It’s going to be a big comics-related summer, what with Man of Steel and Star Trek: Into Darkness filling out the season in local theaters. But the first movie based on a comics superhero will be Iron Man 3, and it will zoom into your neighborhood on Friday, May 3.
The Fandango movie ticket website has announced that tickets for the first “Phase Two” Marvel Studios film are now on sale through their site. Not only can you see Iron Man 3, but you can go to an Iron Man movie marathon on May 2 prior to the movie’s midnight showing. You’ll enjoy Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and The Avengers as part of that special event. (The site recommends you buy your tickets as far in advance as possible!)
You can also buy four limited edition gift cards from the site as well – one with Iron Man, another with Pepper Potts, then Iron Patriot and a final one with the Mandarin.
In related news, the same site has announced that a poll asked 4,000 movie fans which film was the most anticipated summer movie of 2013. The answer: Iron Man 3. (The rest of the top five were Star Trek Into Darkness, The Great Gatsby, Fast & Furious 6, and the Hangover 3 – no sign of Man of Steel!)
In another poll, the site asked fans what was their favorite summer action film of the last 30 years. The Avengers placed first, with Pirates of the Caribbean, The Dark Knight Rises, Jurassic Park and The Bourne Identity following it.
All this shows that Marvel Studios is doing an excellent job of promoting their products, at least among Fandango users … much better than Warner Bros. is, apparently!
When the first Iron Man film appeared, a lot of long-time fans were unhappy that the villain was NOT the Mandarin. Well, political correctness had won that day, with Marvel Studios opting not to have an Oriental villain so that people wouldn’t think all people of that race are evil, cruel, destructive, maniacal villains. (Would anyone actually have thought the Mandarin represented all people of that race? Not me!) Ben Kingsley is a good choice to take on the role, I think.
Personally, I didn’t care for Iron Man 2 since it reminded me of The Dark Knight Returns comics by Frank Miller. Hey, Tony Stark was a race-car driver, was drinking heavily … . Also, I didn’t like that it had a very low-level baddie in Whiplash. He didn’t do all that much for me. On the other hand, the Mandarin piques my interest!
Robert Downey Jr. owes his revived career to Iron Man since his playing Tony Stark has brought the actor back into the spotlight. Sometimes, though, I wonder if he’s playing himself as Tony Stark, but that’s just me, I guess.
While I’ll see Iron Man 3 in the theater, I’m not nearly as likely to attend the marathon before it. Will you go? Based on Marvel’s success with this tactic prior to their previous films, I’d wager many of you will take in the marathon as well as the new movie!
Also, Marvel’s producing a lot of Iron Man-based comics to benefit from the film. In fact, several unrelated titles are going to have covers featuring the Armored Avenger on them, never mind the issues that include him. How many people buy them will be something I’ll be interested in learning!
So, get ready to buy lots of comics and attend movies based on comics characters! It’ll be a summer to remember!
