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Tony Stark gambles at a Las Vegas
casino, leaving his deceased father's friend and business partner, Obadiah
Stane, to accept a prestigious award for him. Tony Stark is the head of
Stark Industries, a major military contracting company which he inherited
when his parents died in a traffic accident. Tony himself is an
engineering genius, having earned multiple degrees and awards for his
company's advanced technological products, many of which he has invented.
However, Stark is also a heavy-drinking, womanizing playboy. As Stark
leaves the casino with his entourage, he is approached by reporter
Christine Everhart, whom he charms into a one-night stand at his Malibu
house. When she awakens the next morning, Stark is gone, and she is coldly
greeted and helped out by Pepper Potts, his personal assistant.
Stark flies off to war-torn Afghanistan with his friend and company
military liaison, Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, for a demonstration of
Stark Industries' new weapon, the "Jericho" cluster missile. On the way
back, however, his military convoy is attacked. His escort is wiped out
and Stark is critically wounded by one of his own company's bombs.
Waking up in an Afghan cave, he discovers an electromagnet embedded in his
chest, placed there by fellow captive Dr. Yinsen. Powered by a car
battery, it keeps shrapnel from working its way to his heart and killing
him. Stark has been captured by a terrorist group known as the Ten Rings,
whose leader, Raza, orders Stark to build a Jericho missile for him.
Instead, during his three months of captivity, he and Yinsen begin
secretly building a crude suit of armor, powered by a miniature "arc
reactor" which also runs the electromagnet in his chest. Finally, the
terrorists grow impatient and give Stark 24 hours to finish.
Unfortunately, the terrorists become suspicious before the suit is fully
activated, so Yinsen makes a suicidal attack in a desperate bid to buy
time. Once the armor is ready, Stark charges through the caves. Near the
entrance, a dying Yinsen tells him not to waste his life. Forever grateful
to Yinsen, Stark burns all the munitions the terrorists have accumulated
and then flies away, only to crash in the desert; Stark survives, but his
suit is destroyed. After being rescued by Rhodes, Stark announces at a
press conference that his company will no longer manufacture weapons.
Stane tells him shortly thereafter that his decision is being blocked by
the board of directors of Stark Industries.
Stark focuses his energies on building a better version of his power suit,
while making an improved arc reactor for his chest. Once the new reactor
replaces the old one, Potts gives Stark a gift: his first miniature
reactor, encased in glass and bearing the inscription "Proof that Tony
Stark has a heart". After much trial and error, Stark develops first a
"Mark II" armor suit, then an improved red and gold "Mark III".
During Stark's first public appearance after his return, he spots Potts
wearing a dress he gave her, and realizes that he has romantic feelings
for his assistant. As they are about to share a kiss, Potts interrupts by
asking for a martini. While ordering the drinks, Stark is accosted by
Everhart, who shows him pictures of Stark Industries weapons, including
Jericho missiles, recently delivered to insurgents. He realizes that Stane
has been supplying both the Americans and their enemies, and attempting to
remove Stark from power. Enraged, Stark dons the power suit, flies to
Afghanistan and rescues Gulmira, Yinsen's village, from the Ten Rings. As
he is flying away, Stark is detected by the United States Air Force, which
dispatches two F-22 Raptors to try to identify the mysterious flying
object. The fighters are ordered to destroy the target. During the
resulting dogfight, Stark has time to reveal to Rhodes, called in as a
consultant, that he is the unidentified target. One of the planes is
accidentally destroyed when it collides with Stark. The pilot ejects, but
his parachute does not deploy, so Stark rescues him before escaping.
Stark sends Potts to hack into the company computer system. She discovers
that Stane hired the Ten Rings to kill Stark. The group reneged on the
deal upon discovering who the target was, which ultimately seals their
fate when Stane has them eliminated later. She also learns Stane has
recovered the pieces of the original power suit and reverse-engineered his
own version, one much larger and more powerful than Stark's. As she leaves
Stane's office, she meets Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D., a
newly-established counter-terrorism government agency, who has been
accosting her and Stark about an interview concerning Stark's escape from
the Ten Rings.
After she leaves, Stane discovers what she has done. He goes to his
scientists and is angered when they admit that they cannot duplicate the
arc reactor technology that Stark created. Later that evening, Stane
ambushes Stark in his house, using a Stark Industries device to paralyze
him. While revealing his plan to take over Stark Industries, Stane removes
the arc reactor from Stark's chest and leaves him to die. However, Stark
gets to Potts' gift and re-installs his original reactor. Meanwhile,
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, guided by Potts, break into Stark Industries to
arrest Stane, only to be attacked by Stane in the now functional Iron
Monger suit.
Although his original reactor is underpowered for his latest armor, Stark
races to the rescue. Stane's armor suit is bigger and has more weapons
than Stark's, though not quite as sophisticated (it never fixed the icing
problem that the old Mark II had). Ultimately finding himself outmatched,
Stark lures Stane atop the Stark Industries building. With no power left,
Stark instructs Potts to overload the full-sized reactor in the building.
This unleashes a massive electrical surge that knocks Stane unconscious
and sends him falling through the ceiling into the reactor itself,
apparently incinerating him.
The next day, it is revealed that the press has dubbed Stark's alter ego
"Iron Man". Rhodes gives reporters a false explanation of what happened.
Before speaking, Stark briefly makes an attempt to establish a romantic
relationship with Potts, but is put on hold. During the press conference,
Stark starts to tell the cover story given to him by S.H.I.E.L.D., but
then instead announces openly that he is Iron Man.
In a post-credits scene, Stark is visited by S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick
Fury who notes that Stark is not "the only superhero in the world" and
states he wants to discuss the "Avenger Initiative". |
