Iron Man is a 2008 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist and master engineer with a plethora of playboy vices who builds a powered exoskeleton and becomes the technologically advanced superhero, Iron Man. Gwyneth Paltrow plays his personal assistant Pepper Potts, Terrence Howard plays military liaison James Rhodes and Jeff Bridges plays Stark Industries executive Obadiah Stane.

The film was in development since 1990 at Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox, and New Line Cinema, before Marvel Studios reacquired the rights in 2006. Marvel put the project in production as their first self-financed film. Favreau signed on as director, aiming for a naturalistic feel, and he chose to shoot the film primarily in California, rejecting the East Coast setting of the comics to differentiate the film from numerous superhero films set in New York City-esque environments. During filming, the actors were free to create their own dialogue because preproduction was focused on the story and action. Rubber and metal versions of the armors, created by Stan Winston's company, were mixed with computer-generated imagery to create the title character.

Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures, the distributor, planned a $50 million marketing campaign for the film, which was modeled on Paramount's successful promotion of Transformers; Hasbro and Sega sold merchandise, and product placement deals were made with Audi, Burger King, LG and 7-Eleven. Reviews were positive, particularly praising Downey's performance. The film's stars have signed on for two sequels, the first of them scheduled for release on April 30, 2010, while Downey also makes a cameo appearance as Stark in The Incredible Hulk.

Robert John Downey, Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and musician. Downey made his screen debut at the age of five when he started to appear in his father's films. During the 1980s he had minor roles in a series of coming of age films associated with the Brat Pack. Less Than Zero (1987) is particularly notable, not only because it was the first time Downey's acting would be acknowledged by the critics, but also because the role pushed Downey's already existing drug habit one step further. After Zero Downey started landing roles in bigger films such as Air America (1990) and Soapdish (1991), these would eventually lead him to Chaplin for which he gained an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his portrayal of Charlie Chaplin.

During 1996-2001, Downey was arrested several times on drug-related charges, going through drug treatment programs unsuccessfully. It was between these stays in prison that Downey joined the cast of the hit television series Ally McBeal, playing the new love interest of Calista Flockhart's title character. His performance was praised and he was nominated for an Emmy Award in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category and won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a mini-series or TV Film, but his character was written off when Downey was once again arrested in 2000. After Ally McBeal, and one last stay in a drug treatment program, Downey's career began to take off again, receiving semi-independent films like The Singing Detective (2003), A Scanner Darkly (2005) and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005). He also had supporting roles in the mainstream films Gothika (2003) and Zodiac (2007). In 2004, Downey released his debut studio album The Futurist.

In 2006, Downey was cast as the title character in the comic book adaptation Iron Man which premiered in the summer of 2008, making almost $100 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend and receiving rave reviews which cite Downey's performance as a highlight of the film. He also has a cameo in The Incredible Hulk as Tony Stark, Iron Man's alter ego. His other 2008 films include The Soloist, Charlie Bartlett, and the Ben Stiller-directed Tropic Thunder.