’s built and loved, even if that means destroying Williams Innovations. He’s not bothered by the conflict this would have had in him previously, he just sees the need to destroy Tony and everything he stands for. 

And here we find out what’s really going on. That shard Nafaria found was actually a part of the Soul Stone, broken off and thrown into the universe centuries previously, landing on earth in a meteor; that hadn’t been consequential, until it came into contact with Whitney. Much like how the Mind Stone connects with, and can provide information to, anyone under its influence, or the influence of its wielder, I envision the Soul Stone as being like part of a broken soul itself. It longs to be whole again, and for connection to another who understands its broken place in the world. Whitney, having lost so much in her life, having had so much taken from her, and with no real power to affect anything despite her cunning and learning, is that match. The Soul Stone feels a kindred spirit, and willingly lends power to Whitney, so they may help each other build a better future. Whitney has become aware that the shard is no normal broken piece of rock, and not just because of the incredible power it puts out. She also feels the connection, and that same kinship. Their joint goal soon becomes clear; upend the system that has promoted men to power, and remake the world to be how she would envision. Her world is one where those stepped over or crushed under heel are in control, and those who would oppose them are left to cower in the shadows and feel helpless. She’s blinded to the fact that she would be tyrannically forcing her will on others, and the weight that holds; all she sees is a chance to level the playing field.

OK, we have a villain who's not just in this to destroy Stark because the plot needs him to, but two villains who are both misunderstood, and trapped by their own desires. That desire goes back to the Demon in a Bottle storyline, as Whitney’s use of the Soul Stone helps in influencing Tony’s fall into alcoholism. Though she only gives him the push,Tony has gotten to the edge all on his own.  It’s important that inclusion of the Demon in a bottle storyline here isn’t purely for reference or fan service (often I see movies stumble because, in an effort to boost fan service, they sacrifice a great story elements and pieces, which could be used for more: see Iron Patriot, Ultron and the Hulk Buster, Baron Zemo, Ego the living planet, the Nova Corp, Cosmo the psychic dog, and so much more). To keep the power of DIAB, it has to be more than a problem Tony cant solve alone, or one that can be resolved by a shot from Nick Fury. This needs to be Tony's real challenge, his real foe. Wonder man is the monster, Whitney is pulling the strings, but the real villain is what Tony is doing to himself, and what he does under it’s influence. 

No one wants to see their heroes fall, especially in high dramatic fashion, but the only way this lands effectively is to drop Tony to his lowest moment. To do that, he has to reach new heights. At the start of the film, Stark Industries is on top, and moreover, Tony himself is seen as one of the most influential individuals of all time. He's the very public defender of the free world, and now has found a way to save the world from burning away under the spectre of global warming and energy wars. There's even very loud chatter in Washington, that Tony should be made the Secretary of Defense, just to put his acts as Iron Man more on the up and up (fun fact, in the comics Tony has served as both the Secretary of Defense, and the Head of SHIELD after the registration act went thru, take that to your trivia nights). 

As wonderful as all this seems, Tony isn't doing great. He's working constantly, burning every candle he has at any end he can find. Even after giving board control of SI to Pepper, there are still calls for Tony's attention and help. He’s started drinking as a way to calm his mind, to help him sleep, then to get thru the day. After meeting Whitney, everything drops down hill, Tony has a drink waiting for him upstairs, one in the workshop, even the two helper bots DumE and U are no longer just pulling janitorial duty as punishment, but playing bartender. Jarvis tries to convince him this is bad, and after weeks of the nagging, Tony even turns him off completely. Inevitably, Tony has to suit up to take on Wonder Man for the first time, but he shows up a little toasted. It's all fine though in Tony’s mind, Iron Man still won, even if it was mostly because Wonder Man’s form showed signs of decay, leading to him fleeing the fight. Besides, the audience loves a show, and if a little drinking makes him fight better, what’s the worst that can happen. 

As mentioned, Black Widow has a similar role as in the original version. She's there to act as a personal assistant to Tony, but she doesn't try to curtail his drinking. Instead, Widow seems to be observing, waiting, analyzing Tony's actions, and finding him to be quite manipulatable. Case and point, after only just surviving Wonder Man’s first attack Tony seeks solace from Rhodey, hoping his friend will help salve over this loss, but Rhodey is fed up. He sees Tony and thinks this is the end, this is how Tony will die, fighting a monster, while probably drunk, and too high on his own ego to even care. Tony rebukes him, carrying on instead, ‘no one can tell me what to do, I’m Tony Stark, I can handle it!’. Feeling abandoned by his best friend just before his birthday, Tony decides to get absolutely sloshed at the party. It's not long before the armor comes out. When Rhodey arrives, just like in the movie, the two come to blows, with Rhodey ultimately leaving with the armor, and taking it to be crafted into War Machine. 

Tony wakes up the next morning in the destroyed remains of his house, the news showing him violently attacking Rhodey, and endangering guests. He's lost all control of his life, his friends, his business, and now, the fame and prestige of Iron Man. Here enters Nick Fury and Black Widow, who tells Stark she has been observing him at Fury’s request, seeing how easily she could make him do things. If Widow can get Tony to betray himself so easily, what’s to keep someone with ill intent from getting to him? 

