The Iron Patriot and What He Means for 'Iron Man 3'

With the giant spectacle of The Avengers over, Marvel has talked about getting its superheroes back into smaller and more intimate films. From everything we had heard about Iron Man 3 up until today, director Shane Black was going to isolate Robert Downey's Jr.'s Tony Stark and make him unable to summon the Avengers for help. Also, based on the roles that had been cast thus far, all signs pointed to the Extremis storyline being the focal point for Iron Man 3, which would see Stark replace the clunky Iron Man suit with a nanotech suit that lives inside his bones.

Well, that was up until today when shots of a red, white and blue Iron Man suit walking around on the Iron Man 3 set. All signs point to this being the Iron Patriot.

After Marvel's Civil War, the death of Captain America (don't worry, he's OK now) and the secret Skrull invasion, Stark and S.H.I.E.L.D. were held responsible. Norman Osborn, best known as the Green Goblin, Spider-Man's arch nemesis, was given control of H.A.M.M.E.R., the agency that replaced S.H.I.E.L.D. Taking the Iron Man designs, Osborn created the Iron Patriot, his own superhero designed to replace the deceased Captain America. Stark eventually defeated the Iron Patriot, but not before Osborn tried to arrest Stark and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Maria Hill. Prior to this, Stark's Extremis armor begins to fail him, and he wipes out his memory to prevent the Superhero Registration Act database from falling into Osborn's hands.

Sorry about all that. Marvel had a really, really busy few years there.

So how does this all fit in Iron Man 3? Well, we know right off the bat that Norman Osborn won't be making an appearance in the movie as the Iron Patriot. Sony has rights to the Green Goblin, and I'm sure we're going to see some kind of set up for a sequel with the iconic villain in this summer's The Amazing Spider-Man. Today's Iron Man 3 set shots show James Badge Dale in the Iron Patriot suit, and we already know that Dale is going to be playing cyborg Eric Savin.

Here are a few of my thoughts on Iron Man 3. Stark will get the Extremis armor. By this point, that seems al but certain. Savin will replace Osborn in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, turning the world against Iron Man somehow and challenging him as the Iron Patriot. No matter what Marvel wants to tell us, Ben Kingsley will play the Mandarin, finally showing who's been pulling the strings against Iron Man since Stark was captured in Afghanistan. Cobie Smulders' Maria Hill will replace Agent Coulson as the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent involved in Stark's life. That only makes sense at this point, seeing as how the two share much recent history in the Marvel comics universe. Smulders also has a nine-picture deal with Marvel, so we shouldn't be surprised to see her soon.

At this point, I'm going to ignore everything Marvel has said about Iron Man 3 moving away from the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe. The moves they're making show that Tony Stark is going to still be intertwined with the likes of Hill and S.H.I.E.L.D. Let's talk about an even bigger picture too — Dark Avengers. Guess who led the villainous Dark Avengers. The Iron Patriot. And guess who manipulates the Dark Avengers into attacking Thor's Asgard. Loki. Does the Dark Avengers versus the Avengers over the fate of Asgard sound like a big enough battle for The Avengers 2?