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transemacabreCut for SPOILERS.
While I watched Iron Man 2, I noticed there were visual parallels drawn between Ivan and Tony, notably the scene in the beginning where Ivan is forging his arc reactor, which is very similar to the scene in the first movie where Tony builds his arc reactor IN A CAVE, WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS.
Now that I've had the opportunity to ponder on it, Tony and Ivan have thematic parallels that I believe are intentional. They are both sons of brilliant scientist fathers, and both are devoted to their legacies. But while Anthony Stark became a wealthy industrialist and his son Tony became an internationally-known playboy superhero, Anton Vanko became a disgraced, broken man and his son Ivan became a brutal, albeit brilliant, criminal. It's that twist that shapes Ivan into the anti-Tony: whereas Tony doesn't care about money because he's been rolling in it his entire life, Ivan doesn't care about it because he's been living in a crapheap his entire life.
Ivan is obviously freakishly brilliant (so much so he could succeed where Obadiah Stane, the governments of several nations, and Justin Hammer failed, and produce a viable arc reactor and robotics technology on par with Tony's). He could have power and money if he put that intelligence to work, but it's all meaningless to him. Whereas Tony states in the first movie that his only motivation is "the next mission", Ivan's only motivation seems to be to destroy Tony Stark and everything he stands for -- namely, the ruination of the Vanko family.
Tony spends most of the movie afraid he's going to die. Ivan doesn't seem to care if he lives or dies. Even their senses of humor seem to reflect this: Tony is glib and charming where Ivan is sarcastic and unnerving. It's as though both men needed some outlet to funnel their restless intellects, and while Tony chose robotics and superheroism, Ivan choose revenge and criminality.
While I watched Iron Man 2, I noticed there were visual parallels drawn between Ivan and Tony, notably the scene in the beginning where Ivan is forging his arc reactor, which is very similar to the scene in the first movie where Tony builds his arc reactor IN A CAVE, WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS.
Now that I've had the opportunity to ponder on it, Tony and Ivan have thematic parallels that I believe are intentional. They are both sons of brilliant scientist fathers, and both are devoted to their legacies. But while Anthony Stark became a wealthy industrialist and his son Tony became an internationally-known playboy superhero, Anton Vanko became a disgraced, broken man and his son Ivan became a brutal, albeit brilliant, criminal. It's that twist that shapes Ivan into the anti-Tony: whereas Tony doesn't care about money because he's been rolling in it his entire life, Ivan doesn't care about it because he's been living in a crapheap his entire life.
Ivan is obviously freakishly brilliant (so much so he could succeed where Obadiah Stane, the governments of several nations, and Justin Hammer failed, and produce a viable arc reactor and robotics technology on par with Tony's). He could have power and money if he put that intelligence to work, but it's all meaningless to him. Whereas Tony states in the first movie that his only motivation is "the next mission", Ivan's only motivation seems to be to destroy Tony Stark and everything he stands for -- namely, the ruination of the Vanko family.
Tony spends most of the movie afraid he's going to die. Ivan doesn't seem to care if he lives or dies. Even their senses of humor seem to reflect this: Tony is glib and charming where Ivan is sarcastic and unnerving. It's as though both men needed some outlet to funnel their restless intellects, and while Tony chose robotics and superheroism, Ivan choose revenge and criminality.
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Date: 2010-05-09 08:27 pm (UTC)CUE MASSIVE LOL'S.
but yeah, I apologize. I just wanted to share my fail with you.
^^'
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Date: 2010-05-19 05:20 pm (UTC)The same thing ran through my head after I let the film rerun in my head again. (: