Iron Man Looking at it objectively... How popular is Iron Man?

[ultimatefan]

Let´s look at it as unbiased as... Well as unbiased as a fanboy manages to be... We know that Iron Man isn´t really one of top most popular characters in comics. When you mention Iron Man, most people might think you refer to those guys who never leave the gym... How often has he been among the top twenty books in his history - unless as a member of The Avengers or The Ultimates... How long his cartoons lasted? Is he a character worth spending more than 100m, 120m? What is his true potential as a movie franchise?

 

[Cinemaman]

Honestly, Iron man isn't so popular superhero. But if the movie is good and makes high box office numbers, then it will become enough popular franchise.

 

[Ironfan72]

Well, look at Iron Man's comics, he does very well, rating in the top 20 for quit some time, its fallen off since around early 2002, but he was in the top 10 for a while, he's current in the top 50 or 60 out 300 titles, very respectable. His cartoon series lasted as long as the Fantastic Fours, who also has the same problem with there comic book sales.
Is he one of comics most popular no, but he is one of Marvels big heros, and is worth the attempt at a good film, he's no more worth a movie than Blade and Ghost Rider.

 

[Spider - Man]

No, not a lot of people know who he is sooooo...

the key to the success of this film will be

a)Favreau's ability to really make a kickass movie that people will love and tell others they "HAVE to see!"

and

b)Marvel's ability to market it to SHOW what a cool looking movie it is. What are the strong points of Iron Man when considering marketing?

ALL the technology of the suit first and foremost - show some awesome gadgets!

Really hot looking women. Not to sound like a pig but that pulls in a large portion (namely young males) of the audience.

Torrid romance (not sex! - need the pg13) between Stark and Pepper (for the ladies) and here I'll also mention how important the music is to the marketing. Music can often convey emotion in a short amount of time when there isn't enough for the actor. A really strong musical theme attached to the trailers can actually increase ticket sales.

And throw in a little humor cuz... you gotta have a bit of that in a Favreau film. just NOT TOO MUCH!!!

Downey needs to throw down a brilliant performance (which he IS capable of) and some of it needs to show in the advertisements. There need to be a few short shots where in just a few seconds he can convey the tragic figure that Stark is as well as one or two that immediately convey what a hero he can be.

I know it's a tall order but I believe that those involved so far are up to the task. And they have PLENTY of time to work this film into a masterpiece!

I believe!

 

[muscaremy]

honestly i dont get the whole people dont know who Iron Man is thing.....
I know plenty of non comic book fans who know who Iron Man is...and that he kicks ass

 

[xwolverine2]

yeah..... nobdy really cares about ironman.

i told my freinds robert was playing ironman and they were pissed but then quickly said "eh w/e.... i could care less.."....lol

robert will make ironman awesome

 

[Eros]

Xwolverine2 is right, people could care less about a character they no little about. Iron-man is on the same level as Blade before his movie came out, the only difference is Blade didn't cost as much as Iron-man will. Also Blade kicked major major ass in his movies, he got a huge follwoing amongst teens and Adults. Iron-man wears a superpowered suit, so obvously downey Junior can and won't kick as much ass and snipes did in Blade.

 

[7Hells]

I consider Iron Man to be more popular than Daredevil and DD did well enough in the box office.

 

[Warhammer]

Iron Man isn't mega huge, but he isn't low down in popularity either. He is OK in popularity, but he's my favorite, so that's all that matters to me.

If this movie is great and possibly starts a franchise, then he'll become alot more popular. Iron Man may seem like a new idea to the typical movie-goer. Hopefully, people forget the monstrosity known as Steel.

 

[lordofthenerds]

He isn't that unpopular but if you randomly asked people on the street if they knew who Iron Man was, I'm pretty sure a lot of them would say they didn't know.

 

[Valorman]

i think the unpopularity of ironman is slightly exagerated. some may not know him by name,but a lot of general non comicbook fans are aware of ironman. im willing to bet if you put a picture of ironman somewhere, a ton of people would recodnise the character. hell, my school is full of people who know ironman simply from marvel VS capcom 2.

 

[xwolverine2]

Xwolverine2 is right, people could care less about a character they no little about.

thats not what i said.....

my freinds know ALOT about ironman...but they just dont care about him...

 

[C. Lee]

Maybe IronMan isn't as well known as some other characters....but Blade wasn't that well known either when his first movie was made. How many non comic fans do you think knew about Wolverine before the first X-Men movie came out? General audience prerecognition isn't always a huge factor. The actors associated with this film will draw in the audience....it's up to how well it is made to see if it continues.

