As May 3 grows nearer, and the cast of Iron Man 3 sits down with the American press to talk about the movie, I want to share some things I learned about the comic book side of the "Extremis" story line with you. I visited with comic book expert extraordinaire Alex Barclay, from Central Florida's Coliseum of Comics, to help me brush up on my Iron Man comic book knowledge. We chatted for over an hour about Extremis, and how different the movie seems to be shaping up from how the comic books were so many years ago. It doesn't seem to be a bad thing, quite the contrary, it looks like a great new take on things. Either way, I thought Huffington Post readers would like a story line refresher. Fair warning, there could be accidental spoilers.
This is your Iron Man 3/"Extremis" What You Need To Know."
What is Extremis? Warren Ellis wrote the "Extremis" story line. "Extremis" is yet another "take" on the Super Soldier Serum given to Steve Rogers who was turned into Captain America. It is a military nanotechnology serum. It is being used by villains to create terrifying super soldiers that are faster, stronger, and some even fire-breathing and much more powerful than Iron Man. No one will be able to catch up.
Who is Maya Hansen? Maya Hansen, who will be played by Rebecca Hall, is the bio-technologist who creates the Extremis serum. In the past, Maya and Tony were close friends. When Extremis is stolen Hansen gets in touch with Tony Stark to ask for help in getting it back. He agrees with one caveat; she will give it to him to enhance his Iron Man capabilities. They fight the villains together, but Hansen might not be the friend she seems. We will have to see how this plays out in the movie.
Who is Aldrich Killian? In the "Extremis" comic arc Killian has a very small part. He helped Maya Hansen create Extremis, sold it to terrorists, and sent her an email from his computer admitting to this before committing suicide. Game over. It looks like he'll be playing a much bigger role in the movie. Probably because Guy Pearce is so darn handsome.
Who is The Mandarin? Ben Kingsley (who is not Chinese, but no one seems to mind) will play The Mandarin, the leader of The 10 Rings terrorist group. He wants to get his hands on Extremis, and create an airborne version of the serum. The reason this is bad is because the majority of people can't handle the serum or the way it infects the organs (upwards of 98 percent), and therefore a large percentage of humanity will be killed upon its release.
Pepper Potts as Rescue? Yep, we've already seen the clip, and it looks like Pepper Potts will be suiting up forIron Man 3. She seems to be saving Tony Stark this time. In the comics she was known as Rescue -- a mainly defensive robot used to save people from disaster. She became suit-worthy when she was in an accident herself, and had a magnet much like the arc reactor placed in her chest. Comic book fans have been on the edge of their seats wondering if Potts would ever suit up in the movie franchise.
Tony Stark Enhanced with Extremis? Warren Ellis basically came up with the idea that Tony Stark is a futurist. Tony built the Mark suits and the Repulsor technology out of necessity, and it fell into the wrong hands which terrifies Stark. He now believes he must oversee anything brought to him that has to do with bettering our future by technology. So when Maya comes to him with the Extremis issue, he knows he must undergo the procedure because it is his responsibility; anyone else could mess it up. Once he has it done? Wow. Not only can he call his armor with his mind, which is necessary since the Extremis villains are now everything I mentioned at the beginning of this article, but he is also almost invincible. It is new territory for Tony.
As expected, things will certainly be different between the Iron Man "Extremis" comic book arc and the Iron Man 3 movie. I think one of the most exciting parts will be to see exactly how different they will be. As I always say, "I'll be first in line" on May 3, and I hope you will be, too.
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