AdapNation: Iron Man 4: Demon in a Bottle

In which I make the case for film and TV adaptations, sequels and remakes.

While I'm still fine without getting an Iron Man 4, I won't deny that it's an incredibly appealing option for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Tony Stark is, for better or for worse, the meta-franchise's flagship character.  Years after launching the MCU, the character has continued to rake in money hand over fist, even with "bad" sequels.  He offers a rock star persona to an eclectic cast of characters that might otherwise take themselves just a little too seriously and his own slice of the MCU is fraught with dramatic potential.

Iron Man's most iconic story is 1979's Demon in a Bottle.  In it, Tony Stark's omnipresent alcoholism spirals increasingly out of control following his part in the death of a foreign ambassador.  Although the story is a bit "comicky" by today's standards and elements from it were already used in the underwhelming Iron Man 2, the narrative core of the story - Stark's struggle with guilt and addiction - are the perfect follow up to the promised events of Marvel's Phase 3.

Stark's alcoholism isn't just established within the MCU, but is easily one of his most prominent features.  When asked about adapting this exact story, actor-director Jon Favreau stated that "Stark has issues with booze.  That's part of who he is."  Forget that actual plot of Iron Man 2: Demon in a Bottle would essentially be a tonally darker version of Stark's personal struggles from that film - a natural progression of that seedy aspect of his character.

Think about what complications Age of Ultron and especially Civil War will bring to Tony's personal narrative.  We already know that he and Hulk will duke it out.  Hell, that was the biggest moment of all four of the movie's trailers.

A point that I've already speculated on was that Stark is going to be responsible for launching Banner into space as the MCU's segue into a big screen adaptation of Planet Hulk.  After all, it's "a perfectly natural progression of Tony's commitment to protecting his country from all threats - foreign and domestic - to sacrifice his well-intentioned friend for the good of the entire planet."

Civil War will see him take that commitment one step further: facing down the literal embodiment of his father's America and grappling with it for supremacy.  His obstinate commitment to the Superhero Registration Act will tear the Avengers down around him: make enemies from hard-earned friends and weighing heavily on his conscious, no matter how adamantly he believes in the Machiavellian necessity of his course of action.

How's that for a trigger for his already barely checked alcoholism?  There wouldn't even be much need for the typical superheroic window dressings - action, villains, damsels in distress - because the core story elements would provide more than enough material to see the movie through to its conclusion.

Where does Pepper stand with the events of Civil War?  What about Happy?  What about Rhodey (invariably on Stark's side, I'd have to imagine)?  All three of these Iron Man specific characters would add an interesting wrinkle into Stark's largely internalized conflict: not only the necessity and costs of Civil War, but to Tony's increasingly self-destructive habits in their wake.

But of course there would have to be a physical villain for him to fight - not just to for the expected fireworks of an Iron Man movie, but as a means of him to physically come to grips with his internal struggle.  Justin Hammer, who bankrolled Whiplash's schemes in Iron Man 2, has already been introduced in the MCU and has a substantive grudge against Stark (being thrown into prison at the end of the second film).  He was the chief antagonist from Demon in a Bottle, having found a way to hack into Stark's armor, and could easily redeem his live-action portrayal if given the chance.

Another option would be a return of The Mandarin, last seen on the big screen in Iron Man 3.  Although many fans were upset about the character's surprise twist in the film, the short "All Hail the King" established that there is an actual, factual, magical Mandarin in the MCU: one that was very eager to speak to Slattery about his portrayal of the character during the events of that film.  We could either bring the more mystically-bent version of the character out of hiding, or redefine the charlatan who portrayed him, having been trained to replace the fantastical antagonist between the Marvel One-Shot and the events of Demon in a Bottle.

In fact, the disparity between the character's first and second portrayal could be an interesting point of contention with the increasingly troubled Stark.  He might initially pass the resurfaced character off as an especially menacing pink elephant, or severely underestimate his now vastly more formidable foe.  Either way, it would be an exceedingly interesting turn of events for the mostly science-centered film franchise.

The other option, of course, is to introduce a new villain, good versions of which Iron Man is sorely lacking.  There could be some iteration of the Crimson Dynamo - a magnetically-themed version of Iron Man who looks like a mechanized cross between Colossus and Omega Red.  Another option could be Madame Masque - a femme fatale and former Stark love interest - which could play interestingly off of his somewhat stable relationship with Pepper Potts (especially if Potts finds herself largely at odds with Tony's alcoholism and opposition to civil liberties).

Regardless of how they dress the story up, it's almost as good as leaving money on the table if Marvel (and by extension Disney) opt to pass over their arguably most popular character's keystone narrative.  While Disney allegedly rejected Demon in a Bottle for Iron Man 3 due to concerns of their largely teenaged audience, they need to realize that their demographic is generally older and more encompassing than high school students with money to spare.  And with as much as Stark appears to be in Phase 3 (Civil War, The Spectacular Spider-Man and two Infinity Wars), I find it hard to believe that Marvel wouldn't give him another solo outing in Phase 4.

So how should Marvel go about adapting Demon in a Bottle?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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