A Marvelous Modern Myth

(Context: This is an essay I wrote for a Mythology class where you have to take a hero from a story/movie and apply Hesiod's Hero's Journey to what that hero goes through. I got 50/50 on it and thought, "Eh. Maybe someone on Reddit might enjoy it." So...Here we are)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe, more commonly known as the MCU, is a franchise built on bringing life to some of Marvel Comic's mightiest heroes. From the flag-waving super-soldier Captain America to everyone's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, these colorfully costumed clad characters and their awe-inspiring adventures are called, by many, modern mythologies. Their origins date back to the comics created by the late and great Stan Lee and the many writers he would soon inspire to create future comics for Marvel. However, these characters have also been remade and redone for years in multiple comics, shows, and movies, bringing out many interpretations and misconceptions, and bringing to light the modern myth comparison. Greek myths feature changes and reinterpretations that vary depending on who one asks. For example, Hesiod gave Pandora a jar, but more people often remember Erasmus' version of giving her a box. In that regard, it is no different than when the MCU turned Iron Man, one of the less-than-popular characters in Marvel's library, into one of the most influential heroes in superhero cinema. In fairness, Iron Man had his fair share fans during his introduction in the sixties. Only it was not to the extent of praise that the other amazing, fantastic, and uncanny heroes in Marvel. Then Marvel Studios, in association with Paramount Pictures, produced Iron Man in 2008, a movie directed by John Favreau that made millions fall in love with the hero who forged an entire franchise, all through a journey that reflects Joseph Campbell's The Hero of a Thousand Faces, detailing every hero's steps they make in their own monomyth. From separating from his world to initiating into adventure and finally returning to what he once knew, Tony Stark's Iron Man, within his first film, proves that his original journey perfectly reflects a monomyth that presents how he is a modern mythological hero.

Every hero's journey begins with a separation, a departure from the world they once knew. For Tony Stark, that journey started during a convoy. He was returning home after demonstrating the Jericho Missile, a weapon that can cause mass destruction, to the army, only for that convoy to get ambushed by a terrorist group known as the Ten Rings. It is here that Tony receives the call to adventure. Outside the vehicle, a battle is going on, one that is life and death. Yet, instead of accepting the call, like the hero he would eventually become, Tony refuses it and chooses to care about his safety first. Even when one of the soldiers exits the armored car, Tony asks for a gun, not to join the fight but to protect himself. Tony is Tony's first concern at the moment. So, as he exits the vehicle, his first plan is to run and try to contact others for help, only for that plan to literally blow up in Tony's face as a bomb, one he made, lands in front of him, exploding shrapnel into his chest. This incident lands Tony in the belly of the whale, also known as the Ten Rings headquarters. The Ten Rings initially intended to use Tony for ransom. However, once they realized it was Tony Stark in their possession, the leader Raza decided to use that to his advantage, demanding that Tony build the Jericho missile with supplies that the Ten Rings stole for him. They promise his freedom for doing so, but Tony is already aware that he will die. Tony laments this by saying, "They're going to kill me...either way. And even if they don't, I'll probably be dead in a week." (Iron Man, 22:41-46). The problems only get worse, for the shrapnel in his chest would slowly feed into his heart if not for his supernatural aid. Ho Yinsen may be a mortal man, but what he does goes above and beyond normal and much more towards the supernatural. Using a car battery and an electromagnet, he inserted a device into Tony's chest, saving him from the shrapnel after getting most of it out of his heart. Then, albeit while assisting Tony, they make the mini arc reactor, a smaller version of the one Tony has back home that also acts as the ultimate boon in this hero's journey, as it is a life force that keeps Tony alive. Finally, together, they built an entire suit of armor, which the movie took direct inspiration from Iron Man's first suit when he made his debut in comics in March of 1964. It is a good thing that they both worked hard on it because, much like Daadalus' waxen wings used to escape the labyrinth, Tony's suit is what he needed to cross the first threshold by fighting his way through the belly of the whale, killing the same men that captured and tortured Tony for weeks. Yet, if Tony is Daedalus, then Yinsen is Icarus, for he metaphorically flew too close to the sun by going out to distract the Ten Rings, using a rifle and nothing else. It would result in Yinsen's death, something he is ok with as he reveals he was planning to commit suicide after escaping anyway, all to reunite with his family slaughtered before him. Once Tony finds Yinsen, Yinsen delivers one last piece of advice. Through their short time together, Yinsen gives Tony poignant words of wisdom that dig deep into motivating him to change, like telling Tony that he is "a man who has everything and nothing." (Iron Man, 27:20-24). In Yinsen's last moments, he delivers Tony's four words that he would take to heart. Those words are, "Don't waste your life." (Iron Man, 38:27). With those words, Tony begins the next phase of his journey.

