Iron Man Will people think Iron Man is too much like Batman Begins?

[samsnee]

Hear me out... I know that Iron Man is a completely different character from Batman. But if a casual viewer, who wasn't familiar with the comics, heard the plot description, would they think it was just Batman Begins redux? Let's see, billionaire playboy goes to a far off land. Comes back and builds a suit to start a one-man war on crime. The main villain happens to an mystical Asian person with terrorist ties. He's befriended by an African American who helps him in fight. If the character Jarvis is cast, then there will also be a faithful butler.

Again, as die hard fans, it's clear they will be two different movies (hopefully). But how can the filmmakers avoid this confusion to the casual or non-comic reading moviegoer?

 

[LordJK]

The very tone of the two characters will make the film different. Also, Christopher Nolan's directing style is very unique, so Favreau would have to basically rip Nolan off to make a film that feels similar.

 

[Mr Jide]

N0.

 

[November Rain]

well if we look at it like that, then the entire superhero genre could potentially be flooded with similar ideas

it all comes down to the approach.

the true difference is that each hero is fundamentally different from the other so when one delves into the character abit more you find their motivations and the way they deal with things are entirely different to one another...

in short, you really don't have much to worry about...

 

[FlawlessVictory]

It's possible you'll get some people who don't know any better who are gonna say that Iron Man is biting off of Batman. Both heroes are human with no superpowers that rely on a suit. They are both playboy types and heads of multi-billion dollar companies and they have butlers. Also, the movie will be grounded in reality, although I doubt nearly as much as Nolan's was. So, naturally, some comparisons will arise, it's inevitable. Obviously, the setup, motivations of the characters, climate/atmosphere, underlying themes and relationships between different characers of the movie will be completely different so it's not anything to really worry about. It definitely won't help though if Favreau is thinking of pulling some deception/dual identity with Jeff Bridges' character a la Ducard/Ra's Al Ghul as some have speculated on this board.

 

[Nepenthes]

ALOT of casual viewers will hear the plot and say it's Batman in a fancy suit.

Hopefully the marketing will set a drastically different tone. but even then it's not necessarily a major drawback. If the movie looks good, it looks good.

 

[thegameq]

It's possible you'll get some people who don't know any better who are gonna say that Iron Man is biting off of Batman. Both heroes are human with no superpowers that rely on a suit. They are both playboy types and heads of multi-billion dollar companies and they have butlers. Also, the movie will be grounded in reality, although I doubt nearly as much as Nolan's was. So, naturally, some comparisons will arise, it's inevitable. Obviously, the setup, motivations of the characters, climate/atmosphere, underlying themes and relationships between different characers of the movie will be completely different so it's not anything to really worry about. It definitely won't help though if Favreau is thinking of pulling some deception/dual identity with Jeff Bridges' character a la Ducard/Ra's Al Ghul as some have speculated on this board.

Is this true, their using the realism angle? Please say it isn't so. I thought we were getting another comicbook movie in the vein of SM not Batman Begins. Please say it ain't so!

 

[Cinemaman]

Batman Begins is my favorite superhero movie, but I don't want IM to be just copy of it and I doubt it will be so.

 

[kedrell]

Is this true, their using the realism angle? Please say it isn't so. I thought we were getting another comicbook movie in the vein of SM and Ghost Rider, not Batman Begins. Please say it ain't so!

I thought I remember Fav saying "tone-wise" he was shooting for somewhere in between Batman Begins and Spiderman in regards to realism.

 

[Chris B]

Is this true, their using the realism angle? Please say it isn't so. I thought we were getting another comicbook movie in the vein of SM and Ghost Rider, not Batman Begins. Please say it ain't so!

I don't see why it would matter. Iron Man has always been one of the more plausible comic book characters out there. Even his rogues gallery is fairly realistic.

 

[Doctor of Doom]

I think as long as we have emphasis on the powers the suit gives, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. I mean, Iron Man could curb stomp the Batman suit any day of the week (providing the caped crusader didn't have prep time) and that should be made clear to the audience; they operate on different levels. Iron Man deals with big scale threats, Bats tends to be more of a man on the street.

Even his rogues gallery is fairly realistic.

His arch enemy is a psychopathic chinese wizard named the Mandarin who has ten magic rings.

