One of the things that interests me about super-hero stories is the duality of their identity. Who is the real identity: Spider-Man or Peter Parker? Superman or Clark Kent? Batman or Bruce Wayne? Each time a writer climbs on board for a stint on one of these comics or a director starts a new film, that duality gets a new exploration, with different answers developing over time. But what about Tony Stark, Iron Man, who doesn’t have the split identity issues of other super-heroes?
That difference about Tony Stark is exactly what Justin Theroux, scriptwriter for Iron Man 2, who told MTV’s Splash Page that the lack of a dual nature will be a fundamental part of the second film. After all, Tony Stark is the first mainstream hero to have a movie where the main character isn’t hiding his identity. There’s no ducking into a closet/telephone booth/ whatever is handy. Everyone knows Stark is Iron Man, thanks to his press conference gone wrong, and that will definitely affect the storyline of the sequel.
I’m excited to hear they’re going to embrace that fully for the second picture, because it will force Iron Man 2 to be different than most other super-hero flicks. It can’t rely on a lot of the same worn out jokes, or even regurgitate the same methods of getting Stark in and out of the right situations from the first movie. Unfortunately, it’s about the only information Theroux is dishing out right now for the direction of the sequel.
