Iron Man 3

"My armor was never a distraction, or a hobby. It was a cocoon. And now I'm a changed man. You can take away my house, all my tricks and toys. But one thing you can't take away... I am Iron Man."

- Tony Stark

Iron Man 3 is a 2013 superhero film, based on the Marvel Comics superhero of the same name. It is a sequel to Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and The Avengers, and is the seventh installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the first installment of Phase Two.

It was directed by Shane Black with Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Jon Favreau and Paul Bettany reprising their roles as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Pepper Potts, James Rhodes, Happy Hogan and J.A.R.V.I.S., and introduces Guy Pearce and Ben Kingsley as Aldrich Killian and Trevor Slattery. The film is partially based on the comic series, Iron Man: Extremis.

Synopsis
Tony Stark finds himself facing his most powerful enemy yet when he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible for destroying his private world. Along the way, he discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: "Does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?"

Plot
Some time after the Battle of New York, Tony Stark has isolated himself from the outside world, obsessively building powered suits to counter his insomnia. This causes friction with his girlfriend, Pepper Potts, before he finally admits that something about him has changed since he left New York City. The situation becomes even worse when Pepper is visited by Aldrich Killian, her old love interest who offers her to join his Advanced Idea Mechanics.

The United States of America has come under attack from the Mandarin, a terrorist leader responsible for a string of bombings that have left intelligence agencies bewildered at the lack of evidence left behind. When Happy Hogan is caught up in what looks to be one of the Mandarin's attacks, Stark pulls himself out of his stupor and issues a threat of his own, inviting the Mandarin to his home to settle their differences with their fists. Shortly after, Stark is visited by an old acquittance Maya Hansen, and the same time, Stark's home is attacked and destroyed by Mandarin's helicopters. Stark survives the attack, but is left stranded in rural town Rose Hill, Tennessee when J.A.R.V.I.S. follows a flight plan left in his system, and Stark's experimental armor does not have sufficient power to return to California. The world believes Stark to be dead as the Mandarin starts issuing more threats of violence.

Stark uses his apparent death to his advantage, conducting an investigation into an explosion that bears the same hallmarks as one of the Mandarin's attacks, but which the Mandarin did not claim responsibility for. With the help of Harley Keener, a young boy living in the town, Stark discovers that each of the Mandarin's explosions was triggered by soldiers that went through the Extremis program, an experimental treatment that is intended to allow its users to recover from any injury. Extremis, however, has a fatal flaw; in the event a user is unable to regulate their internal body temperature, they will start to gain heat at an exponential rate and explode. Stark witnesses the power of Extremis first-hand when he is attacked by Ellen Brandt and Eric Savin, a pair of agents working for the Mandarin.

With Keener's help, Stark traces the Mandarin to Miami, where he infiltrates the Mandarin's headquarters with a variety of home-made weapons. There, he discovers that the Mandarin is actually a British actor named Trevor Slattery, who is completely oblivious to the acts the Mandarin has carried out. The Mandarin is a creation of Aldrich Killian, who used Hansen's research to cure for his own disability and expanded the program to include injured war veterans. After veterans started growing unstable and exploding, Killian used their deaths to cover up the flaws in Extremis and manufacture a terrorist plot. Stark recalls meeting Killian on New Year's Eve in 1999, where he cruelly misled Killian into believing he was interested in his ideas, and then deliberately ignored him. Stark blames himself for setting Killian on the path that would ultimately see him create the Mandarin. Killian reveals he has kidnapped Pepper and subjected her to the Extremis treatment, using her as leverage to get Stark to fix Extremis' flaws.

As he controls the Mandarin, Killian has also manipulated the American intelligence agencies as to the Mandarin's location. He uses this falsified intelligence to lure James Rhodes into a trap and commandeer the War Machine—now rebranded as "Iron Patriot"—armor for himself. Stark escapes his captivity and reunites with Rhodes, discovering that Killian intends to attack President Matthew Ellis aboard Air Force One. Stark intervenes and saves the passengers, but is too late to stop Killian from abducting Ellis. They follow him to a container terminal, where he intends to kill Ellis on live television. Vice President Rodriguez will assume control of the country, following Killian's orders in exchange for a sample of Extremis to cure his daughter's disability. With the Mandarin and the President under his control, Killian will be able to manipulate global events for his own profit.

Stark and Rhodes infiltrate the container terminal, with Stark going to save Potts and Rhodes the President. Stark summons each of the Iron Man suits he has created, controlled remotely by J.A.R.V.I.S., to support them from the air. Rhodes secures President Ellis and leads him to safety, whilst Stark discovers that Pepper has survived the Extremis procedure. However, before he can save her, the rig collapses around them and Pepper falls two hundred feet to her apparent death. Stark has no time to process this as he is forced into a fierce fight with Killian whilst wearing various Iron Man suits. Stark successfully traps him in one of the Iron Man suits and has it self-destruct. He starts searching for Potts, who survived her fall courtesy of the abilities she received from Extremis. A deformed Killian emerges from the wreckage and reveals to Stark that he is the real Mandarin, before attempting to kill Stark, but is instead killed by Potts.

In the aftermath of the events on the container terminal, Stark makes a promise to Potts that he'll find a cure for her Extremis condition and orders J.A.R.V.I.S. to remotely destroy each of the Iron Man suits. Both Vice President Rodriguez and Trevor are taken into police custody as Stark decides to undergo surgery to remove the pieces of shrapnel embedded in his heart. Stark has decided that even without his suits or the Arc Reactor in his chest, he will always be Iron Man.

Later, Stark is talking to someone about his past traumas. It is revealed that his therapist is Dr. Bruce Banner, who had fallen asleep soon after the introduction about Bern.

Cast

 * Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man
 * Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts
 * Don Cheadle as James Rhodes/Iron Patriot
 * Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian
 * Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen
 * Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan
 * Ben Kingsley as Mandarin/Trevor Slattery
 * James Badge Dale as Eric Savin
 * Stephanie Szostak as Ellen Brandt
 * Paul Bettany as J.A.R.V.I.S. (voice)
 * William Sadler as President Matthew Ellis
 * Dale Dickey as Mrs. Davis
 * Ty Simpkins as Harley Keener
 * Miguel Ferrer as Vice President Rodriguez
 * Wang Xueqi as Dr. Wu
 * Shaun Toub as Ho Yinsen
 * Pat Kiernan as Himself
 * Josh Elliott as Himself
 * Megan Henderson as Herself
 * Thomas Roberts as Himself
 * Bill Maher as Himself
 * Joan Rivers as Herself
 * George Kotsiopoulos as Himself
 * Ashley Hamilton as Jack Taggart
 * Spencer Garrett as Rose Hill Sheriff
 * Tom Virtue as Thomas Richards
 * Adam Pally as Gary the Cameraman
 * James Rackley as Chad Davis
 * Rebecca Mader as Sweat Shop Agent
 * Sarah Farooqui as Heather
 * Stan Lee as Pageant Judge
 * Fan Bingbing as Wu Jiaqi (uncredited)
 * Mark Ruffalo as Dr. Bruce Banner (uncredited)
 * Bridger Zadina as E.J. (uncredited)
 * Susie Pratt as Bambi Arbogast (voice, uncredited)

Locations

 * Bern, Switzerland
 * Malibu, California
 * Tony Stark's Mansion
 * Neptune's Net
 * Los Angeles, California
 * Stark Industries Headquarters
 * Rose Hill, Tennessee
 * Chattanooga, Tennessee
 * Washington, D.C.
 * Miami, Florida
 * Aldrich Killian's Mansion
 * New York City, New York
 * Kuwait
 * Pakistan
 * Shanghai, China
 * Sand Creek, Colorado (mentioned)
 * San Rafael, California (mentioned)
 * Springfield, Missouri (mentioned)
 * Nashville, Tennessee (mentioned)
 * Pensacola, Florida (mentioned)
 * Iran (mentioned)
 * Syria (mentioned)
 * Pentagon (mentioned)
 * London, England (mentioned)

Events

 * Battle of New York (flashback)
 * Aldrich Killian's War
 * Destruction of the Chinese Theatre
 * Destruction of Tony Stark's Mansion
 * Battle of Rose Hill
 * Infiltration into Aldrich Killian's Mansion
 * Kidnapping of President Ellis
 * Battle on the Norco

Items

 * Iron Man Mark XLII Telepresence Headset
 * War Machine Armor: Mark II
 * Stark Sonic Cannon
 * Arc Reactor
 * Tony Stark's New Element
 * Dum-E and U
 * Extremis
 * House Party Protocol
 * Clean Slate Protocol
 * Mjølnir (mentioned)
 * Wormhole (mentioned)

Vehicles

 * Air Force One
 * Norco
 * F-22 Raptor (mentioned)

Organizations

 * Stark Industries
 * Advanced Idea Mechanics
 * Extremis Soldiers
 * United States Armed Forces
 * Ten Rings
 * Roxxon Oil Corporation
 * United States Secret Service
 * United States Department of Homeland Security (mentioned)
 * Avengers (mentioned)
 * S.H.I.E.L.D. (mentioned)
 * FBI (mentioned)
 * CIA (mentioned)
 * Oracle Corporation (logo)
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Mentioned

 * Thor
 * Drew Grey
 * David Samuels
 * Wernher von Braun
 * Chitauri

Music

 * Iron Man 3 – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
 * Iron Man 3: Heroes Fall – Music Inspired by the Motion Picture

Agent Carter
The Blu-ray release of Iron Man 3 included a Marvel One-Shot staring Hayley Atwell reprising her role as Peggy Carter. It takes place a year after the main events of Captain America: The First Avenger.