Iron Man was a huge hit in 2008, and with that came the release of Iron Man 2. Like any other superhero film it went on to spawn multiple sequels. It’s not easy deciding which one is best or what order should they be watched (refer back to our article about superheroes). Here are all five movies ranked from worst to first according to reviews aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
The “marvel movies in order of story” is a list that includes the Iron Man movies. The list has been updated to include all Marvel Studios films, including Ant-Man and Captain America: Civil War.
Since Robert Downey Jr. first portrayed Tony Stark in 2008’s Iron Man, the character’s popularity has skyrocketed, and it’s only natural that he’s become an integral part of the MCU. This makes even more sense given that the post-credits sequence from the original 2008 Iron Man movie was used to kick off the MCU.
In this page, we’ll provide you with a chronological list of all of the MCU’s Iron Man films, as well as a guide to each one and some other information.
Because the emphasis is on Iron Man, we’ll only mention his solo films rather than those in which he appears as a supporting character, cameo, or as part of a group. You may check out our whole MCU viewing order for a comprehensive list of all MCU movies in which Iron Man appears.
What Is the Total Number of Iron Man Films?
Three Iron Man solo movies have been released as of the time of writing this article. They are as follows:
- Iron Man is a fictional character created by Stan Lee (May 2, 2008)
- Iron Man 2 is a sequel to the film Iron Man (November 8, 2013)
- Iron Man 3 is the third installment of the Iron Man franchise (November 3, 2017)
Naturally, Iron Man has been in MCU films as well, including all four Avengers films, but we haven’t included them on this list since they aren’t standalone Iron Man films.
Order of the Iron Man Films
The list will contain all of the Iron Man films that have been released as part of the MCU so far. As previously stated, the list will only cover individual Iron Man films, excluding those in which Iron Man appeared as part of a group or was not the primary character. We’ll provide you some basic production information as well as a synopsis of each film’s narrative.
Iron Man is a fictional character created by Stan Lee (2008)
Jon Favreau is the director. Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway wrote the screenplay. Date of Publication: April 14, 2008
Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Terrence Howard (James Rhodes), Jeff Bridges (Obadiah Stane), Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts), and Jon Favreau star in the film (Happy Hogan)
Tony Stark, a rich playboy, is not only the heir of his father’s armaments manufacturing (Stark Industries), but also a brilliant inventor. He gets abducted by militants from the “Ten Rings” gang while traveling in Afghanistan to exhibit his newest development, the Jericho missile.
He only survives the onslaught thanks to the assistance of a scientist, Professor Yinsen, who grafts an electromagnet driven by a car battery to his chest to keep shards of fire shells from reaching his heart. Instead of succumbing to the terrorists’ threats to have him replicate his missile, he builds a miniaturized reactor dubbed the “ARK reactor” to replace the vehicle batteries and a main armor in complete secrecy.
Stark survives thanks to it and Yinsen’s sacrifice, but his armor disintegrates in the process. Deeply affected by his three-month confinement, Tony chooses to halt weapon manufacture at Stark Industries, causing concern among stockholders and resentment among his mentor Obadiah Stane, his father Howard’s ally and successor.
In two months, Tony Stark begins work on a new and considerably more advanced armor, complete with a new reactor, to put a halt to the Ten Rings’ activity. He is successful in destroying a substantial portion of the terrorists’ equipment, but he realizes that these weapons are Stark Industries goods.
He asks his employee Pepper Potts to spy on Stane because he is worried and suspicious of him, and they uncover that he is working with the Ten Rings. Meanwhile, Stane kills the Ten Rings’ commander and gathers the first armor’s fragments in order to update it. He builds a trap for Tony Stark to steal his new reactor since he can’t duplicate it.
Agent Coulson’s S.H.I.E.L.D. squad arrives too late to stop Stane from donning and activating his armor. Tony Stark re-equips his first ARK reactor with the help of his buddy, Air Force Lt. Col. James Rhodes, and departs to apprehend Stane.
The two men fight, but the ARK reactor isn’t strong enough to stand up to Stane’s. Pepper Potts detonates the ARK reactor at Stark Factory just as the latter is about to finish Stark. Tony is unharmed by the energy spill, but Stane’s armor is deactivated, and he dies instantaneously.
The following day, instead of adhering to the version of the narrative presented by S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony Stark discloses to journalists that he is “Iron Man” (a moniker given by the press to the strange man in armor) during a press conference designed to pass off the events of the day before as an accident.
Tony Stark returns home in the post-credits sequence and encounters a stranger. “I am Iron Man,” the latter told him. Do you believe you’re the world’s lone superhero? Mr. Stark, you’ve become a part of something larger. You simply aren’t aware of it yet.”
Nick Fury, head of S.H.I.E.L.D., introduces himself and says he’s come to speak to him about “the Avengers Initiative project.” Nick Fury makes a pointed allusion to the X-Men and Spider-Man in an alternative version of the post-credits sequence published in 2019.
Iron Man 2 is a sequel to the film Iron Man (2010)
Jon Favreau is the director. Justin Theroux wrote the screenplay. Date of Publication: April 26, 2010
Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts), Don Cheadle (James Rhodes / War Machine), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow), Sam Rockwell (Justin Hammer), Mickey Rourke (Ivan Vanko / Whiplash), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Jon Favreau (Ivan Vanko / Whiplash), Jon (Happy Hogan)
On the point of death in Moscow, Anton Vanko turns over the design of the Arc Reactor to his son Ivan, which he co-invented with Howard Stark. As a result, Ivan proceeds to construct a reactor comparable to Tony Stark’s and plots his vengeance on him.
Meanwhile, Tony opens the Stark Expo, a massive display where the greatest men in the world will gather to share their knowledge and resources. Meanwhile, the inventor keeps everyone in the dark about his impending death, which is caused by the palladium that powers the Arc Reactor in his chest poisoning his blood.
There is no other known chemical element capable of powering the reactor, according to J.A.R.V.I.S. computations. Tony appoints Secretary Pepper Potts as CEO of Stark Industries, realizing the seriousness of the issue. Tony, Pepper, and Pepper’s new assistant, Natalie Rushman, visit the Principality of Monaco to attend a motor race.
There, Tony meets Justin Hammer, the owner of Hammer Industries, a Stark Industries competitor.
Tony chooses to compete in the race with a vehicle belonging to his team. The race, however, is disrupted by Ivan Vanko, who enters the circuit disguised as a steward and strikes Tony’s vehicle with strong electric whips powered by the Arc Reactor he developed. Tony’s bodyguards, Pepper and Happy Hogan, enter the circuit to give his new armor to Iron Man.
Tony manages to hurt and arrest Vanko while wearing it. In jail, Tony encounters Vanko, who predicts a horrible end for the inventor. Back at home, Tony learns that Ivan is the son of Anton Vanko, a scientist who worked on the Arc Reactor alongside his father. Vanko, on the other hand, regarded this endeavor as a chance to make money, and as a result, he was deported to the Soviet Union by Stark himself.
After breaking Vanko out of jail, Justin Hammer persuades him to help create new armor for him. Meanwhile, Tony’s health deteriorates, and during what may be his last birthday celebration, he becomes inebriated while dressed in his own armor.
Tony’s best friend, James “Rhodey” Rhodes, is enraged by his reckless behavior: while wearing armor, Rhodey fights Tony, only to flee by handing over the armor to the army, which is upgraded by Justin Hammer in preparation for a presentation at Stark Expo, alongside the new army created by Ivan Vanko, who persuaded Hammer to focus on combat drones.
Meanwhile, Tony meets Nick Fury, who, after revealing that Natalie Rushman is really agent Natasha Romanoff, presents Tony with old notes and Howard Stark film, which help Tony find a new element that, once introduced into the reactor, totally purifies his blood, saving his life.
Tony travels in his new armor to Stark Expo, where Hammer is showing his new drones, as well as Rhodey’s power armor, after getting a call from Ivan Vanko. Vanko takes control of Rhodey’s armor and drones from afar.
Tony is forced to battle his closest friend until Agent Romanoff and Happy arrive at the Hammer Industries plant, where Vanko is forced to flee. Romanoff is able to open Rhodey’s armor, and he and Tony are able to remove all of the drones. They are then joined by Vanko, who, wearing an armor and wielding two electric whips, assaults them, putting them in peril.
Tony and Rhodey work together to defeat Vanko, who detonates the drones before dying; Tony rescues Pepper just in time, with whom he shares a kiss. In the meanwhile, Justin Hammer has been detained.
After the battle, Fury informs Tony that he is now regarded insufficient for the Avengers Initiative, but that he may still serve as a consultant. Tony and Rhodey are given a medal for their bravery. Agent Coulson then informs Nick Fury that he has discovered Thor’s hammer in the center of a crater in the desert.
Iron Man 3 is the third installment of the Iron Man franchise (2013)
Shane Black is the director. Shane Black and Drew Pearce wrote the screenplay. The movie will be released on April 14, 2013.
Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark / Iron Man), Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts), Don Cheadle (James Rhodes / War Machine), Guy Pearce (Aldrich Killian), Jon Favreau (Happy Hogan), Ben Kingsley (Ben Kingsley / Ben Kingsley / Ben Kingsley / Ben Kingsley / Ben Kingsley / Ben Kingsley / Ben Kingsley / Ben Kingsley / (Trevor Slattery)
Tony Stark recalls the New Year’s Eve celebrations in Bern in the year 2000. He arrogantly ignores scientist Aldrich Killian and spends the night with Maya Hansen, a researcher. Killian wishes he had collaborated with him to expand Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM).
Hansen informs him about Extremis, a self-regenerating gene on which she is researching. The gene, however, is unstable, and the plant that has been exposed to Extremis bursts. Tony furiously set out to create a lot of Iron Man armor during his restless nights in December 2012, following the war against the Chitauris, at his estate in Malibu.
