Tony Stark’s story has certainly been compelling, but it has considerably changed in the years since Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment - and that much is evident by Iron Man 3. Shortly after Marvel Studios broke new ground with Jon Favreau’s first Iron Man movie in 2008, and thus created a new type of shared universe on the big screen, The Walt Disney Company swooped in and purchased Marvel, but it wasn’t until a few years later that Disney’s influence really started to become apparent.

Nowadays, Disney and Marvel are synonymous with one another, especially with the Mouse House’s commitment to expanding Marvel’s presence on the small screen with the upcoming Disney Plus streaming service as well as in their theme parks around the world, such as Disneyland. All of this is great, and Disney’s ostensibly unlimited pile of cash is certainly useful in helping Marvel Studios grow to become one of the most dominant production studios in Hollywood. But that doesn’t happen without cost.

As will be evidenced when the upcoming Disney-Fox deal closes, Walt Disney Studios will continue to maintain their branding, which means they may need to adjust how they make a future Deadpool movie. While core aspects of the character will remain, there’s a chance that he could be toned down if incorporated into the MCU - and that’s similar to what Disney did with Iron Man after the release of Iron Man 2 and The Avengers - and it’s all quite clear by Tony’s Iron Man 3 story.

  • This Page: Iron Man’s Story Before Disney Page 2: How Iron Man 3 Changed Tony’s Story & Impacted The MCU

Iron Man’s Story Before Disney Took Over

Comic book readers are keenly aware of Iron Man’s “Demon in a Bottle” story arc that spanned nine issues in 1979; for those aren’t, though, the “Demon in a Bottle” plot revolves around a series of events negatively affecting Tony Stark’s work as Iron Man, such as the Iron Man suit malfunctioning multiple times and even killing an ambassador as well as failing to capture Justin Hammer, among many other things. It ultimately results in him binge drinking and losing control of his company - but it’s the comeback in the end that makes it all worth it, and that’s missing from the movies.

The first time audiences are introduced to Tony Stark in Iron Man, he demonstrates the destructive capability of his weapons. Then right after a successful test, he opens up a personal crate filled with alcohol and begins drinking. From the very first sequence with Tony Stark, it’s clear that he’s quite the drinker, and that story continues well into Favreau’s Iron Man 2. It comes to a head during Tony’s house party, in which he’s seen clearly drunk while wearing the Iron Man suit; he even admits to urinating in the suit. As was noted in the Iron Man 2 special features, that entire sequence was meant to reference the “Demon in the Bottle” comic story.

Keep in mind that Tony’s house party was for his birthday, and while he’s known for being quite the party boy/playboy, he’s not the same person that he once was; he doesn’t get drunk in the Mark IV armor because it’s what he supposed to do as Tony Stark. Rather, Tony gets drunk and begins to endanger his guests because he learns that the palladium in his body that’s keeping him alive is actually killing him. So, he names Pepper Potts as CEO of Stark Industries and throws himself a grand, final birthday party. He results to heavily drinking alcohol when everything goes south for him, and that’s primarily what “Demon in a Bottle” was all about.

Page 2 of 2: How Iron Man 3 Changed Tony’s Story & Impacted The MCU

Disney Changed Tony Stark’s Story In Iron Man 3

A problem with Iron Man 2’s “Demon in a Bottle” subplot is that it was a product of another MCU. Prior to Marvel being acquired by Disney, their movies were being primarily distributed by Paramount - but Marvel Studios was allowed to do pretty much whatever it wanted because it was an independent production studio. While they continue to operate independently within the confines of the Disney brand, which is what led to the Mouse House even allowing them to go with Avengers: Infinity War’s ending, things have changed behind the scenes over the years.

One of the major things that changed right off the bat was Tony Stark’s alcoholism story arc - and that was clearly evident by what happened in Shane Black’s Iron Man 3. Shortly before Iron Man 3 released, Black and screenwriter Drew Pearce were asked what, if anything, they cut from the movie because the studio told them it wasn’t okay for children. Unsurprisingly, their first answer was the drinking. Black said (via CBM), “I think we were just told by the studio that we should probably paint Tony Stark as being kind of an industrialist and a crazy guy, or even a bad guy at some points, but the ‘Demon in a Bottle’ stuff of him being an alcoholic wouldn’t really fly. I don’t blame that.”

Regardless of the story changing, it didn’t really matter at the time. Iron Man 3 continued Tony’s story from Joss Whedon’s The Avengers (not Iron Man 2), and it focused on his reaction to not only learning about aliens but fighting them as well. He had just flown into space and guided a nuclear missile to an alien mothership; that’s a far cry from fighting Whiplash one movie before. So, Iron Man 3 focused on the anxiety he developed as well as his possible combat stress reaction, though not necessarily PTSD. Avengers was the impetus for Tony’s new story arc, but it was solidified in Iron Man 3.

How Iron Man’s New Story Impacted The MCU

As Tony mentions in Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos has been on his mind for six years. Even though that doesn’t match up with the official MCU timeline, it doesn’t bring home his new story arc. Tony Stark was still the Tony Stark people knew from the comics - and the “Demon in the Bottle” storyline - in Iron Man 2, but his identity fused with Iron Man in Iron Man 3; that’s why he says he’ll always be Iron Man, even without the arc reactor. From that point onward, Tony was always Iron Man and always thinking like Iron Man.

So the idea of him succumbing to alcoholism again would mean he was going back to being Tony Stark - the billionaire playboy - not the leader of the universe’s most powerful superhero team. In effect, because Tony Stark’s alcohol plot was nixed, Iron Man grew up to become one of the real leaders of the Avengers and even took responsibility for all the collateral damage that occurred during the Battle of Sokovia in Avengers: Age of Ultron, which in turn led to his stance on the Sokovia Accords in Anthony and Joe Russo’s Captain America: Civil War. Viewers can see that plot playing out in the beginning when he carefully stops the grieving mother from taking something out of her purse, which he chalks up to being an “occupational hazard.”

Tony Stark’s alcoholism and “Demon in a Bottle” plot could’ve easily been exploited in Captain America: Civil War, thus allowing him to have more of a redemption arc in Avengers: Infinity War. The fact that the filmmakers didn’t take that route isn’t a bad thing at all; what they did do worked out perfectly fine for the direction they wanted to take Iron Man in. But that doesn’t mean that a part of Tony Stark’s pre-Disney story wasn’t left by the wayside. Instead of continuing the “Demon in a Bottle” story, Disney’s Marvel traded alcoholism for a superhero that was suffering from trauma. Either one works; it’s just that Tony Stark’s story in Avengers: Endgame will bring his story full circle with regards to Iron Man 3, not Iron Man 1.

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