Iron Man 3 Drawing Comparisons To The Dark Knight Rises

With the first Iron Man 3 trailer being officially released, many are noting apparent similarities between Iron Man 3 and another recent summer blockbuster. The Iron Man 3 trailer is noticeable absent of Tony Stark’s sharp wit and sense of humor. There is a decidedly more dark and grim tone to the trailer, which reminds many of the tone of The Dark Knight Rises.However, the similarities between Iron Man 3 and The Dark Knight Rises go far beyond just the dark tone of both movies. In Iron Man 3, it appears as if The Mandarin specifically sets out to break Iron Man, just like Bane broke Batman. In Iron Man 3, there is a close-up scene with a battered and bruised Tony Stark flat on his back, just like there is a battered and bruised Bruce Wayne flat on his back in The Dark Knight Rises. The image of a broken mask is also used in both Iron Man 3 and The Dark Knight Rises to further convey the message of a broken hero.