Meet Tony Stark — Capitalist Tool. I liked “Iron Man,” and liked it even more the second time I saw it, but it didn’t overwhelm me. And I felt it was a little wishy-washy on questions of capitalism and patriotism.
Not so with “Iron Man 2,” in which Tony Stark is a Randian hero who all but goes Galt when seemingly the only force that could ever defeat him — the U.S. government — begins to make the outrageous demand that his Iron Man technology is somehow public property. Because … well, it’s really important. And everyone knows that when it comes to important stuff, only the government can be trusted to handle it.
While Tony "Iron Man" Stark is a truly unique character from the Marvel Universe, I find it just a little far reaching to call him a "conservative". For starters, he's got the swagger, intellect, and tenacity for actually doing what is right for the country that most conservatives continually espouse but rarely - if ever - practice. And though I will concede that he does display some traits of traditional conservative thought, he in no way comes close to anyone within the modern conservative movement.
People within the Right have been trying very hard for the last few years to classify films as having an overtly conservative thesis. Some of their choices are rather odd and show a serious lack of understanding of not only the multiple levels at which films operate but the storytelling process entirely.
Anyone remember when people were claiming that George W. Bush was just like Batman? It makes about as much sense to call Iron Man a conservative.
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