I don't think "realistic" is the quote we want to use here

 

[Chris B]

His arch enemy is a psychopathic chinese wizard named the Mandarin who has ten magic rings.

I don't think "realistic" is the quote we want to use here

The Mandarin is one of the exceptions.

 

[samsnee]

The Mandarin is the exception, but the Mandarin is the villain for this flick. I guess it does come down to the tone Favreau chooses to take. I'm fine with realism, but if he tries to make it "dark", I'm sure the comparisons will be inevitable. I'm not saying it has to be fluff like Fantastic Four, but I think somewhere between the first Spider-man and Batman Begins would feel about right.

 

[chosen1]

IMO making it like batman begins (an origin film) is the way to go.


"If animal trapped call 410-844-6286" -- Baltimore, traditional

 

[wikum]

I know very little about Iron Man. I stumbled across the cast for it today and ended up thinking they will go down the Batman route with it. Which is a good thing.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

His arch enemy is a psychopathic chinese wizard named the Mandarin who has ten magic rings.

I don't think "realistic" is the quote we want to use here

Actually his rings are alien in origin. Just sayin'.

 

[Kid_Kaos]

There's always this "Where did I see that before?" feeling with so many comic book based movies coming out today. And of course, that's mostly 'cause the comic characters are not so much different, there's only so much you can do before you repeat something. MARVEL invented some interesting characters but most of them and their stories are copied or inspired by the DC characters and vice-versa today in the comic world.
And IMO we also saw every possible storyline for a movie in the history of movies anyway. Hell, I'm just 22 and yet I often wonder why Hollywood copies so much storylines or elements from movies from the 70s/80s that I just saw when I was growing up. It's pretty much a given with any kind of movie today.

Bottom Line: I don't think it's a big problem that the story - or at least the outline - is similar to another one. People usually don't notice it if the characters are interesting enough. Otherwise Hollywood would be dead by now.

 

[Doctor of Doom]

Actually his rings are alien in origin. Just sayin'.

Well that certainly improves the realism factor

 

[kedrell]

Plus, Iron Man's "side-kick" is a helluva lot better than Batman's.

 

[3dman27]

Plus, Iron Man's "sde-kick" is a helluva lot better than Batman's.

pepper or rhodey?

 

[kedrell]

pepper or rhodey?

Rhodey/War Machine

 

[DACMAN]

Hear me out... I know that Iron Man is a completely different character from Batman. But if a casual viewer, who wasn't familiar with the comics, heard the plot description, would they think it was just Batman Begins redux? Let's see, billionaire playboy goes to a far off land. Comes back and builds a suit to start a one-man war on crime. The main villain happens to an mystical Asian person with terrorist ties. He's befriended by an African American who helps him in fight. If the character Jarvis is cast, then there will also be a faithful butler.

Again, as die hard fans, it's clear they will be two different movies (hopefully). But how can the filmmakers avoid this confusion to the casual or non-comic reading moviegoer?

Huh. When I first read the thread title I was all like "aw shut up" and now I'm all like "huh, I see your point".

 

[DACMAN]

Well that certainly improves the realism factor

HAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!t:

 

[thegameq]

There's always this "Where did I see that before?" feeling with so many comic book based movies coming out today. And of course, that's mostly 'cause the comic characters are not so much different, there's only so much you can do before you repeat something. MARVEL invented some interesting characters but most of them and their stories are copied or inspired by the DC characters and vice-versa today in the comic world.
And IMO we also saw every possible storyline for a movie in the history of movies anyway. Hell, I'm just 22 and yet I often wonder why Hollywood copies so much storylines or elements from movies from the 70s/80s that I just saw when I was growing up. It's pretty much a given with any kind of movie today.

Bottom Line: I don't think it's a big problem that the story - or at least the outline - is similar to another one. People usually don't notice it if the characters are interesting enough. Otherwise Hollywood would be dead by now.

Yes and no. Each character has his own universe, style and/or feel. IM's is adventure and tech-wonder, not dark corporate brooding, evil corporation ,etc....at least not the IM from the 70s-80s.

This is why I believe these films really need artistic style. It separates them from other films. I suppose it also largely depends on which era the director plans to tap. The brooding Stark days are no doubt perhaps the most infamous and probably played a huge part in the prospect of this film coming to the big screen.

 

[Cinemaman]

Off-topic: SO I was right, Ghost Rider sucked