Iron Man, Save Yourself To Save Others

Iron Man is one of the great superheroes in the history of comics. Like many superheroes, Iron Man is the result of a series of challenging situations. These situations are known as the hero’s journey. In general, heroes are only considered as such if they pass the tests and challenges of their journey. Just like Frodo in The Lord of the Rings or Harry in Harry Potter, Iron Man had to face multiple tests.

However, just as each hero is different, each journey is different. This means that we can learn different lessons from each hero. In the case of the Man of Steel, what can we learn from his journey and its obstacles?

Created by Stan Lee for Marvel, Iron Man was first adapted for the big screen in 2008. Through famous actor Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man comes to life as a complex character. Tony Stark is a genius billionaire who has consolidated his fortune through the sale of weapons. Philanthropist and womanizer, Tony leads a life of waste, parties and alcohol.

When Tony Stark is kidnapped, he finds that his money and his influences cannot save him. The attackers have captured Tony for his intellect and his engineering prowess. At this point, Tony must use all his resources to succeed in this test.

The creation of Iron Man

Along with Tony Stark, a doctor named Yinsen is also captured. This man saves Tony’s life by placing an electro magnet on his chest. In this way, Yinsen wins the loyalty of Tony, who will try to protect him by all means. Tony and Yinsen secretly build the first electronic armor – the Iron Man prototype.

Unfortunately, Yinsen dies before he can escape. Tony manages to free himself thanks to the armor, but Yinsen’s death haunts him. Even when he comes home, Tony keeps thinking about Yinsen.

Build a more advanced version of the Man of Steel, and with it he can fight better and protect himself better. Thus, when Tony learns that the village of Yinsen is under attack, he decides to defend it. However, Tony gets a nasty surprise: the terrorists are using technology designed by Stark Industries, Tony’s company. How is it possible? Obadiah Stane, one of the most powerful men in the company, has been doing illegal business with terrorists.

Deciding to become an Iron man, Tony understands that he can only save the world by fixing his own affairs first. Thus, it will only be able to dismantle the group of terrorists when it has solved the problem of the illegal sale of Stark technology. This involves fighting Stane, who for so long he respected and trusted. Tony Stark understands here that it is only possible to help and save other people when we first show this will to ourselves.

Before I can help others

When facing Stane, Tony must also face many traumas and insecurities that he has carried since childhood. Tony understands that Iron Man is a way of physically defending himself against threats.

However, Iron Man will never be able to defend Tony from emotional and interpersonal wounds and conflicts. His battle against Stane is primarily a personal fight. In it, Tony realizes that there are voids within himself that he hoped Stane would fill.

If there is one myth that movies have helped reinforce, it is that a couple must “complete” us. In romantic comedies, especially, the characters meet to complete each other. Thus, they mutually fill a deep void that they could not fill.

In the life that we step on, touch or smell, it is likely that such a relationship will end up transforming into dependency.  It is about the other complementing us, not completing us, since by nature we are whole beings, with a tendency to suffer when we cross a certain limit in terms of dependence.

Self-preservation, a quality that we must cultivate

Almost all of us show a desire, accompanied by an intention, that the lives of the people around us improve. We want the people we love to be happy and we are willing to take a degree of sacrifice to help make this happen. The problem is when this sacrifice is very great and constitutes the wall that leads to the forgetting of one’s own.

Learn to give ourselves space, to move away when necessary. Like Tony, life sometimes violently teaches us that while we are busy saving the world, our own home demands care that only we can provide.