Pepper Potts, his fiancée and the head of Stark Industries, is irritated by his relentlessness, as he sees his partner enjoying comfort and security only when wearing armor.
A series of bombs claimed by the Mandarin, a British terrorist with a strong interest in Chinese culture, leaves the US government impotent, so James Rhodes, dressed in the famed War Machine armor Iron Patriot, is tasked with tracking down the criminal.
When Happy Hogan, the security head of Stark Industries, is a victim of one of these assaults, Stark uses the media to confront the Mandarin. The terrorists retaliate quickly, and the Stark mansion is destroyed by chopper fire. Potts and Hansen (who had arrived at the scene in the interim) are saved by the armor that Stark places on Pepper for a limited period of time.
Stark attempts to escape after recovering it and ensuring Pepper’s safety, but he loses consciousness in the armor, and J.A.R.V.I.S. (Tony’s virtual assistant) sends him to Tennessee due to a “misunderstanding.” The armor is unable to return to California due to a shortage of energy, putting the billionaire’s death in jeopardy.
Stark explores the scene of one of the Mandarin’s explosions with the aid of Harley, a ten-year-old youngster. He instantly learned about the Extremis program, an experimental procedure targeted at healing those who have been mutilated.
The serum, which Killian created based on Hansen’s study, is unstable, and patients whose systems are unable to take it experience an increase in body temperature before bursting. These failures are hidden in order to deceive the public into believing in terrorist strikes.
Ellen Brandt and Eric Savin, two Mandarin operatives with Extremis powers, assault Stark, but he escapes unharmed. He locates the Mandarin in Miami, thanks to Harley, and prepares his invasion into the terrorist’s premises by fabricating different weapons.
Once in Miami, he realizes that the man who calls himself the Mandarin is really Trevor Slattery, a heroin addict who is completely unaware of the part he is performing. After appropriating Hansen’s research to repair mutilations, Killian invented the Mandarin persona.
Killian kidnaps Stark and explains to him that he has kidnapped Pepper and is injecting him with the Extremis therapy to compel him to aid him with his research. By threatening to murder himself, Hansen is going to compel Killian to release Stark. Killian then shoots Hansen because he believes she is no longer useful since that Stark can replace her.
At the same time, Killian was able to deceive the US authorities and kidnap Rhodes in order to steal the Iron Patriot armor. Stark, on the other hand, manages to flee by calling his armor from Harley’s hut and joining Rhodes in an attempt to defend President Ellis, who is onboard Air Force One.
Stark saves the passengers and crew of the airliner attacked by Savin outfitted with Iron Patriot by manipulating his armor from a distance, but he arrives too late to prevent Killian’s capture of the president. They are discovered by Stark and Rhodes on an abandoned oil rig, where Killian is preparing to murder Ellis live on television.
In return for the Extremis therapy mending his wounded newborn daughter, Vice President Rodriguez would rise to power and receive instructions from Killian. The Iron Legion, the Iron Man armor developed by Stark and commanded by JARVIS, joins Stark and Rhodes. They ambush Killian’s men, but Rhodes saves the president and transports him to safety.
Pepper is saved by Stark, but she falls 60 meters and vanishes in flames. Subsequently Stark approaches Killian, trapping him in Iron Man armor, which he then detonates. Pepper finds a repulsor from lost armor and finishes out Killian, owing to the Extremis therapy.
JARVIS is then asked by Stark to destroy all of the armor so that they may enjoy Christmas and be forgiven by Potts. Pepper will have the procedure deactivated, and Stark will no longer need the small ARK reactor implanted in his chest. He then tosses the thing into the river, confident in the fact that he is and will always be Iron Man.
Is it necessary to see the Iron Man films in order?
If you want to follow Iron Man’s particular journey in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you should absolutely see the movies in sequence. The movies have been released in the correct chronological sequence, so all you have to do now is keep track of the release dates. This is the only way to view each of the MCU’s Iron Man films properly.
Are There Any More Iron Man Films in the Works?
With Tony Stark, the eponymous character, dead as of Avengers: Endgame, there aren’t likely to be any more Iron Man films in the foreseeable future. The series might include a prologue (which seems doubtful at the present) or continue with the Iron Man identity with a new character, but given Tony Stark’s importance, we don’t think it’ll happen anytime soon.
The “mcu timeline” is a list of all the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. It also includes release dates, cast members, and plot summaries. The “Iron Man Movies In Order: Tony Stark Movie Guide” will show you in order how to watch each Iron Man movie.
Frequently Asked Questions
What order do I watch Iron Man in?
A: Iron Man is a movie that features many easter eggs and has multiple sequels, but the order of viewing is not going to be too important.
What are the 23 Avengers movies?
A: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Captain America: Civil War (3), Avengers: Infinity War (4), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2)
What Iron Man movie does Tony and Pepper get together?
A: Tony and Pepper must have been from a different movie. They get together in Iron Man 3, the third Iron Man film to be released.
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