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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.

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) turned to alcohol to numb his pain

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.

There's more irony here: Robert Downey Jr., the actor who plays the title role, has had his own Stark-ian journey—battling his own inner demons and addictions. Stark was once in a prison camp; Downey has also been imprisoned, serving several sentences on various drug charges. Stark had his emotional armor; Downey's emotional armor came via mind-altering substances. Though Downey was never "estranged" from his parents like Stark, his father introduced Robert Jr. to marijuana when he was just 6 years old, and his parents divorced when he was 13. Like Stark, Downey has been the playboy.

Downey wanted this role as much as any in his career

Perhaps these are all reasons Downey wanted this role more than any other in his career: "You can pick a million Joseph Campbell myths and look 'em up," he told Esquire, "but none of them apply more to me [than Iron Man/Tony Stark]."

Art imitating life? Or vice versa?

Either way, as we watch this character's story unfold on the big screen, we might ask how our own lives and choices reflect his. To what extent do we rely upon our own strength and wisdom, and not on God's? What emotional "armor" and masks do we wear? Where and how do we differentiate between protecting our privacy and being vulnerable, especially to people God can use to speak into our lives? What are the drugs—literal or metaphorical—we use to numb life's pain? And how can God help us with these things?

Whether we see Iron Man the movie or not, these are certainly the types of things we all should be asking of ourselves—and each other.

Frank Smith is a writer who lives with his wife and two children in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Movie photos © Copyright Parmount & Marvel

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