Iron Man: The Stark Truth

by Arielle Rothbard

SPOILER WARNING: if you have not seen this movie, the following may contain a spoiler.

“The man who has everything... and nothing.”
That is the paradox of Tony Stark.

Stark lives the American dream: wealth, intelligence, power, sex, and social status in excess.

Shaken from his pleasure-coated reality by three month’s captivity in Afghanistan, Stark rethinks his personal philosophy. An Afghani surgeon installs an electro-magnetic device in his chest to keep him alive, creating a stalemate between the shrapnel and his flesh the way Tony once hoped to keep order between countries. The surgeon urges Stark, “don’t waste your life.” The prideful, alcoholic, weapon-manufacturing millionaire, takes it to heart.

Upon returning to the states, Stark globally announces that he will no longer produce weapons. Ironically, his new vision is to perfect the armored suit he used to escape Afghanistan. The suit becomes the “bigger stick” Stark’s father insisted was necessary to achieve peace. Stark no longer builds weapons: he becomes one.

Tony Stark desperately wishes to impact society for good. Once he sees his good intentions have gone bad, his heart is changed. He finds purpose and motivation by creating a larger-than-life “iron man” suit to help him ensure justice and peace.

The problem: every issue Stark tackles is directly connected to him. His worldview remains within his personal circle of events.

In the process of making restitution for his actions, he jeopardizes the lives of others.

Iron Man must cope with his inadequacies. He constructs armor for himself, giving himself physical weight, prominence, and power, making himself unavoidable. Yet, he is vulnerable. Powerless, he relies on a self-made mechanism to supply power for his suit and keep metal shards from puncturing his heart. He lives moment by impulsive moment and by the time you calculate in his alcoholism, you have a man with substantial problems.

Iron Man’s plotline is strengthened—intentionally or not—by biblical parallels. The hero and villain fighting to the death, the hero grazing death, but emerging victorious—these and many other aspects of the plot are familiar to Bible-readers. It is no coincidence that Stan Lee, J.K. Rowling, the Wachowski brothers and other storytellers throughout history shaped their protagonist/antagonist climax from the Word of God.

Even Iron Man and Neo need reconciliation with God, our maker. The relationship that God wants to have with us, his most advanced creation, has been destroyed by a weapon more potent than the atom bomb: sin. Sin is anything that goes against God’s moral code: little, white lies to murder.

A true change of heart, a life devoted to serving others requires internal transformation. King David says in Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit in me.” The psalmist understood the importance of a repentant heart.

Creating weapons is a self-perpetuating cycle. No individual can alter that sequence, no matter the technology. Humanity’s only hope is God. Jesus, the ultimate hero, gave his life to reconcile us to God. The reunification process between creator and creation builds love and peace, radiating out to everyone.

Iron Man is a fictional character. His spiritual issues are hypothetical. Ours are not. The question we all face: what will I do about my heart?

Arielle Rothbard is a Jewish believer in Jesus who just finished her first year at the Fashion Insitute of Technology in Manhattan.