# So I just saw Iron Man (unboxed minor spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 3, 2008, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283 "2008-10-03T07:42:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/41 "2008-10-03T20:12:49Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > “Want to know why they call me Iron Man? It isn’t the suit.” Bwahaha! Excellent line, just want to give credit where it’s due. ---
**Author:** ![Otanx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Otanx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otanx)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/42 "2008-10-03T20:59:40Z")
I loved the movie and have seen it three times now. Once in theaters, and twice on DVD. My question is about the arc reactor in his chest. Why? The reason given for the first electromagnet was to stop shrapnel from entering his heart that the guy in the cave could not remove. So once he gets to civilization there is no doctor that could operate, and remove the shrapnel with modern equipment? Also along with this is that each time the reactor is removed he suddenly becomes weak, and dying. Wouldn’t it take awhile for the shrapnel to start moving, and do damage? As soon as he reconnects the power supply he feels better, and is able to go charging into battle. Also what was his reason for not giving the old arc reactor from his chest to his teams to work on instead of holding onto the technology himself? He doesn’t want to manufacture weapons that could fall into the wrong hands, so why not invest in his advances in the arc reactor to move his company in a new direction? Finally my last complaint. When in the cave right after he builds the first arc reactor he tells his buddy it puts out 1.5K Joules/sec. First IIRC Joules has time built into the defenition so the Joules per second is redundant. Also right afterward his buddy says something to the effect of “That can power the heart for 50 lifetimes.” Where Stark replies with “Or something bigger for 15 minutes.” Stark never tells his friend how long the device can output the 1.5KJoules. Therefore any kind of math he did to figure out how long it can run would be missing some needed variables. -Otanx ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/43 "2008-10-03T23:32:18Z")
> [@Jolly\_Roger](#): > > I don’t know. If I were a supervillain, even one with no powers, but just a scheming mastermind I’d think “I must have the secrets of Iron Man’s armor for myself! Muhahahaha! I can rule the world with that technology.” Then I’d wait for a time when Stark was at one of his parties or a function and send my endless redshirt minions to snatch him. Then I’d take the power source and torture him into giving me the secrets. Or hypnotize or drug him in some way. He’s just a regular, albiet super intelligent man without the armor. (while not being stupid enough like the bad guys in the movie to let him have access to something he can make a weapon out of). > > It’s easier in the comic book world! Super minions are easier to come by. Especially ones that Iron Man has defeated in the past, because they’d be like “I’ll get Stark, Jolly Roger, Scourge of all things good! Iron Man beat the crap out of me a year ago and you busted me out of prison! \*Plus you placed an explosive pellet in my head that will go off if I disobey you.” This isn’t Earth-616. So when _everyone_ who had a hand in Stark’s kidnapping is dead, and even just using weapons you bought from Iron Monger means Iron Man is going to come and beat you up, people are going to be cautious. Going after Stark openly, you might as well send the United States Air Force an invitation, “Bomb me, please.” ETA: > [@Otanx](#): > > Finally my last complaint. When in the cave right after he builds the first arc reactor he tells his buddy it puts out 1.5K Joules/sec. First IIRC Joules has time built into the defenition so the Joules per second is redundant. No, it doesn’t. 1 Watt is 1 Joule per second. Joules are units of energy, not power. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/44 "2008-10-04T00:24:15Z")
> [@Otanx](#): > > I loved the movie and have seen it three times now. Once in theaters, and twice on DVD. My question is about the arc reactor in his chest. Why? The reason given for the first electromagnet was to stop shrapnel from entering his heart that the guy in the cave could not remove. So once he gets to civilization there is no doctor that could operate, and remove the shrapnel with modern equipment? Also along with this is that each time the reactor is removed he suddenly becomes weak, and dying. Wouldn’t it take awhile for the shrapnel to start moving, and do damage? As soon as he reconnects the power supply he feels better, and is able to go charging into battle. Despite his protestations, I don’t think Stark was entirely rational upon his return. Not that he was suffering from PTSD, but he did have an epiphany that led to a bit of an obsession. he was going to atone for the suffering he had caused, and nothing had priority over that, not even his health. > [@](#): > > Also what was his reason for not giving the old arc reactor from his chest to his teams to work on instead of holding onto the technology himself? He doesn’t want to manufacture weapons that could fall into the wrong hands, so why not invest in his advances in the arc reactor to move his company in a new direction? I think he suspected that someone in the company was involved in his kidnapping somehow; he didn’t entirely trust anyone but Pepper. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/45 "2008-10-04T01:33:49Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I has a question: In the convoy attack scene at the beginning of the movie, the guy who wanted a picture jumped out, slammed the door, yelled “STAY HERE!”, turned around, and a great many holes got punched simultaneously through him and the side of the hummvee, which made for a great shot, but I’m wondering, is there a weapon that actually does that? Would a frag grenade do that, or a claymore loaded with buckshot, without knocking the vehicle on its side, or were we looking at pure Hollywood there? Well, they call those weapons “Bullets”. If you look closely over the Airman’s shoulder when he’s telling Stark to stay put, you can see muzzle flash from some kind of machine gun looking thing on a mountain side, and the timing feels about right for the bullets to travel down range before he turns around. Of greater concern is that none of the projectiles that punched holes in the door did so with enough force to harm Stark, sitting, what, three feet away pressed against the other door? And yeah, to repeat **EJsGirl** , Humvees aren’t necessarily armored (IIRC, most of those which are use after market armor upgrades, which cause extra wear and tear on the vehicle. Engine and suspension have to carry the extra weight, and every field mod comes with a cost in performance and service life. They might have designed some armored humvees from the tires up, but the basic design itself isn’t suited to armored vehicles. I understand they’re coming up with some various new vehicle designs using armor and v-shaped hulls to replace the Humvees because of this. (For example, the MRAP, which looks like what shakes Escalades and Hummers down for lunch money.) Incidentally, it’s fun to compare Iron Man, a big budget Marvel superhero movie from summer 2008 that had full cooperation and assistance from the Air Force public affairs office, and The Incredible Hulk, which is a big budget Marvel superhero movie from summer 2008 that seems to be made by people who only know of the armed forces from recruiting commercials. Judging by the uniforms, I am left to assume that nearly the entire force that General Ross had available to deploy was Air Force (Army and Marines both got rid of their BDUs a few years ago, and as reflected in Iron Man, the Air Force is phasing in the new grey tigerstripe ABUs. The Navy wears eight-pointed patrol caps with their BDUs when they wear them) I’m not asking the guys from IH to get EVERY detail right, but they could have WATCHED a couple war movies to see how the military works and maybe looked online or checked CNN to see what the Army uniforms currently looked like. If I want to see the US armed forces being horribly inept and willfully stupid, I’ll watch a British horror movie sequel. Or I could just go watch an Army football game (Oooh, zing!) ETA: Hey, here’s something else that bugs me about the ambush scene: Here we have one of the more powerful men in the western world, being driven back to his plane to be taken home. Presumably the military is interested in keeping him safe since they gave him a whole armed convoy, but you’d think they could have spared some kind of air support for extra cover. Helicopter gunships and fighter bombers on the scene can do a lot to give bad guys something else to worry about other than blowing up hapless jeeps. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/46 "2008-10-04T01:52:42Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Stark’s coming clean about being Iron Man was one of the things I liked best about the movie… > > And, lastly, it fit his character arc. The story is essentially about Stark manning up and taking responsibility for his actions. Lying about the way he’s doing is an essentially dickish thing to do. He’s not Peter Parker or Bruce Wayne; he’s a grown, non-insane man, and acted like one. **Skald** , you nailed it. This is just what I thought. Great movie - the best of the whole summer, I’d say! Now I’ve gotta see it again. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/47 "2008-10-04T03:30:01Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > Well, they call those weapons “Bullets”. If you look closely over the Airman’s shoulder when he’s telling Stark to stay put, you can see muzzle flash from some kind of machine gun looking thing on a mountain side, and the timing feels about right for the bullets to travel down range before he turns around. I just watched it and all of the holes appear at the same moment as if some sort of fragmentation explosive detonated. It wasn’t the sort of dok-dok-dok-dok-dok you’d expect from a machine gun. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/48 "2008-10-04T04:43:31Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I just watched it and all of the holes appear at the same moment as if some sort of fragmentation explosive detonated. It wasn’t the sort of dok-dok-dok-dok-dok you’d expect from a machine gun. Bullets fired by a team of terrorist synchronized swimmers? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/49 "2008-10-04T05:04:50Z")
> [@](#): > > No, it doesn’t. 1 Watt is 1 Joule per second. Joules are units of energy, not power. Yeah, but they still messed it up. Stark stated the power; that’s not enough for the other guy to know how long it would last. He could have said “That’s _N_ times more than you’d need to keep the magnet running” (where _N_ is some large number), but he shouldn’t have been able to say “15 lifetimes”. For that, you’d need to know the total energy in the reactor. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/50 "2008-10-04T16:59:40Z")
Just saw Iron Man last night. Was surprised to have loved it. I’m a huge comic book fan but kind of sick of all the movies. This one was entertaining and all the stars did great jobs. The Dude _looked_ great, but it was kind of odd to hear that voice coming out of a villain. My only real complaint is that I can’t stand Ultimate Nick Fury because he’s based on Sam Jackson, can’t stand Sam Jackson. Very disappointed they decided to go that route. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/51 "2008-10-04T17:17:22Z")
