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The summer movie campaign officially begins Friday with the release of Iron Man, based on the Marvel comic book of the same name and featuring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, a millionaire industrialist who dons technologically advanced iron "armor" to fight evil.

Iron Man hitches a ride on a fighter jet

If the buzz is any indication, it looks to be a super smash. The film's pyrotechnic trailers (beginning with a sneak peek during the Super Bowl) may already have diehard fans camping out by the Cineplex. But beyond its obvious entertainment value, does Iron Man have more in store for us than battle suits and repulsor rays?

You bet. Superhero movies offer plenty of food for thought and our souls, right down to their premises and the philosophy behind them. Plus, a number of recent superhero films have focused as much on the men behind the masks—and on the critical events that shaped and guided them—as they have on special effects and fight scenes. And Tony Stark, the man beneath the armor in Iron Man, is one of the most complex and compelling characters in comic book history.

Recent comic book movies have shown us that superheroes can come from just about anywhere, and that physical or situational limitations need not be a roadblock. In fact, sometimes they can prove exactly the opposite.

We often find superheroes, in their beginnings, to have physical weakness. In order to fight evil, they must overcome their disadvantage and become "strong in the broken place"—and in the comics, they become not only strong, but superpowered. Blind lawyer Matt Murdock becomes Daredevil, whose superpowered "radar sense" far surpasses normal sight. And as we'll see in Iron Man, industrialist Tony Stark—with a damaged heart only a handful of beats away from death—becomes an unstoppable Iron Avenger.

The idea that no one is destined for failure, that it's possible to rise above our circumstances and make a difference, is also an important part of our cultural heritage—and something that needs reaffirmation. Yet this is only part of the truth. And it's here that the philosophies behind comic books—and adventure stories in general—often fail to give us the entire picture.

Isaiah 55:8 reminds us that God's ways are not our ways, and his thoughts are not our own.

Paul's observation about strength in weakness (2 Cor. 12:10) refers not to a physical ability to rise above our limitations, thus imposing our will—for good or ill—upon the scene. Rather, it refers to the joyful recognition that our weakness in itself is a good thing.

Our limitations pull us back from single-minded reliance upon our own strength—a course that leads either to failure, or victory accompanied by the deadly price tag of illusory pride. Only God can see all ends, and we can't accomplish anything lasting without him—but with him, all things are possible.

If this understanding of strength and weakness is reflected in Iron Man the movie as it has been in the comics, that could lead to fascinating food for discussion.

The Marvel character was created in the '60s

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.

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