Line #98 YMMV/IronMan3


1	* AlternateAesopInterpretation: Tony [[spoiler:blowing up all his suits at the end]] is supposed to be viewed as his way of letting go of his role as Iron Man. However, it could also make a strong case for a QualityOverQuantity message where he decided to get rid of a bunch of mediocre suits in order to bring his focus back to making just a single great one.
2	* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
3	** While [[spoiler: Killian]] admits it's a flimsy excuse on their part to justify the assassination, exactly how responsible ''was'' the President in keeping oil barons out of prison after they caused a major oil spill? Especially seeing how, if anything, he actually seems surprised that [[spoiler:Killian]] ''doesn't'' care enough about the spill to want him dead.
4	** A popular theory about the Mandarin is that [[spoiler: Trevor Slattery was all just an act so he would get a reduced prison sentence, and that he used the mind control ring on Killian to have him say he's the real Mandarin]]. Of course, this was later {{Jossed}} in ''All Hail the King'', where it was revealed that [[spoiler: there is a real Mandarin who is upset that Slattery impersonated him]].
5	* BaseBreakingCharacter:
6	** Harley. Either he's an EnsembleDarkhorse whose chemistry with Tony Stark compliments the movie or is only there to pander to the kids. Though Tony's own apathetic and non-stereotypical treatment of him does make him more well-liked than most TagAlongKid characters, and he received (judging from audience reaction videos) instant recognition and a warm response at [[spoiler: Tony Stark's funeral]] years later despite Ty Simpkins having aged to the point where he barely looks like himself.
7	** [[spoiler:Trevor Slattery]] also gets this treatment -- he's either one of the funniest characters in the movie, or a disgrace to [[spoiler:the Mandarin's]] character. [[TakeAThirdOption Or both.]] With ''All Hail the King'', fans are a bit kinder to Trevor, knowing that [[spoiler: there actually ''is'' a real Mandarin, and he's not happy]].
8	*** [[spoiler: Trevor's return in ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' helped win over a few fans that were still on the fence about him, but just as many still hate him for being the reason behind the real Mandarin's RoguesGalleryTransplant from Iron Man.]]
9	** [[spoiler:Aldrich Killian]] is perhaps one of the most divisive characters, let alone villains, in the entire MCU. Some consider him a boring and derivative villain with an incredibly weak motivation, plus how he infamously [[spoiler: reveals that the Trevor Slattery "Mandarin" is a figment, and Killian himself is the BigBad.]] Inversely, there's some who believe he's one of the smartest, suavest takes on the "CorruptCorporateExecutive" type of villain that appears throughout the MCU, love TheReveal about the Mandarin and his role in it, and appreciate [[spoiler:Guy Pearce]]'s performance.
10	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment:
11	** Chinese audiences [[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/iron-man-3-china-scenes-450184 jeered]] at Creator/FanBingbing and Wang Xueqi's cameos in the Chinese-only cut of the film for being this on top of an EnforcedPlug.
12	** Killian breathing fire, since none of the other Extremis-enhanced people can do it, and he never uses it again in the film, even during the ending fight.
13	* BrokenBase: The movie could write books on how much it divided people, and is easily the most divisive film of the MCU thus far. Opinions tend to be very enthusiastic in either direction, with few in the middle.
14	** The Mandarin's RaceLift. People tend to either be understanding of it or refuse to watch the movie entirely because of it. [[spoiler: The latter crowd were somewhat mollified when they replaced Mandarin as a separate character with an actually Chinese actor for ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'']].
15	** The reveal in ''Film/AllHailTheKing'' of [[spoiler:the "real" Mandarin, who is a separate character from the two present in the film. Good that they're going with one closer to his comics incarnation or just a [[AuthorsSavingThrow sop thrown out to appease fans]] who are upset about the RaceLift?]]
16	** Related to [[spoiler:the Mandarin twist]], there is the question of whether or not the Mandarin should be depicted ''at all'' in an ''Iron Man'' movie: those who defend it argue that it wouldn't fit the realistic, tech-oriented tone and theme of the movies to suddenly introduce a villain as surreal as a YellowPeril [[TouchedByVorlons alien-powered]] EvilSorcerer. Meanwhile, those who disliked it tend to point out the "we need to keep it realistic" argument doesn't work anymore when [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse the universe these movies take place in]] is confirmed to have things such as [[Film/TheAvengers2012 aliens]], [[Film/{{Thor}} beings from Norse Mythology]] and [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014 a cyborg talking racoon with a rocket launcher]]. [[spoiler: This is later mollified when they later added him into the MCU.]]
