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The previous Iron Man adventures allowed all of this to happen, and it can be argued he was the most important character in the biggest film of 2012. It was great to see Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow together, but they had all been woven in and around Iron Man’s presence.

Iron Man 3 (2013) - 7/10

Film three relies on the history of Tony Stark for the basis of the action in the present. A former potential business associate, Aldrich Killian, takes his revenge, spreading terrorism and mayhem in his efforts to destroy Stark. There are some very good sequences that unfold over the course of the movie, including the awesome missile attack on the Stark residence, The fight sequence at the end is fast-paced. There are a couple of nice twists that work well, one involving the Mandarin, and another that has Stark not being in the Iron Man suit for most of the film.

Iron Man 3 has already set some box office records, giving us further indication that the health of the franchise is better than most. The Marvel Universe and the Iron Man character have become the definition of big budget flicks. Only a few other contemporary franchises are worth even comparing to the superhero, as his appeal is so far ahead of most other series. Harry Potter? Transformers? The Dark Knight? Pirates of the Caribbean? With the success of Avengers last year and the third Iron Man installment this year, is this currently the most popular franchise out there?

There are some series that suffer from overexposure, or that just don’t perform as well as earlier films. Iron Man shows no such fatigue. The third film is a solid, worthy entry. The numbers for Iron Man 3 are staggering. They are not quite that of the Avengers, but when being compared to the largest opening weekend of all time, you understand the comparison. It has amassed a $403 million take in the U.S. and may become the 13th-highest grossing film domestically. If that isn’t enough, only four others have made more overseas, and one of those was The Avengers, just last year. Marvel has brought in $1.2 billion from Iron Man 3 thus far, and it still has the last legs of its run to go.

Conclusion: This franchise is the poster child for success. Every other film series has to look at what Iron Man and The Avengers accomplished and know it is the pinnacle of movie storytelling. It started in 2008 and it continues during the summer of 2013. With talk of Robert Downey Jr. signing on for more films, and Iron Man’s presence already locked in for the Avengers sequel, it is possible this franchise has not yet peaked. From a box office record stand point, that is remarkable.

I think back to the article that asked if Marvel could save Hollywood.

That has been answered.

With franchises like Iron Man as the bar for success, now the question becomes: Will we ever see this again?

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