Without the success of the Iron Man films, the Marvel Cinematic Universe couldn't exist. It's staggering to think about but there was a time when Marvel wasn't a blockbuster powerhouse. After the big comic collapse of the late '90s, Marvel sold the movie rights to their more heroes to keep the lights on.
Enter Iron Man. By the mid-2000s, superhero movies were doing big business. Spider-Man had broken just about every theatrical record at the time for Sony Pictures and the X-Men movies were heavy hitters for Fox. So Marvel wanted in on their own game. So they decided to rally the heroes they had left and do something no one had ever done before: build a shared superhero universe onscreen. Iron Man was the first Marvel Studios movie, the one it was all riding on.
We wanted to take a look back at the series that started it all. Iron Man started the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man 2 began laying Easter eggs by the dozen, and Iron Man 3 is still the biggest solo superhero film of all time. We decided to dig up some facts about the franchise you may not know. These are the best fun facts and behind the scenes trivia from the Iron Man franchise. Vote up your favorite Iron Man facts below!
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Ralphie From A Christmas Story Produced Iron Man
In Iron Man 3, Tony Stark is signing autographs for a couple kids and mentions one of them looks like Ralphie from A Christmas Story. Ralphie was played by Peter Billingsley, who was actually an executive producer on the first Iron Man. Billingsley even had a cameo as a scientist berated by Obadiah Stane.
Source: Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Avengers Led to a Much Larger Budget for Iron Man 3
Iron Man 3 was originally budgeted at a in-no-means-meager $140 million. After the insane success of The Avengers, Marvel knew that had to up the ante on Tony Stark's next adventure, so the studio increased the budget to a cool $200 million.
It went on to make over $1.2 billion. Guess it paid off.
Source: Marvel Movie Wikia
Howard Hughes Inspired Tony Stark
Stan Lee credits Howard Hughes as his inspiration for billionaire-playboy-philanthropist Tony Stark. Stan Lee described Hughes as "one of the most colorful men of our time. He was an inventor, an adventurer, a multi-billionaire, a ladies' man and finally a nutcase." Sounds about right.
Source: Las Vegas Review Journal
Iron Man Was the Last Movie for Legendary Effects Artist Stan Winston
The three different sets Iron Man’s armor were designed by Adi Granov, a comic book artist from the “Iron Man” comic, and Phil Saunders. They were then constructed by the very best in the business, Stan Winston Studios. It would be the last film that Stan Winston (Terminator, Jurassic Park) himself would oversee before his death in 2008.
Source: Stan Winston Studios
Robert Downey Jr. Looks Out For His Friends
It was a rocky road getting RDJ cast in Iron Man, but after that insane success he didn't forget who helped get him there. He recommended his friend Justin Theroux write Iron Man 2 after working together on Tropic Thunder. He helped Shane Black secure the director's chair on Iron Man 3 after working together on Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. He even publicly tried to get his friend Mel Gibson to direct in the Marvel Universe.
Source: Marvel Wikia
Combined, the Three Movies Made Over $2 Billion at the Box Office
The Iron Man films have always brought in the big bucks. The first movie's success was a huge surprise to everyone, and since then, each subsequent installment has been an even bigger hit.
The first film is the 111th highest grossing worldwide movie of all time (this may not sound impressive but this was the first film from an unknown studio with a down-on-his-luck actor starring as a then-obscure hero), making $585.2 million. The second is the 95th worldwide grossing film with 623.9 million, and the third got a big boost from The Avengers, coming as the 9th highest grossing movie worldwide with over $1.2 billion.
Source: Box Office Mojo
Agent Coulson Was Initially a Much Smaller Part
Clark Gregg's Agent Phil Caulson, was originally a much smaller part. In fact the character was only called 'Agent' at first. But as filming went on and it became more and more apparent that due to Clark Gregg's chemistry with all the other actors they should add more scenes. Now he stars on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Source: IMDb
Extras Were Told That the "I Am Iron Man" Line Was Part of a Dream Sequence
In the age of the Internet, how did the filmmakers get away with the iconic "I am Iron Man" press conference scene with all those extras, all of whom could have spilled the beans? Simple, they told everyone involved it was a dream sequence.
Source: Movie Pilot
Iron Man Used the Paparazzi to Its Benefit
Near the end of the first film, just before the final press conference, Tony Stark is reading a newspaper with a grainy amateur photograph of Iron Man on the front page. This exact picture is actually part of a video, shot by paparazzi early in production. After the photos hit the Internet in 2007, the filmmakers took the image for themselves and used it in the film.
Source: IMDb
An Easter Egg Connects the Mandarin to the First Iron Man
The pinkie ring Trevor Slattery/Mandarin wears throughout Iron Man 3 is the very same one Raza (the terrorist from the first film) wears, Originally, Mandarin was meant to be the big bad not the more conceptual villain he eventually became in the third film.
Source: Marvel Movies Wikia