Whitney is that someone, and for her, this is all a huge success; with each victory, she becomes more ambitious, sees more possibilities. Wonder Man firmly under her control, she begins making plans to exploit the Stark expo, and use the new Arc Reactor hub to spread the influence of the Soul Stone fragment across the entire region, and that’s just the start. Whitney’s ultimate vision is of her standing over a world where all people think with one goal, that of fixing the wrongs of the last millenia, and beginning a new world where those who had been in power know only fear. That same fear she herself had been subjected to for years, after having her identity stolen and used by men. Nothing she has ever accomplished has been seen as her own, but the actions of a man, who inevitably betrayed or abandoned her when that her use was gone or tainted. There are countless of the world’s top science and business minds in range of the Reactor, turning them would be the first and most decisive domino.  

Simon is working to resist her control, but it’s largely fruitless. Whitney for her part, sees the controlling of others wants and desires as a necessary evil, even a comeuppance for the men running the world. Though she harbors no ill will to Simon, she needs him to be part of her final solution. She wants the world to see two industrialists destroy each other, and so she sends Wonder Man out to run interference, while she and her team connect the Soul Stone to the Reactor. 

Tony has been going thru withdrawal this whole time, struggling mightily. Even as SHIELD offers support, Tony feels he’s abandoned the world he’d been charged with protecting. It’s only once he reaches out to Pepper, that Tony finally begins to find healing and forgiveness. After Pepper, he speaks to Rhodey, who isn’t 100% on bored with this change of heart, but he trusts Tony just enough to follow him. A very sudden appearance by Wonder Man at a large power plant doesn’t hurt, and the two have to team up to stop the now giant Simon Williams, all while going through some in fight therapy. While he’s attacking, Simon begins to realize what he’s doing, and fights the control of the Soul Stone. As electricity arcs wildly and buildings tumble from the fallout of the battle, Simon finally breaks the control, so he can help save civilians, even catching a building before it lands on Tony. 

Meanwhile, back at the Stark Expo, Whitney has begun enacting her plan, and the wheels are already spinning incredibly fast. It isn’t long before everyone in the area is cheering for her, turning on many of the leaders of men in the audience. As the field grows, Whitney’s control is becomes limited, resulting in her strongest emotion, rage at the years of humiliation by men, becoming the most influential feeling spread to others. Pepper and Black Widow arrive to try and resolve the issue, but Pepper is effected just as quickly as anyone else. She begins to resent Tony, and distrust Widow for believing he could make a real change. Widow, mysteriously, isn’t affected by Whitney’s desires, and fights her way thru the crowd to the front. In a standoff, Whitney and Black Widow find they have much in common, most notably, they are both broken people. Until now, Whitney had been the one the Soul Stone connected with most, but now, it feels Natasha’s loss and sacrifice, her self hatred and need to amend for her past, and is drawn to those feelings. Whitney sees this threat, and having been trained by her father while preparing to take over as the head of the Maggia, she attacks Widow. The two duel, with Widow eventually coming out on top, and disabling the Reactor. Even as things seem to have resolved, Whitney will not be defeated, and over charges the reactor, hoping to take this group out in one fell swoop, while they are gathered near the reactor. Simon arrives just in time, and even as his form begins to decay and fall apart, he speaks to Whitney, encouraging her to not become one of the monsters she’s overcome, and not to fall for the tyranny they promoted, even if it would be for good. Widow helps in this effort, and as Wonder Man finally fades into nothing, Whitney surrenders. 

In wrap up, we see that Tony is definitely not fit for Avengers activity, though Rhodey has left an impression. Widow returns to SHIELD, and Tony is left to pick up the pieces of his life, and try to find a way to carry on after everything that’s happened. SHIELD takes the shard of the Soul Stone, and in a surprising move, Nick Fury himself presents it to Project Pegasus for protection. Pepper confronts Tony, and the two talk, finding that they still care for each other, and want to make things work. As to show he is growing as a person, and working on being more empathetic, Tony found a way to track and record the brain waves from Simon Williams, and has copied them into a computer; should they ever find a way to piece his ionic form back together, they now have a copy of his mind and personality to imbue the form with. Oh, and somewhere in there, Coulson is called to come and investigate Thor’s hammer in the dessert. 

I want to say, I’m not arguing that this would be a better movie; it would certainly be riskier, and less appealing to younger audiences. Jon Favreau himself has said that while he wanted to use the Demon in a Bottle storyline, he never intended to do more than have Tony drunk in his armor at a party. I think this, while risky, does lend itself to certain rewards. The story would have much higher stakes, and for the first time in the MCU, we would see villains that not only have a real focused goal, but one that could result in audiences sympathising with our villains as much (maybe even more than) our heroes. There’s no way this movie would be an easy sell, but as a what if story, it does leave me curious if the MCU as a whole would be stronger, if the subjects covered were a bit riskier, and the audience catered to more succinct.