17	** The fact that Tony doesn't spend much time "suited up", and vice versa (the Mark 42 and other suits get a lot of screentime without Tony actually inside). While some enjoyed seeing how badass Tony can be without the suit (especially when other MCU works like ''Series/Daredevil2015'' have notably done the same), others wanted to see Iron Man spend more time as, you know, ''Iron Man'' (and the suit as his armor rather than a remote-controlled robot or a JARVIS-piloted drone).
18	* CaptainObviousReveal: It's not particularly difficult for a viewer to guess that [[spoiler:Killian is the real BigBad of the movie, or at the very least TheHeavy for the Mandarin (and, for a sharper eyed viewer, it might also be clear that something is off with the whole "Mandarin" thing). The film spends a lot more screentime on Killian than Ben Kingsley's Mandarin, with the former being established as a villain fairly early on and shown having a connection to both Pepper and Tony's past. By contrast, the Mandarin doesn't actually get that much focus, and mostly just drops by in the middle of everything else that's going on to say he's committing acts of terrorism. By the time Trevor is unmasked, there's no real question who the real villain is.]]
19	* CompleteMonster:
20	** [[spoiler:[[CorruptCorporateExecutive Dr. Aldrich Killian]] is the CEO of [[Characters/{{MCUAIM}} A.I.M.]] and the creator of the Extremis compound. To perfect the compound, Killian preys on wounded combat veterans to experiment on, leading to several violently exploding. To cover up these failures, Killian turns these veterans into unwitting suicide bombers in public places, then blames the attacks and resulting deaths on the Ten Rings and an actor pretending to be the Mandarin. Desiring the [[Characters/MCUJamesRhodes War Machine]] armor, Killian's forces--as detailed in the film's ''Prelude'' comic--lure Rhodey to Hong Kong, where they almost release a virus and detonate a nuclear reactor in the city; Killian later secures the armor by capturing Rhodey and torturing him until the suit releases him. Along the way, Killian also murders his comrade Dr. Maya Hansen and forcibly injects Pepper Potts with Extremis, risking her detonation. Killian's master plan is to publicly assassinate President Ellis so the corrupt Vice President Rodriguez can take control, at which point Killian can [[WarForFunAndProfit propagate an endless War on Terror for limitless profits]], all because [[DisproportionateRetribution Tony Stark rejected his partnership offer back in 1999]].]]
21	** [[{{Novelization}} Junior Novel]], by Michael Siglain: [[spoiler:[[AdaptationalVillainy The Mandarin]] and [[Characters/{{MCUAIM}} Aldrich Killian]] are written as an equally-culpable duo of mastermind villains who want to control UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror. The Mandarin is a long-time terrorist who has plagued the world for years, while Killian is an EvilGenius so offended by [[Characters/MCUTonyStark Tony Stark]] rejecting his business proposal that he teams with the Mandarin to upstage Tony. Developing the highly-volatile injection Extremis, they [[PlayingWithSyringes test the Extremis]] on wounded sports stars and war veterans, keeping them unaware of the lethality of the concoction; the survival rate for the Extremis experiments is one in twelve, and one single instance results in 6 test subjects spontaneously exploding. The Mandarin and Killian take advantage of the faulty Extremis experiments to stage "terror attacks", regularly killing multiple people by tricking Extremis users into "going hot" and blowing themselves up. After wiping out an air base, taking several soldiers hostage, and torturing [[Characters/MCUJamesRhodes Rhodey]] to gain the Iron Patriot armor, the Mandarin and Killian initiate the final stage of their plan: to down Air Force One and kill everyone onboard, then burn the President alive on television to turn Christmas Day into a new 9/11. Killian also executes Maya Hansen when she tries to stop him, and threatens to inject Pepper Potts with Extremis while Tony watches. ]]
22	* ContestedSequel: Reactions towards this film are more divisive than any other film, let alone sequel, in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse (with the possible exception of ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron''). Half of the base is positive, thinking it's either a great film as good as or even [[EvenBetterSequel better than]] [[Film/IronMan1 the first installment]], with others in that half saying that it's a good movie despite [[ToughActToFollow not living up to the first one or The Avengers]]. The other half will either say it's a [[{{Sequelitis}} typical disappointing superhero threequel]] or will even claim it to be the absolute worst MCU film.