 

[WTFimVENOM]

Maybe IronMan isn't as well known as some other characters....but Blade wasn't that well known either when his first movie was made. How many non comic fans do you think knew about Wolverine before the first X-Men movie came out? General audience prerecognition isn't always a huge factor. The actors associated with this film will draw in the audience....it's up to how well it is made to see if it continues.

Wolverine?? Ill give you Blade but wolvie was pretty well known within the general non-fanboy public right???

 

[C. Lee]

Wolverine?? Ill give you Blade but wolvie was pretty well known within the general non-fanboy public right???

Not really. Wolverine can be considered to be "known" by many teens and people in their young 20's who are not regular comic book readers....but he wasn't known out side of this. I am 49 years old....I hang around with more older people than most of the posters here....so I tend to know what a lot of them are actually talking about, and what kind of popular culture they are aware of. I personally have been into comics since the early 60's...but most people that I deal with in life (work, church, friends, nieghbors) are not.

 

[superion]

I had the same thoughts about the Fantastic Four when it came out. The FF is only slightly more well know then IM and I did not think it could succeed either especially after the Hulk a more well know character failed.

But the FF did well and justified the money spent on it so there is a chance IM could succeed as well. Iron Man does have one advantage over the FF and that is he is a more visually interesting character. If they can make the armor really cool looking that may spark peoples interest in the movie.

 

[kedrell]

Wolverine?? Ill give you Blade but wolvie was pretty well known within the general non-fanboy public right???

Not really. And Blade was an extremely insignificant character before the movies. I mean seriously, he was a supporting character for Tomb of Dracula! Only real hard core fanboys were even aware he existed. Now Wolverine was more well known than that but nowhere even approaching the likes of Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Hulk or Wonder Woman. Those were probably the only ones really well known to the non-fanboy public. Those guys are top tier. Iron Man is in the next category that Wolverine was in before the Xmen movies(he may be in the top tier now).Other members of that tier would be Thor, Green Lantern, Flash, DareDevil*,Fantastic Four*, Silver Surfer, etc.




*Might be bumped up a bit now since their movies got made.

 

[metal head]

I have a giant Iron Man tattoo on my forearm (by Jorge Lucas, the only cover since 2003 that Adi Granov didn't do), and except for the occasional "Is that Spider-Man" from non-comic peeps, most people, men, women, kids, of all races, etc., know it's Iron Man.

metal head

 

[C. Lee]

I have a giant Iron Man tattoo on my forearm (by Jorge Lucas, the only cover since 2003 that Adi Granov didn't do), and except for the occasional "Is that Spider-Man" from non-comic peeps, most people, men, women, kids, of all races, etc., know it's Iron Man.

metal head

Welcome to the Hype.

The key phrase in your post is - "from non-comic peeps" .

 

[chiefchirpa]

Wolverine?? Ill give you Blade but wolvie was pretty well known within the general non-fanboy public right???

No. The cult of Wolverine of the 90's started because of the arcade game and the cartoon. If you didn't play arcade and you didn't watch cartoon, you're pretty much out of the loop. A friend of mine even refers him as the Wolf-man.

I think heroes that would be recognized fast are:
1. Superman
2. Spider-Man
3. Batman
4. Hulk
5. Captain America
6. Wonder Woman

I'm hoping #7 would be Iron Man after 2008.

 

[3dman27]

i just hope the flack from marvels CIVIL WAR doesnt make people want to skip the fim thinking tonys a superVILLIAN now

 

[terry78]

i just hope the flack from marvels CIVIL WAR doesnt make people want to skip the fim thinking tonys a superVILLIAN now

You know damn well that the average joe never picks up books like that.

 

[ultimatefan]

No. The cult of Wolverine of the 90's started because of the arcade game and the cartoon. If you didn't play arcade and you didn't watch cartoon, you're pretty much out of the loop. A friend of mine even refers him as the Wolf-man.

I think heroes that would be recognized fast are:
1. Superman
2. Spider-Man
3. Batman
4. Hulk
5. Captain America
6. Wonder Woman

I'm hoping #7 would be Iron Man after 2008.

Yeah, I believe those are the superheroes that the general audience knows best. I wouldn´t put Iron Man in the same league as Blade, who was a VERY obscure character prior to the movies, but he´s definitely below those six. He´s probably a little more popular than, say, Ghost Rider.

 

[terry78]

^Just go to any children's section of a clothing store, and whoever has the most clothing with their likeness on it, that's how you can tell the popularity with the mainstream.

 

[Spider - Man]

^Just go to any children's section of a clothing store, and whoever has the most clothing with their likeness on it, that's how you can tell the popularity with the mainstream.

Well, they've got Ironman costumes for kids so he must be popular enough:

And the gauntlets: