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Iron Man was originally created in the early 1960s amidst the dynamic idealism of John F. Kennedy's America. It was a time when the U.S. looked to defend not only her own freedom but the world's, and the Truman Doctrine of checking communism wherever it spread was in full swing. As the only openly political superhero—his first armored "suit" was created to free himself from a Vietcong prison camp—Iron Man fought for the American way across the globe.

For the new film, Marvel has updated the character and his origin, substituting Middle Eastern terrorists for North Vietnamese soldiers. But the basic story remains the same, as does Tony Stark's job as an industrialist and munitions supplier to the army.

The political mindset that says "We have the strength and power to liberate the world" is often the focus of intense political debate. In an election year, in the throes of an unpopular conflict in Iraq, these themes, as portrayed in Iron Man, might spark some good dialogue.

But for me, the most fascinating aspect of the story is the character of Tony Stark himself—the man behind the iron mask. In the early 1980s, Iron Man fans learned that Stark had grown up estranged from his wealthy parents, and that his early life had been an ongoing attempt to impress his father, to solicit some degree of paternal approval from a cold and emotionally distant man.

Failing to do this, Stark chose instead the life of the playboy, walling himself up from others and encasing himself in an emotional armor of his own making—years before the prison camp experience that gave rise to Iron Man, and the literal armor he would don to fight evil.

But as he risked his life against apocalyptic villainy, acute anxiety began to take hold. And soon Stark discovered that the emotional shell designed to protect instead isolated; instead of keeping pain out, it bottled up his feelings and kept them in. Iron Man was trapped in an armor that he couldn't put on and take off, and gradually, inevitably, he began to break down. Tony Stark became an alcoholic, turning over the armor before finally (and literally) hitting the gutter.

This ironic (pun intended) symmetry of the man encased in armor who can protect others—but can't save himself—is central to the comic and the character. It shows how overcoming our limitations through our own strength can sometimes create an even more crippling weakness in result. And it speaks volumes about how we as human beings are designed to function: separated neither from God nor each other.

Iron Man director Jon Favreau has stated that Stark's addiction won't be broached in this film, but scenes from the trailer seem to indicate it'll at least hint at his love for drink. Assuming this first installment does well at the box office, there will be sequels, and those films will likely dig deeper into Stark's darker side.

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