23	* CriticalDissonance: The film has a strong 80% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes but is much more polarizing among the fanbase.
24	* EpilepticTrees: There are theories that [[spoiler:Trevor was ''actually the real Mandarin'' all along and he was fooling and manipulating everyone, including Killian]] or that [[spoiler:the true Mandarin is neither Killian or Trevor and is still out there]]. Even Ben Kingsley himself thought the first theory was possible, according to the an IGN interview, but it was the latter theory which got confirmed as of ''All Hail The King''.
25	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
26	** Despite the Mandarin [[spoiler:causing controversy with the fans]], [[spoiler:Trevor Slattery himself is considered one of the funniest characters in the movie due to Creator/BenKingsley's [[http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the-best-worst-moments-of-iron-man-3-20130506?page=2#blogPostHeaderPanel brilliant performance]]]], with some even wanting him to appear in other MCU movies and [[https://twitter.com/Trevor_Slattery creating character blogs for him]]. Eventually he got his own short, ''Film/AllHailTheKing'', [[spoiler:and returned in ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'']].
27	** In another strange example, [[spoiler: the InUniverse character of the Mandarin]] is widely considered to be one of the [[EvilIsCool coolest]] and [[CreepyAwesome most menacing]] villains in the entire MCU, with some [[VillainHasAPoint chillingly accurate points to make]], and the fact that he [[spoiler: turned out to not be real]] is almost universally considered [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter a massive waste of untapped potential.]] A lot of fans [[FanonDiscontinuity refuse to acknowledge]] [[spoiler: his being fake]] and instead prefer the idea that [[spoiler:he's still out there somewhere, and Killian is just another one of his pawns.]]
28	** Maya Hansen is surprisingly popular on [[WebSite/{{Tumblr}} Tumblr]] and on Archive of our Own. Though it's not [[Main/TheWoobie hard to see why.]]
29	* EvilIsCool: The Mandarin. [[spoiler:Until the reveal, that is, but Trevor does seem to be going for this trope in-universe for his portrayal of "The Mandarin".]]
30	* {{Fanon}}: Most fans greatly prefer to believe that [[spoiler: "Trevor Slattery" is actually just another fake identity for the real Mandarin and he's [[TheManInFrontOfTheMan manipulating Killian to think he's in charge]]]], or that [[spoiler: he's just a body double used by the real Mandarin to throw off his trail, and he's out there somewhere.]] ''Film/AllHailTheKing'' confirms [[spoiler:neither. [[TakeAThirdOption Turns out there is actually a real Mandarin out there, but he's pissed that Killian and Slattery were trying to impersonate him.]]]]
31	* FanNickname
32	** Iron Man Mark XLII: "Mustard Man".
33	** Iron Man Mark XXXVIII "Igor": [[Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008 Hulkbuster]] or [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Terminator.]]
34	** War Machine/Iron Patriot: "[[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger Captain Machine: The Non-Avenger]]".
35	** The Iron Legion army: "[[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Unlimited Suit Works]]".
36	** Film: ''[[Film/TheDarkKnightRises The Iron Man Rises]]'' or ''The Stark Knight Rises'', due to the film's wider scope, grittier story-telling and more heartrending CharacterDevelopment.
37	** "Hot Pepper" - Pepper after [[spoiler:she manifests [[PlayingWithFire her Extremis powers]].]]
38	* GeniusBonus: Dr. Maya Hansen mentions that Wernher von Braun wanted to send human beings into outer space, but instead had to create the V-2 rockets. What they don't mention is that von Braun started working for UsefulNotes/{{NASA}} after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, and developed the Saturn V - the rocket that brought man to the moon. That being said, the subtext ''was'' that idealistic science only progresses through militarism before it can be used for good, since von Braun being forced to work for the Nazis was how his work was first brought to the attention of the Americans, who recruited him to work on the space-program after the War. The same way that [[spoiler:Maya's work on Extremis was ''meant'' to help amputees, but is now being used to create psychopathic super-soldiers. Maya clearly believes that the technology will eventually be perfected and used to benefit others as she had hoped.]]
