Iron Man and Deadpool

IRON MAN

2008 marked the beginning of the MCU’s vision turning into reality with the success of the “genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist” character- Iron Man.  Not many non-comic-audience know however that Iron Man used to be an ancillary character in the comics, which is what made Tony an interesting choice to kick off the MCU. That only showed faith in the capability of Jon Favreau, and in the fact that Robert Downey Junior would become one with the character (keeping in mind his ability to pull crowds).

The first Iron Man was very easily the lynchpin that got so many more MCU films, however it is hard to deny that MCU or not, Iron Man is a good film in its own right. The first thing anyone watching the film connected with was how “human” Tony Stark’s character was, there were no moral absolutes, no misplaced sense of justice and no extraordinary super powers (in contrast to DC’s Brandon Routh as Superman and Christian Bale as Batman). Robert Downey Junior’s Tony Stark was a regular billionaire playboy who found a better use for his money. He was a human, with very human flaws. While the MCU evolution would have us witness this reckless superhero turn into a responsible leader who saves the world more than once, in Iron Man we see the most relatable superhero, trying to figure out how to be super while still being cool.

Robert Downey Junior’s charisma in his performance as Tony, with perfect comic timings and the most enjoyable improvisation resulted in superhero fanfare that surpassed the gold standard before that: Nolan’s Trilogy. However, more importantly, it served as a foundation for the entire MCU and the Infinity Saga. Thanks to Iron Man, superheroes were cool and fun, and people started talking about them, bringing it to the main stage. Pop culture was now basically run by superheroes. Iron Man therefore was not just responsible (in some way or another) for 23 successful films with collections over $18 Billion, but also for fighting stigma; freeing comic book enthusiasts from the nerdy-geeky tags.

Deadpool

Marvel created Deadpool’s character to rival Deathstroke and the lengths to which the two characters were similar was an inside joke (Wade Wilson and Slade Wilson). However, being Marvel, the character of Deadpool took certain creative liberties that made him all the more enjoyable to read. Deadpool was funny, ruthless, and skilled but most of all big mouthed. He was basically an average teenage boy, in a body of an indestructible mercenary. Fanfare for Deadpool started increasing as his character got self-aware and with his regular fourth wall breaks. Over time a number of Deadpool spin off series have made Wade one of the most popular and well-loved characters in Marvel’s roster.