Tony makes sure to live by his friend's dying words as he enters the initiation phase of his journey. After fleeing the Ten Rings and destroying their weapons, Tony's best friend Rhodey finally finds and saves him, taking the hero home to meet with the goddess. More specifically, Tony's goddess, Pepper Potts. Pepper acts as Tony's love interest in the film, but she offers so much guidance and assistance that she is a significant figure in his life. She even helps strengthen his life, being there to replace his old arc reactor with a new one, symbolically holding Tony's heart in her hands as she gives him a better one. Although, that is getting ahead of the story. It is worth noting that before that, Pepper is there to tell Tony what he should do, suggesting to go to the hospital before going to any press conference and talk about what happened. She is Tony's guiding light and a voice of reason for his insanity, which is why he kept Pepper out while taking his road of trials when building a new suit. In fairness, he keeps everyone out, telling his AI assistant JARVIS to keep notes of everything they do a secret. When returning to America, Tony announced that he would shut down his company's weapons division, an idea that Obadiah Stane, a one-sided second father to Tony, explicitly objects to with a concern about what it would do to the company. When Obadiah talks to Tony later, Obadiah says, "We're iron mongers. We make weapons." (Iron Man, 46:58-59). Not only are Obadiah's words a reference to the villain he becomes in the comics, but it perfectly establishes what he considers vital. He is more willing to sell weapons than make any effort to keep peace. Knowing that a man like that exists, Tony's trials should be a secret so no one in Obadiah's inner circle could potentially leak that information to him. Or for characters like Pepper and Rhodey to bring reason and logic to prevent Tony from doing what he believes he needs to do, for he has a suit to build. It is not an easy task to accomplish, as there are a lot of tribulations in constructing the iconic red and gold armor. First, Tony has to be able to learn how to fly, which comes with a lot of pain, rough landings, and realizing that if he flies too high, the frost of the upper atmosphere will freeze the suit and send him crashing down to Earth. It certainly was not an easy task, and the journey does not get easier when a woman as a temptress moves Tony further to take his action. That temptress is Christine Everhart, a reporter who spent a night with Tony in a flashback from the cold open and tells him about the Ten Rings using Stark Industries' weapons in Gullmira. The knowledge that terrorists are using Tony's weapons for violence and the death of the innocent is enough to send him on the warpath, but there is another contribution to his rage. Gullmira is a town that Yinsen and his family came from, so the fact that the Ten Rings are tearing it apart is all Tony needs to begin his apotheosis. After briefly learning that these repulsers jets in the armor's hands could make for good offensive attacks, Tony takes inspiration from that idea, as well as the rage he feels for the Ten Rings, to put on his finished suit and take action. Flying to Gullmira, Tony begins fighting every member of the Ten Rings currently there, destroying the weapons they have and implicitly killing them all for Tony's idea of justice. In physical combat, Tony proves he is a success as Iron Man but gets another test as he dodges jets that perceive him as a UFO, proving he became skilled at flying after all his practicing. Yet, after all that adventure, it is time for Tony to head home, beginning the final phase of the journey.