39	* HarsherInHindsight:
40	** Maya being present in Tony's house when the Mandarin's attack takes place means that [[spoiler:Killian's [[TheDragon Dragon]] pretty much just tried to kill his head researcher -- and on his boss' orders. It's not 100% clear if Killian knew she was there at the time, but we could imagine some pretty harsh words being exchanged when Maya got back to HQ. Of course, he does shoot her later, implying that even if he did know she was there, he wouldn't have cared at all]].
41	** [[spoiler:The film ending with Tony eagerly planning his next big project. As ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' would show, his newest vision is going to do a lot more harm than good.]] Furthermore, Tony's line "We create our own demons" refers to [[spoiler:how his {{jerkass}} tendencies in the prologue toward Killian ultimately push the latter to villainy, and how he had a hand in the development of Extremsis.]] However, [[spoiler:this line will become much more literally true in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron''.]]
42	** Tony and Rhodey suggest that [[spoiler: Killian is planning to give the President a Viking funeral. Such a funeral is witnessed in the next MCU movie, ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'', and later Tony himself would receive one in ''Film/AvengersEndgame''.]]
43	** A common argument to defend this movie's take on the Mandarin and the changes compared to the source material was that comic book Mandarin was a YellowPeril villain making him too much of a caricature to be adapted nowadays. A few years later, [[Series/Daredevil2015 another MCU installment]] would actually get criticisms for giving this treatment to its Asian villains.
44	** The whole roll-out of Rhodey as the Iron Patriot (the War Machine armor given a patriotic makeover) is strongly implied by ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'' to have been the government's first attempt at having their own knockoff Captain America.
45	* HeartwarmingInHindsight:
46	** In an attempt to get Tony to take him with him on his adventures in this movie, Harley Keener tells Tony they have a connection between them. [[spoiler: Clearly, that connection was strong enough for him to come to Tony's funeral in ''Film/AvengersEndgame''.]]
47	** [[spoiler: While Bruce sleeping through Tony's story in TheStinger is both funny and sad, he is shown researching the actual Ten Rings weapon in ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'', with FridgeBrilliance suggesting he ''did'' remember some of what Tony confided in him.]]
48	* HesJustHiding: [[spoiler:Brandt and Savin. Tony's last line to the latter ''does'' sound like TemptingFate. Also, some believe Maya could be alive, too, due to the theory that she secretly injected herself with Extremis, even though the cut on her forehead was still there up to and after her death.]]
49	* HilariousInHindsight:
50	** The Mandarin's "You'll never see me coming." line becoming prophetic due to the [[spoiler:twist]]. And, of course, his advisors telling the people helping him with his messages not to look at or talk to him [[spoiler:are rather reminiscent of crew and extra strictures for his ''real'' profession]].
51	** Happy Hogan complains in this movie that people would laugh in his face when he revealed that he was Iron Man's bodyguard. 10 years later during the events of ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'', Happy claims to play a similar role towards the titular superhero, and ends up being taken completely seriously by everyone.
52	** The second suit Tony uses during the fight against [[spoiler:Killian]] looks so much like the Arkham Knight suit from ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'' that you'd be forgiven for forgetting that this came out first.
53	** This is the first time Creator/GuyPearce played an oddball billionaire who's got a revolutionary new technology for the hero of a superhero movie. ''Film/Bloodshot2020'' is the second. [[spoiler:They even share the twist that he's been the real villain the whole time.]]
54	** This movie showed Tony Stark losing his home, his robots, and nearly all the toys that made him Iron Man. He was also battling a whopping dose of PTSD from redirecting the nuclear missile. [[spoiler:Flash-forward to 2021, where the ''real'' Mandarin, a warlord named Wenwu, condescendingly says that the US and Iron Man were scared of a man "Named for an orange" in ''Film/ShangChiAndTheTenRings'']].
55	* IronWoobie: Tony, in every sense of the word. Special mention must be given to his anxiety attacks that Creator/RobertDowneyJr made look completely real.
56	* ItWasHisSled: The [[spoiler: twist of the Mandarin actually being a charlatan]] was a closely guarded secret in the lead up to the original release, but has since become so controversial and well known that it ended up as the single most remembered aspect of the entire film.
57	* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: The movie in itself is ''very'' different compared to the previous two, but some people have complained about the fact that, [[spoiler:Killian ended up essentially a rehash of everything we already had seen with the previous villains]].
58	* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt
59	** Yeah, like they're really gonna [[spoiler:kill off Pepper]].
60	** Yeah, like [[spoiler:Tony's really retired]] when the credits show otherwise.
61	* MemeticBystander: [[http://www.themarysue.com/iron-man-3-bunny/ The giant plush bunny]] amidst StuffBlowingUp when Eric Savin and the Ten Rings attack Tony's Malibu home.
62	* MemeticMutation:
63	** ''[[Film/TheDarkKnightRises The Iron Man Rises]]'', thanks to the DarkerAndEdgier tone of the first trailer.
64	** Mandarin's "Ladies, Children, Sheep" BadassBoast also became quite popular. Also, "they'll never see me coming."
65	** [[spoiler:The twist where the Mandarin is actually an actor named Trevor Slattery.]] It's been mocked back and forth and even inserted into other upcoming sequels.
66	** "I panicked, but then I handled it."
67	** The end credits sequence, which has been replicated by fans on Youtube for the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJKVWTvCb1A MCU in general]], as well as ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otGFlQOh3Vo Spider-Man 3]]'', ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8PR6PMftPs The Amazing Spider-Man 2]]'', ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kvm9Sg0EUg Game of Thrones]]'', ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-cmVmiNvjA Starcraft 2]]'', ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBTDNH0oYwo Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children]]'', ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU2yGZ4p8Cs Fate/Zero]]'', ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_cKeQI-j5c Doctor Who]]'', and, unsurprisingly given the similar music, ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgV--JIvbvY Hawaii Five-O]]'', among others.
68	* MoralEventHorizon: See [[MoralEventHorizon/MarvelCinematicUniverse here]].
69	* {{Narm}}: See [[Narm/MarvelCinematicUniverse here]].
70	* NarmCharm: The Mandarin's [[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent speech eccentricities]], while perhaps not on the same level as [[Film/TheDarkKnightRises Nolan!Bane]], may elicit a chuckle even as he's being menacing. [[spoiler:Kind of makes sense, in hindsight.]]
71	* NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognize: [[spoiler:Miguel Ferrer]], later revealed as a supporting villain.
72	* OneSceneWonder:
73	** Gary, the Iron Man-obsessed cameraman that Tony runs into.
74	** The one guard that has the sense to surrender to the frigging ''Iron Man''.
75	--->'''Guard:''' ''[surrendering]'' Honestly, I hate working here. They are '''so''' weird.
76	* OvershadowedByControversy: Even now, a decade after this film's release, the only thing most people remember about this movie is the infamous Mandarin twist.
77	* ReplacementScrappy: [[spoiler: Killian]] taking the spot of the BigBad from the [[spoiler: fake Mandarin]] halfway through the movie was not well received.
78	* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Rhodey was not particularly well-liked in previous films, either for being too whiny in ''Iron Man 1'' or too dour and unpleasant in ''Iron Man 2''. His demeanor in this film strikes a better balance of serious but affable, and he has a lot more scenes of friendly banter with Tony, winning over a lot of fans.
79	* RetroactiveRecognition: The Vice President's amputee daughter is played by a young Creator/JennaOrtega, a few years before first becoming known for ''Series/StuckInTheMiddle'' and almost a full decade before her breakout role as the title character in ''Series/{{Wednesday}}''.
80	* SignatureScene: Tony successfully saving the crew of Air Force One is easily the film's best loved scene.
81	* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: The movie may be divisive, but most fans and critics alike agree that it's a definite step-up from ''Film/IronMan2'', with a better-written screenplay, more effective action sequences, and a more clearly defined arc for Tony.
82	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks:
83	** The Mark XLVII having more yellow plating than red.
84	** The Mandarin not being Chinese. This was possibly not to piss off the Chinese, due to them being major sponsors of the film. A YellowPeril character also doesn't play well with modern audiences in general.
85	** Upon seeing the trailers and reading pre-release materials, a few people complained that the Mandarin wouldn't be Asian, not have the ten super-powered rings, and more resemble a shadowy behind-the-scenes villain than the character who could go toe-to-toe with Iron Man in the comics. After seeing the movie, [[spoiler:more people complained about Killian being the Mandarin]].
86	** Rhodey suddenly using ComicBook/NormanOsborn's Iron Patriot codename and armor raised quite a few eyebrows from fans, who saw it as an unnecessary replacement for his established War Machine identity. Tellingly, Rhodey is back to being War Machine by ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' and hasn't used "Iron Patriot" since.
87	* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: Some detractors believe that ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' did it better when it came to grittier storytelling and [[spoiler:having a fake ultimate villain as a twist]].
88	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
89	** [[spoiler:The appearance of Iron Man's greatest foe on the silver screen being reduced to being a washed-out actor angered many after TheReveal. While WordOfGod [[http://media.tumblr.com/454e00eebccd93142c1c6d80789c827b/tumblr_inline_mmu5rjPkxy1qz4rgp.jpg confirmed]] Killian to be the true MCU version of the Mandarin, many still feel he's far too different (having none of his powers, motivations or even ethnicity) from his comic book counterpart]]. Of course, [[spoiler:it probably doesn't help that the fake Mandarin was played by Creator/BenKingsley, a highly decorated actor, while the true one was played by Creator/GuyPearce -- who's also a good actor in his own right, but not the one fans were expecting]]. May be undone in the future, as ''All Hail the King'' reveals that [[spoiler:the Mandarin ''is'' a real person that simply hasn't appeared yet, and Killian was lying about being the Mandarin]].
90	*** Also, the filmmakers' insistence that the Mandarin is too much of a YellowPeril stereotype to actually try and update to be less offensive blatantly ignores the fact that previous comic writers (notably Creator/JohnByrne and Creator/WarrenEllis) ''have already done so'' in the comics, including in ''Extremis'', the storyline this movie claims to be adapting, making the Mandarin less of a Fu Manchu-type and more reminiscent of ComicBook/RasAlGhul. This makes the claims come off as the filmmakers just being lazy and not bothering to do their research on the source material, thus robbing fans of the opportunity to see Iron Man confront his arch-nemesis on the big screen.[[spoiler: Especially given Tony's death in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', meaning he will never get the chance to go up against [[Film/AllHailTheKing the real Mandarin]], forcing the latter to [[RoguesGalleryTransplant instead go up against]] ComicBook/ShangChi in ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings''. To put this in perspective for non-comic fans, this would be like if ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' ended without Batman ever encountering the Joker, and the latter insteads ends up fighting some obscure DC character.]]
91	** [[spoiler:Maya Hansen, the creator of Extremis, ends up being unceremoniously killed off. She also was originally intended to be the true BigBad of the movie, like she was in the comic, before half-way through production [[ExecutiveMeddling the producers decided the villain should be a man]] [[MerchandiseDriven to sell more toys]]. [[SarcasmMode Yeah, don't you remember all those Aldrich Killian toys they made? Those things were everywhere, sold like hotcakes, they did.]]]]
92	** The Mark 42 armor was designed to be made of individual pieces that join together and it replaces the classic red and gold design. Yet it wasn't made to look anything like [[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GI6ZGHVJIDk/TTS9n5HVVcI/AAAAAAAACUA/8ZBL_Si0Wzg/s1600/IRON+MAN+MODULAR+ARMOR.jpg the Modular Armor]]. Though, given [[FlawedPrototype how well it performs throughout the movie]], that could be seen as a good thing.
93	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
94	** Tony's panic attacks get a lot of build-up, but don't interfere with fights, especially the finale. Though it's implied that he gets over them in the middle of the movie, when he understands he doesn't need his suit to be Iron Man. [[Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron Later]] [[Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar installments]] [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar however]], do show that Tony isn't fully over his PTSD and in fact, his paranoia and fear drives much his character for the rest of the MCU.
95	** Extremis; in the comic, this was considered one of the best story arcs, and led to Iron Man getting an upgrade. The movie version is never used on Tony, instead used to give the villain and his goons superpowers. What really makes it a waste is how the film has all the set-up of the arc that leads to Tony's decision to make the upgrade: he's currently unable to sleep due to mental troubles, he's upgrading his suits but can't make them as pragmatic as he wants them, and he nearly gets demolished in a fight with Extremis-users to show how out-matched he is by them. [[spoiler:Instead, however, they resolve the arc by having Tony choose to actually get a ''downgrade'', which wastes the set-up they could have used for adapting the arc.]]
96	*** Not to mention Extremis' wide variety of abilities and effects from the comic is dumbed down to generic burning-stuff powers here.
97	** [[spoiler:Maya Hansen]] was originally intended as the real BigBad as in the original comic and the movie started filming with that twist in mind, only for the executives to half-way through production eventually decide on [[spoiler:Killian]].
