“Iron Man” gadgets

I saw Iron Man recently and was completely enthralled.  I’ve now developed a miniature Iron Man obsession that will last at least until I’ve seen the movie two more times (or until Indiana Jones or The Dark Knight takes over).  Iron Man (as a movie) applies to this blog a bit more than either of my other hotly anticipated summer films does.  

Since Iron Man’s first appearance in comics in the 1960’s our digital dependency has grown with the availability of technology.  The internet, the cell phone, the laptop; Tony Stark (the man behind the metal mask) remains a hero in 2008 but in many ways a much more relatable one.  Perhaps JARVIS (the AI persona controlling Tony’s technologically insane mansion) is not a reality for most of us, but computerized personalities and programmable tasks (universal remotes, etc.) in smaller less expensive doses do exist.

While the idea of super armor and the power of personal flight are still not realistic for the average cinematic consumer the hands free telephone call Tony is able to take while in mid flight is a definite real life connection to an audience.  So maybe I can’t take a call while saving the world from terrorism and breaking the sound barrier, but the idea that I too can do two things at once is at least a start.