It is worth noting that Tony technically began his return after fleeing the Ten Rings' cave. The problem is that he has been refusing that return ever since he came back, Yinsen's last words undoubtedly repeating in Tony's head when he tells Pepper, "I shouldn't be alive unless for a reason." (Iron Man, 1:29:49-53). Yinsen was the kinder, braver man in the cave, sacrificing himself with only a rifle to give Tony more time. Meanwhile, Tony needed a hulking metal suit, fearing his safety without it. Tony believes he is the lesser man, yet he is the one who made it out alive. That knowledge and the guilt that comes with it drive Tony to make every decision made so far. It is also why he says, "I just finally know what I have to do. And, I know in my heart that it's right." (Iron Man, 1:29:57-1:30:07). He means every word of that, and it is why he is so dead set of arguing with Pepper about being Iron Man. She wants him to survive, and he does not want to waste his life. Unfortunately, one obstacle makes Tony's drive more strenuous to follow. As slowly revealed throughout the movie, Obadiah Stane had organized one long nefarious plot to steal back everything he believes belongs to him. Initially, he was the one who ordered the Ten Rings to kidnap Tony Stark, all for a ploy to earn back the company and get more money for selling weapons to the highest bidder for terrorists. Then he learns that Tony managed to build one of the most powerful bits of technology possible, all while, as Obadiah eloquently puts it, "in a cave! With a box of scraps!" (Iron Man, 1:35:34-38). Through his disillusionment that the same technology belongs to him, Obadiah takes part in his twisted idea of a magic fight. He steals the new arc reactor Tony made and then symbolically rips his heart out as Obadiah reveals that he orchestrated everything. With Obadiah being the closest one to a father that Tony has, this scene is extra tragic as Tony is physically and, in a way, emotionally stunned as Obadiah makes a big show of stealing the arc reactor for a new armor of his own. Thankfully, this is not the end for Tony. Through determination and will, he makes his way down to his lab to get back his old arc reactor, his original ultimate boon. With the new reactor in place and Tony suited up, it is time for Iron Man to go after Obadiah, who is now in his completed armor, officially transforming him into his Iron Monger counterpart in the comics. In the source material, the connection between Tony and Obadiah is not as personal as in the movie, as it is an original idea to assist the story. It is ideal assistance, for it helps Tony reach another stage in the hero's journey. By fighting Obadiah, Tony is getting atonement with the father, which does not necessarily mean reconciliation. Atonement with the father also applies if the hero overcomes a father-god, something Tony accomplishes as Iron Man in his fight against Obadiah as Iron Monger. While Iron Monger is bigger and stronger, Iron Man is faster, more maneuverable, and, more importantly, smarter. Tony's mind is what made Stark Industries rise higher than anything Obadiah ever could accomplish, so it makes sense that same intelligence gives Tony almost every advantage in the fight. He flies Obadiah too high up in the Earth's atmosphere to encounter the same icing problem Tony did, rips out an essential piece of equipment in Obadiah's suit, and uses flares to short out the Iron Monger's targeting system. However, his smartest key to victory comes when Tony finds rescue from without, as Tony orders Pepper to utilize the giant arc reactor in Stark Industries, the bigger version of his ultimate boon, that causes a massive power surge that effectively kills Obadiah. With Obadiah overcome and the atonement reached, Tony begins crossing the return threshold the next day, rehearsing his alibis for what happened and how he could not possibly be Iron Man. Tony is willing to go through with it, but a few factors prevent him from doing so, for they prove that Tony is not the master of two worlds. Tony has defeated the Iron Monger and built an incredible suit, thus confirming that he is not willing to waste his life. Unfortunately, the press would not acknowledge him as a hero and considers Iron Man the closest thing in that regard. By keeping his identity secret, Tony still has two worlds to deal with, which would undoubtedly give him problems with how to be a superhero and a business-running billionaire. So, to eradicate this problem and make Tony the master he must become, he says four iconic words that change his life forever. Those words are "I am Iron Man." (Iron Man, 1:57:12). He would eventually do the same thing in the comics in Iron Man, Volume three, issue number fifty-five. However, it is worth noting that the comic came out six years before the movie. So, while Tony revealing his identity to the press is not an invention of the adaptation, how early he does it in his career is. It took thirty-eight years plus several hundred issues of adventures before Tony announced he was Iron Man, and the movie skipped all of that to say that it was one of the first things he did. Because of that, most casual fans recognize Iron Man as the hero who revealed his secret identity, which he did not initially do as he once went to great lengths to keep a secret. It further proves that the movie version of Iron Man is a modern mythological hero, as one change is what people remember the most, even though it goes against the original idea. He did not even accomplish his hero's journey yet, and he still became a modern myth before getting the freedom to live in the film's post-credit scene. There, Tony meets Nick Fury, who begins to ask if Tony is interested in what he calls the Avengers Initiative, bringing Tony's journey to an end with a longer one just beginning.

Heroes change and evolve with every story, but the journies they go on forever remain the same. The Tony Stark in Iron Man is a memorable departure from his comic counterpart, reinventing the character in a way that is meaningful to many fans. The same applies to many heroes of myth, such as how the mighty Heracles often gets remembered as Hercules. Or Prometheus, the giver of fire, is known as the giver of life in some cases. Change is a part of life, affecting the stories told and how people look back on them for years to come. There will be many more tales and even more Iron Men to capture the hearts of millions. No matter how they change, it does not make the hero any less immortal, invincible, and as strong as iron.

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