98	** [[spoiler:A post-climax PlotTwist where Slattery revealed himself as the real Mandarin having outwitted all the freaking cast of the movie]] wold have been incredibly in-character for the comic book villain, and it was so intuitive that many people stayed for TheStinger only to see if it showed Trevor doing exactly that. However, even although Ben Kingsley himself believed it might have been the case even if it wasn't shown on the movie, it was later Jossed by the producers in favor of a real Mandarin, who it turns out won't even be played by Kingsley.
99	** On a related note, fans were excited to finally see Iron Man face his greatest foe on the big screen, aided by plenty of foreshadowing towards him in the previous two movies... only to have that cruelly ripped out from under them for the sake of a cheap twist. And now, with [[spoiler: Tony's death in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', we will now never see Iron Man, or at least Robert Downey Jr's beloved take on the character, face his archfoe in a major motion picture.]]
100	** Pepper is [[spoiler:kidnapped and empowered by Killian with pyrokinetic abilities.]] This could be a great opportunity to have her and Tony become a BattleCouple. Instead she's immediately depowered and the event is never brought up again, with Pepper sidelined more and more from the Marvel universe as a whole.
101	* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Multiple instances:
102	** [[http://www.cgsociety.org/index.php/CGSFeatures/CGSFeatureSpecial/iron_man_3 CGS details exactly all the work they did]], and on a shorter deadline to boot!
103	** Tony's home blown up and falling into the ocean looks ''amazing''. Special kudos to the people that managed to make the Mark 42 armor latch onto Tony Stark as he's climbing and doing rolls during the entire attack look almost flawless.
104	** As always, the armor's animation itself looks sleek and impressive. Take that up several notches [[spoiler:with an entire legion of Iron Man armors]] and you've got something that's beyond impressive.
105	** Credit also has to be given to the Extremis soldiers, whose organic glowing bodies are rendered just as well as the armors themselves.
106	** Even beyond all of that is the Air Force One sequence. The only CGI in that entire set piece was the plane itself, the compositing, and drawing in Iron Man over his stand-in actor. Everything else was done practically; real people jumping out of a real plane, grabbing each other in the air, and so forth. It all culminated in a massive zip-line rig, dropping each one into the water in sequence.
107	** The crowner though, would be the flawless CGI double created for RDJ, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI0Eqr1JWZA impossible to distinguish from the original]].
108	* TheWoobie: [[spoiler:Trevor Slattery. He had a very severe problem with alcohol and drugs - however, rather than helping him, Killian ''took advantage'' of this to manipulate the weak-minded Trevor into passing himself off as a terrorist mastermind, all while actually feeding his addiction by giving him more drugs and alcohol. Trevor's actually [[ObliviouslyEvil oblivious to the whole thing, and has no idea people are getting killed]]. Then, at the end, he's arrested for ''something he wasn't even aware that he was doing''. (Somewhat softened by that, while getting arrested, he ends up receiving the fame, publicity, and adoration he'd always sought, so his story ends on a somewhat happy note for him.) But then Trevor gets kicked around even more in ''All Hail the King'', undoing the above semi-happy ending, where his interviewer, actually a member of the Ten Rings, sends him off to be killed by the real Mandarin. So now the poor guy's ''getting killed'' (if not tortured before) ''by a highly dangerous terrorist mastermind'' just for things he didn't know were wrong. Of course, this might be more JerkassWoobie if you take the view that he probably ''did'' know what was up but was happy to pretend it wasn't happening -- plausible deniability for himself. And even if he didn't know that people were dying, he seemed to be aware that he was sending threatening terrorist messages to the President and that he was part of a criminal conspiracy, and as ''All Hail The King'' shows, sending threats to the President is something the Secret Service takes seriously and that's more than enough to land you in jail.]]
109	** Harley, a lonely, bullied young boy fending for himself in an old gas station, who wants to help Tony - who in turn brushes him aside - and is even held hostage by Eric Savin at one point. [[spoiler: Though in the end, Tony gives him several high tech pieces of equipment, including an advanced potato gun.]]
110	* WTHCostumingDepartment: There are ''very few'' people who like the Mark 42 suit. This is mostly down to the very bad colour balance and choice of gold used. The armor is now ''predominantly'' a very pale gold that looks tacky and even distracting, with minimal red. Thankfully, it's barely in the movie and ''every single one'' of Tony's suits after it are closer to the typical red and gold colour scheme and keep red as the primary colour.

Context YMMV / IronMan3