By Joshua Christianson
Over eleven years ago Robert Downey Jr. became Iron Man in a film which many at the time believed would fail. Played by a star with substance abuse problems, a man who the studio didn’t want to hire, and telling the story of a guy in robot armor who many had never even heard of before, the movie was a huge risk… and it resulted in one of the most popular superhero movie franchises of all time. Eight billion dollars and twenty-two movies later (with more films on the way) it’s safe to say Iron Man has left a significant impact on our culture in many ways, and in the years to come many people’s first thought when they hear the word “Genius” will be of Tony Stark.
However, after 9 movies with the character does Iron Man really teach us anything about what it means to be a genius? From his first scene, Tony Stark is already a genius, billionaire, playboy, who seems to have never had to work at being smart or talented. Yet despite that, his life is never easy, and the challenges he faces in every movie paint a picture of what it means to pursue genius in life. His story can teach us how to do it too.
{Warning- spoilers ahead for all Iron Man, and Avengers Films, plus Spiderman: Homecoming}
The Responsibility of Genius
“ I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I had more to offer this world than just making things that blow up.”
In the first Iron Man, Tony Stark begins a lifelong struggle with the responsibility he must bear as a genius. Caught up in his playboy lifestyle, he sells weapons to the government with no thought for the consequences and blind to the way real people are dying thanks to his creations. Only a brush with death, kidnap, and the death of Yinsen, the man who saved his life, is enough to make him understand that everything he does has a consequence- and that he needs to do something about it. As Yinsen lays on the ground dying he admits to Tony that he never planned on making it out alive… his family is long dead, and he’s going to join him. His final words are a simple plea: “don’t waste your life.”
Never again is he able to live without the weight of his actions hanging over him, and it comes to define him. Although he takes revenge on the terrorists who stole his weapons and completely overhauls his company to stop selling weapons, his sense of responsibility won’t let him rest. He struggles with himself over and over again, working to do anything and everything he can to make his life worth it.
By Avengers he is actively working to bring affordable, clean energy to the world. With an effort, he even learns to work with others as a team to do more good and proves willing to give his own life to save others. In Avengers: Age of Ultron he tries to protect the world again by creating a legion of robot protectors (which of course goes poorly). With Captain America: Civil War he tries to fix his mistakes by helping create laws and oversight which keep him and other powerful people in check. When he finally faces Thanos in Infinity War he is the only person who anticipates the attack, having worked for years to improve his technique and save the earth. Finally, in Avengers: Endgame it is his inability to let go which drives him to create the technology needed to save half the universe, and which ultimately guides him to make the ultimate sacrifice.
We all have genius within us, and with it we need to learn what Tony did: that we have a responsibility to use it well. When we waste our potential or use it without thinking of others there are terrible consequences. To some degree maybe we all hide from genius because of the responsibility which comes with it, but as with Iron Man, there is no real way to escape it. To leave undone the good we could do means a darker world… And we all have a duty to make it brighter.
With that responsibility comes something else too, though… and I don’t mean great power. In part two of this series, we’ll look at the inevitable consequences are to Tony’s brilliance, and what it means for everyone striving to grow genius in themselves or others.