A Civil War between Captain America’s Chris Evans and... Nicholas Cage?
Let’s face it, “geeks” and “nerds” do not deal well with change. Within the pop culture universe, fans of such iconic and massive entities such as Star Wars, Doctor Who, or the MCU (the Marvel Cinematic Universe) have been known to take deep offense when confronted with decisions with which they do not agree.
Imagine if a producer or director presented the devoted admirers of the Marvel films with an alternate viewpoint, our fearless leader of the Avengers, Iron Man himself, played by Tom Cruise... Or Sam Rockwell.
This was almost the case.
The idea of Robert Downey, Jr., the 54-year-old veteran actor with quite the checkered past, playing Iron Man was violently shut down by Marvel execs at first. Downey had spent multiple years battling drug and alcohol addiction and was rumored to be difficult to work with. However, his career spanned almost 30 years by the time Iron Man was released, and Robert Downey’s distinguished list of almost 70 film and TV credits far outweighed his troubles with the law.
Robert Downey's Early Career
Robert Downey, Jr. grew up in Manhattan, New York, and was raised by Hollywood parents. Downey caught the acting bug extremely quickly, due in large part to his folks, but, unfortunately, inherited the addiction trait from his father as well.
By the time Downey was 20, he was experimenting with drugs and alcohol, and also spent the better part of the 80s as part of the now nostalgic “Brat Pack”. Downey starred in films with other teen heartthrobs such as Andrew McCarthy, Emilio Esteves, Molly Ringwald, Demi Moore, and many more.
He is best known for his appearances in Weird Science, Less Than Zero, Chances Are, and Chaplin, and more recently, his forays have taken a turn to the dramatic. The charismatic actor captivated audiences with his roles in Gothika, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Good Night and Good Luck, and Zodiac.
The actor discovered a major resurgence, however, through joining the team of Iron Man and reinventing its pivotal role. In order to make that happen, Jon Favreau had to sell the idea to the head honchos at Marvel.
The director told the studio that he “simply saw far too many similarities between the journey the character takes in the film and what his actor friend had gone through during his time on the big screen.” Favreau also knew, however, that Robert would bring truth to the role that most viewers would not expect from a superhero movie.
The Creation Of Iron Man
For those of you unfamiliar with the film, the story of Iron Man introduces us to Tony Stark, a brilliant mogul and the CEO of Stark Industries. He spends his days working himself to the bone on new inventions and ideas, and at night, working just as hard partying and drinking.
Through a disastrous chain of events, Stark is thrown into a terrorist underground prison, and the only way he can escape is to create the bulky, yet scientifically ingenious premier suit known as Iron Man.
Upon returning home, Stark realizes, as most superheroes do, that, with great power comes great responsibility, and endeavors to save New York City from all manner of crime and terrorism.
Using his artificial intelligence partner, Jarvis, Stark is able to outfit the suit with the highest-end technology, weaponry, and communications. This one-of-a-kind suit allows Tony Stark to transform into one of the most sought-after heroes, however, it also puts Tony on the radar of S.H.I.E.L.D. (which will become very important later on).
The Secret To Marvel's Success
Luckily, Favreau knew that Robert Downey, Jr. could portray that transformation on screen with ease, due to his past. It was his struggle and road to recovery that he would be able to pull from when making acting choices that would enamor the viewers to Tony. While bigger actors such as Cruise or Nicholas Cage may have brought in higher box office numbers, or so the executives at Marvel thought, none would add that necessary backstory and internal tension the way that Downey would - and did.
Critics even thought that the actor, who is now inextricably married to the red and gold Iron Man suit, wouldn’t fulfill the role of Tony Stark on a physical level. Downey is certainly not as statuesque and god-like as his co-star in The Avengers, Chris Hemsworth, nor does he have the Abercrombie-and-Fitch good looks and All-American charm of Captain America, Chris Evans.
However, what Downey may have lacked in stature and six-packs, he made up for in spades in magnetism, charisma, and smoldering, bad-boy machismo. His carefree demeanor, love of vinyl records and one-liners, and his ability to rock the Stark goatee gave all of the naysayers the renewed confidence to follow his lead.
And lead he did. The Iron Man franchise alone brought in approximately $2.4 billion at the box office, and we all know the successes of The Avengers movies alone, as well as the combined success of Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
From the perspective of the story, the brainchild of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963, Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark not only led the Avengers to save New York City (and the universe), but he also unified multiple characters from all over the Marvel franchise to put their lives on the line for the greater good.
Out of the 22 films that have introduced us to innumerable characters and won the hearts of millions of comic book fans, Iron Man, and his “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” creator, Tony Stark, was the first.