Iron Man 3 (Earth-11584)

Iron Man 3 is a 2013 film set within the Earth-11584 continuity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is the second sequel to 2008's Iron Man and the third film in that franchise. It is also the first film in Phase 2 of the MCU and the 8th film overall. Shane Black replaced Jon Favreau as director for the film, though Favreau reprises his role as Happy Hogan and acted as an executive producer for the film. Robert Downey Jr. also returns to star. The film was a financial success, earning more than a billion dollars at the worldwide box office.

Plot Summary
Following the events of The Avengers, Tony Stark has been dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from his near death experience during the Battle of New York. He has taken to building numerous Iron Man suits at the expense of his relationship with his girlfriend, Pepper Potts. Meanwhile Lt. Col James Rhodes has become an official defense weapon for the US Secret Service, assigned to the President in the Iron Patriot suit.

At a meet and greet honoring first responders affected by the Battle of New York, Stark has a panic attack and flashback in public. He is approached by a woman named Maya Hansen, who says that she has a great concern with a biological weapon known as Extremis. Stark is reticent at first, but eventually agrees to look into the matter. At the same time, a new industrial developer called Williams Innovations, led by its CEO Simon Williams, has become a major player in technological development. Stark recognizes Williams as the son of a man his father put out of business, and eventually he tries to reach out to Simon, but is rebuffed. While out to dinner with Pepper, he again suffers a panic attack which, combined with a freak accident involving his chest plate, causes him to go into cardiac arrest.

Recovering from the incident, Pepper implores Tony to undergo surgery to remove the shrapnel that is attempting to worm its way to his heart. Tony admits that the medical technology to undergo such a procedure has been available for some time now, but he refuses to do it on account of the fact that it might mean giving up being Iron Man. After a long discussion, Pepper says she doesn't know if she can be with Tony if he is constantly putting himself at risk like this. Tony eventually agrees to look into the matter further.

While recovering, Tony finds that many of Williams' technological innovations, particularly in medical science, appear to be similar in nature to Maya Hansen's Extremis formula. He investigates further and finds that Williams has in fact stolen Extremis and is using human testing trials to work out the kinks at creating a new Super Soldier Serum, although in a very crude form given that Extremis in its current form has random effects on certain people. He goes public with this knowledge, which causes Williams' stock price to plummet. The next day, however, Tony is attacked by helicopters at his Malibu estate. He and Pepper manage to get out, but Happy is severely wounded in the process, and most of the Iron Man suits are destroyed. Tony and Pepper go underground, looking for evidence that Simon Williams was behind the attack.

After coming to an understanding between themselves, Tony and Pepper rebuild an Iron Man suit and go after Simon Williams. They find that Williams' wasn't the one behind the attack, but rather he was working for the group that had funded his company's sudden resurgence, AIM, which had been hiding in the shadows for a number of years. Stark manages to learn of this, but his suit is disabled by Williams, who has taken a version of the Extremis virus which allows him to control ambient Ionic Energy within the Earth's Atmosphere. In addition, AIM has used the resources and connections of Williams Innovations to get close to Air Force One and take control of the Iron Patriot suit remotely. Unable to control his actions, Col. Rhodes nearly kills the President, which would install Vice President St. John (an AIM patsy) in the Presidency and allow AIM to profit off an International Terrorist Arms Race they could cook up. Stark appeals to Williams' better humanity, speaking about how life is always worth living and to cherish every moment, not crave vengeance for himself. It eventually sinks into Williams, who turns on AIM. The head of AIM reveals himself as a mechanized version of Doctor Arnim Zola. Zola says after the war he was granted amnesty by working with SHIELD, but founded AIM in order to continue the work of HYDRA. In 1972, with cancer ravaging his body, he downloaded his consciousness first into a man named George, and then into this biomechanical being. Calling himself a Mobile Organism Only Designed for Conquest. Zola has been running AIM ever since. Williams' uses his new powers to fight MODOC, but the Extremis process was inefficient and he can't hold his form together any longer, disappating into the air. Iron Patriot shows up, and Tony manages to get enough of his suit working to take on MODOC, who is seemingly destroyed in an explosion in front of the world.

In a post-logue, Maya Hansen reveals that she began working on Extremis as a possible cure for Tony's chestplate problems, among other things, by using some kind of previously unknown gas discovered in the Antarctic, and that she would continue to work on it. Vice President Randall St. John Eventually Tony agrees to undergo the procedure to remove his shrapnel, recommits himself to Pepper by proposing to her on New Year's Eve, and Col. Rhodes retires from the Air Force to become a freelance hero named War Machine. At the end of the day, Tony declares to the world that, even despite the difficulties he has to come to grips with, there's nothing that will ever change, that "I am Iron Man."

Post-Credits Scene
In a Post-Credits Scene, we see Simon Williams slowly reconstituted into himself, his body merely readjusting to its new density from the overuse of Ionic Energy. When he comes too he sees Leila Davis in front of him, saying that she has a way for Williams to put his genius and his powers to good use going forward.

In a second post credit scene, we learn that Tony Stark, who has been narrating much of the film, is acutally talking to Bruce Banner in Avengers Tower. Banner nods off at some point "around dreams about New York." When Stark complains, Banner simply replies he's not that kind of doctor.

Synopsis/Script
Coming Soon...

Cast List
In addition, Jon Favreau reprises his role as Happy Hogan, and Maggie Q reprises her role as Leila Davis in a Post-Credits Scene. Mark Ruffalo cameos as Bruce Banner in another post-credits scene. Stan Lee has a cameo role as a patron at a restaraunt where Tony Stark nearly goes into cardiac arrest, saying "I hope he didn't order the Swordfish Steak like I did!"
 * Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man- A self-professed genius, playboy, billionaire philanthropist who fights terrorist threats using armored suits of his own design. Tony deals with PTSD throughout much of the film as a result of a near-death experience in The Avengers.
 * Gwyneth Paltrow as Virginia "Pepper" Potts- CEO of Stark Industries and the girlfriend of Tony Stark, who eventually becomes Stark's fiance by the end of the film.
 * Don Cheadle as Col. James Rhodes/Iron Patriot- An Air Force Colonel who has been assigned to protect the President by the US Secret Service in a specially built Iron Man suit.
 * Nathan Fillion as Simon Williams- The CEO and owner of Williams Innovations who injects himself with an experimental drug called Extremis which provides extraordinary healing properties, but also can cause random mutations in some people. Williams gains the power to convert his body to Ionic Energy through his use of Extremis.
 * Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen- The geneticist who created Extremis through research into a previously unknown gaseous compound found in Antarctica.
 * Toby Jones as Arnim Zola/MODOC- The founder of Advanced Idea Mechanics, which bankrolled Williams Innovations and plans to kidnap the President in order to install their own man as President and make a new Arms Race begin to get rich.
 * William Sadler as President Matthew Ellis- The newly elected President of the United States, who is seeking peace talks with other nations in the wake of the recent alien attack on New York.
 * Miguel Ferrer as Vice President Henry St. John- The newly elected Vice President of the United States, secretly a stake holder in AIM.

Critical Reception
Iron Man 3 received good to favorable reviews upon its release, earning an 80% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average review score of 7 out of 10 based on 300 reviews. The website's critical consensus says "With the help of its charismatic lead, some impressive action sequences, and even a few surprises, Iron Man 3 is a witty, entertaining adventure and a strong addition to the Marvel canon." Critics appreciated the slices of Shane Black's darker humor in the film, as well as the performance of Nathan Fillion as Simon Williams, but criticized the heavy focus on the Tony Stark/Pepper Potts relationship in the film's second act.

Box Office
The film grossed $174.1 million dollars on its opening weekend, making it the second highest opening gross ever at the time (behind only The Avengers.) The film also managed to set an opening weekend record at IMAX screens, netting 28.5 million worldwide. It's final domestic box office take was $409 million dollars, with a worldwide total of $1.215 billion, outgrossing both Iron Man and Iron Man 2 combined.