Ok, we finished it again last night. (I didn’t want to watch it again all at once, so we spaced it out to enjoy it more.) I am forced to conclude her heels indeed should have gone through the grate, but it’s minor enough and a small enough plot point to not bother me. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/52 "2008-10-04T20:18:34Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > **Skald** , you nailed it. This is just what I thought. Great movie - the best of the whole summer, I’d say! Now I’ve gotta see it again. I’m torn about whether it was the best summer movie, but at worst it’s second place. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/53 "2008-10-04T20:34:11Z")
Tony did it because he’s Tony. If someone’s gonna try and kill him, he’d probably prefer they gun for him instead of attacking his employees trying to find out his secret. Stops a lot of annoying reporters too if they already know his big secret. And all of the 4 hours of special features were interesting, surprisingly. Pity no commentary, but finding out about the cameos was fun. An Avengers movie I don’t need. I’m very pessimistic about Captain America and Thor, and you really don’t need anyone else. Especially Spank Pym. If I want a cool shrinking guy, I’ll get the Atom, dammit ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/54 "2008-10-04T20:51:27Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > An Avengers movie I don’t need. I’m very pessimistic about Captain America and Thor, and you really don’t need anyone else. Yeah, Hollywood has done some amazing things with superheroes so far, but if they can make these two cool on screen without MAJOR compromises to their looks and backstories I’ll eat my hat. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/55 "2008-10-04T22:20:25Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I’m torn about whether it was the best summer movie, but at worst it’s second place. Behind… _WALL-E_, perchance? ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/56 "2008-10-04T22:23:17Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > An Avengers movie I don’t need. I’m very pessimistic about Captain America and Thor, and you really don’t need anyone else. Especially Spank Pym. If I want a cool shrinking guy, I’ll get the Atom, dammit I see the trailer for Punisher: Warzone, and I think “OK, the last Punisher movie? Awesome? This one? Looks lame.” Seems that starting from Iron Man and proceeding through Incredible Hulk, we may be doomed to a downward slope in movie quality with each new Marvel movie. Let’s hope I’m wrong! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/57 "2008-10-04T23:05:11Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Ok, we finished it again last night. (I didn’t want to watch it again all at once, so we spaced it out to enjoy it more.) I am forced to conclude her heels indeed should have gone through the grate, but it’s minor enough and a small enough plot point to not bother me. The trick to running (or even walking) over grates in high heels is to _stay on your toes_ - if you don’t put your heels down they can’t go through the grate. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/58 "2008-10-05T06:36:05Z")
Point of order: What, exactly, do you think would happen if, say, a superhero-type figure appeared in the real world, and, for example, Sir Richard Branson came forward and said that it was _him_ who was flying the superpowered suit/airplane/whatever? I’d be willing to bet _real_ money that immediately the various TV networks/messageboards/chatrooms/etc. would be filled with people arguing over it being true or not. If we can have people claiming that humans _didn’t_ land on the Moon or that the 9/11 attacks were part of some government conspiracy, then having X famous person give a press conference where he/she announces that they’re a superhero is going to settle exactly _squat._ I got snapped right out of the movie when dude grabs the crucible out of the fire with the tongs and he’s not wearing gloves. I don’t care if you’re holding something fairly “cool” like zinc, you’re gonna _have_ to have leather gloves on. (The film implies that it’s palladium which melts at 2800F. :eek: ) Also, when Pepper asked Tony what his Social Security number was, I immediately said “five.” ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/59 "2008-10-05T13:00:11Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > …If we can have people claiming that humans _didn’t_ land on the Moon or that the 9/11 attacks were part of some government conspiracy, then having X famous person give a press conference where he/she announces that they’re a superhero is going to settle exactly _squat._… Sure, but it would be easy enough, if they wanted to, to demonstrate they really WERE that superhero after the fact. Have the doubters set up any test they chose that only the superhero could do, and then do it. The problem with the other things (moon landings and 9/11) is we can’t reenact them to prove the doubters wrong. Your superhero scenario doesn’t have the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_In\_A\_Top\_Hat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@Cat\_In\_A\_Top\_Hat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_In_A_Top_Hat)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283/60 "2008-10-05T14:48:31Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > You touched on my biggest complaint - giving up your secret identity. Hrm…then I highly recommend against reading Spider-man comics during and after the Civil War fiasco. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-iron-man-unboxed-minor-spoilers/466283.md?page=4)