Here’s Why the ‘Iron Man’ Cave Scene Was Difficult for Marvel Studios

For prop master Russell Bobbitt, creating iconic props is a full-time job. The property master has had his hand in creating props for classics from Hocus Pocus to Bram Stoker’s Dracula to Star Trek (2009). Since 2008, however, Bobbitt has been the one in charge of all Marvel Studios props.

Captain America’s shield? Bobbitt had a hand in helping make the iconic shield we’ve seen on the silver screen. Mjolnir? Yes, Bobbitt help make that too. To date, his credits include most Marvel Cinematic Universe movies including the Iron Man trilogy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, and the upcoming Avengers 4 flick.

With so many challenging props to make, Bobbitt recently spoke with IMDb to discuss the toughest prop he’s ever had to make.

“The most challenging scene I’ve worked on is the cave scene in Iron Man where Robert Downey Jr. had to create his first arc reactor,” Bobbitt revealed. “And so I taught him how wiring works and he soldered and we had these extreme close-up shots and it really defined Iron Man in that moment.”

Even though some of the props Bobbitt helps create might seem mundane at the time, the props might grow as a franchise moves along. Take Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet, for example.

“Some props I don’t even know will become really big props,” explained Bobbitt. “Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel, came to me when I was shooting Thor one and he said to me ‘Hey, we’re going to need a little gauntlet in the background of a shot.’ and so I made this thing and I had no idea that one day, the Infinity Gauntlet would have it’s own movie.”

Although it’s not public knowledge whether Bobbitt has roles in a post-Avengers 4 Marvel Cinematic Universe, Feige has gone on record to tease what lies ahead for Marvel fans.

“There are still things that are key elements to a lot of our characters in their comic incarnations that we haven’t even done yet for characters who have had three or four movies,” Feige said at a recent conference. “It is an amazing wealth of creative material to pull from.”

Feige didn’t stop there. He went on to seemingly double-down on confirmation that Kamala Khan’s Ms. Marvel will be joining the movie side of the MCU sooner rather than later.

“We wanted to get Captain Marvel out there first so that there is something for a young Muslim girl to get inspired by,” Feige explained.

Did you know that Robert Downey Jr. actually soldered his own arc reactor in Iron Man? What’s your favorite prop we’ve seen in the MCU? Let us know in the comments below!

Avengers: Infinity War is now playing in theaters. Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 5th, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.