'USA Today' Delivers 'Iron Man 3' Pics and Plot Secrets

Thanks to USA Today, our knowledge of Iron Man 3 has gotten a lot bigger this morning. The newspaper debuted several new pictures from the upcoming film, focusing on Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark, Iron Man and Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige shared some Iron Man 3 secrets with USA Today:

Iron Man 3 picks up some months after The Avengers, with Tony and love interest Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) back and running Stark Industries. However, Tony is targeted by the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) — Iron Man's most iconic foe from the comics — and has a vast array of gadgets and weaponry wiped out. 

Head past the jump to read more about Iron Man 3 and check out the newly released shots from the film.

Every Iron Man movie (including The Avengers) has given Stark a reason to create a new suit, and Iron Man 3 won't be any different.

"He basically loses all of his toys and is forced to just use his mind to rebuild and to face his biggest enemy," Feige says, resulting in the most advanced Iron Man suit yet. 

"He's ultimately the engineering superhero. He's so charming and so flamboyant that sometimes you forget that's what he is: 'Hey, kids, learn this stuff and you can maybe build an Iron Man suit.' "

Iron Man 3 hits theaters on May 3, 2012, kicking off Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.