"Iron Man," one of Marvel Comics' oldest characters, finally has made the leap from the comic book pages to the big screen.
The film, starring Robert Downey Jr., opens today much to the delight of comic book fans.
"It looks like it's really going to be great," said Rob Quinn, owner of Comics Unlimited in Harlingen. He said his clientele has been eagerly awaiting the release of the film. And some unlikely fans share that excitement. Matt Fraction, the new writer for Marvel Comics'
"Invincible Iron Man" said he was pleasantly surprised with the trailers.
"I tend to dislike (comic book movies) more than most of my coworkers," Fraction said. "But I saw that first trailer right after San Diego (Comicon) last year ... and went nuts."
"I was in a room with a bunch of other X-Men writers. We were exhausted ... tired of comics ... tired of each other. Everyone just wanted to go home and sleep for a week," Fraction said.
"We turned up at the Marvel West offices, and they were like, ‘Hey, let's show you this ‘Iron Man' Super Bowl reel.' And they showed us the clip and we all just yelled ... and wanted to see it."
Studio executives hope that enthusiasm shared by fans and industry insiders will transfer to the general public. If not, the studio could fall into financial trouble.
Marvel financed the entire production of "Iron Man." Previously the company relied on studios to fund the films for them, and the studios got direct movie profits.
The comic book giant recently negotiated $525 million in start-up money from Merrill Lynch and signed a 10-picture distribution deal with Paramount. So if "Iron Man" and "The Incredible Hulk" pay off this summer, Marvel could make it big.
The film also gives Downey a chance to prove to Hollywood that he is still a viable actor. The casting choice got praise from Marvel's editor-in-chief Joe Quesada.
"I absolutely loved it," Quesada said. "First of all, I happen to be a huge fan of his. So much so that I even watched ‘Alley MacBeal' to watch him"
Quesada also noted that the performances on screen went beyond the comics.
"Aside from Downey doing an incredible job in this, it's the first time that I've seen a romance on the screen of a superhero movie that really touched me," Quesada said.
And with the film and Downey working so heard to capture the heart of the character, maybe they'll succeed in capturing an audience as well.
