Chapter 85

Xu Can specifically requested the Spider-Cam technology from Sony Pictures and used it in post-production with special effects,

allowing Iron Man to shuttle at high speed between city buildings; the sudden ascent greatly enhanced the visual impact!

A few short minutes, comparable to a roller coaster!

As the Mark 2 armor continues to climb, Tony ignores Jarvis’s warnings and flies to an altitude of 10,000 meters, breaking the 85,000-foot fixed-wing flight record!

"Mr. Stark, a fatal icing condition has occurred."

The armor flies above the Earth, almost piercing the atmosphere; he can already see the massive sphere below through the horizon!

The Mark 2’s silver shell is covered in frost, and the thrusters and power systems have completely failed.

The advanced armor instantly turns into a giant hunk of iron, wrapping Tony as he falls from 10,000 meters!

"Oh! Nooo..."

"No way?"

The tension brought by the music and visuals makes the audience’s hearts tighten.

Everyone knows the protagonist will definitely be fine, but they can’t help but worry for him.

The audience members who often "jump off buildings" are probably very familiar with this intense feeling of weightlessness!

Especially the film critics in the media section; they can’t even bother to analyze the film, completely immersed in it!

In this film, Xu Can has played with visual effects to the extreme!

At the critical moment, the system reboots successfully, and Iron Man re-engages thrusters less than 1 meter from the ground, weaving at high speed through street traffic!

The scene is completely ignited!

Finally, this stunt-like flight sequence ends, and Tony successfully returns to his own roof.

"Jarvis, power down."

Thud!

The massive weight of the Mark 2 armor falls rapidly, smashing all the way through to the basement, precisely hitting a limited-edition supercar.

The cute mechanical arm makes another appearance.

The film has a good rhythm; the tense and exciting flight sequence ends just in time. If it had been extended by another two minutes, someone might have had to call 911 for an ambulance.

While resting, Tony discovers Pepper’s gift.

The first-generation reactor wasn't thrown away; instead, it was placed in a glass case for display.

[Tony Stark has a warm heart]

To overcome the flaws of the Mark 2, Tony Stark doesn't stop; he immediately starts a new plan to design the Mark 3 armor!

Based on experience, Tony plays to his greatest strength: rapid iteration!

From now on, every time he suffers a setback, it will lead him to iterate a new suit of armor!

"Gold is a bit too high-profile, isn't it?"

"Yes, you are usually very low-key."

The AI Jarvis speaks with a British accent, and even his sarcasm is British-style.

"Add some hot rod red."

"Ah, yes, yes, that’s much more low-key."

Referencing one of his favorite classic cars, Tony finally designs Iron Man’s iconic color scheme.

As the first and most classic suit in the Iron Man series,

the Mark 3 is about to make its debut!

At the charity gala, Tony Stark arrived in his Audi R8.

The Audi was indeed a bit more low-key than Batman’s Lamborghini, but not by much.

Come to think of it, the sponsor Audi gifted two R8s to the film crew; one was used for filming and was later smashed up.

The other was gifted specifically to Xu Can.

Audi CEO Rupert Stadler personally called Xu Can to explain:

"Xu, I really love your movies. This R8 is a token of our appreciation, and I hope we have many opportunities to collaborate in the future."

Stadler was a good judge of character; Xu Can was definitely a force in Hollywood that could not be ignored in the future.

Just look at his few films—all of them had created a massive impact on a global scale.

An R8 in exchange for future collaboration opportunities and having the Audi brand featured in his films—they would earn back far more than just one car.

And so, these days, Xu Can preferred driving Iron Man’s ride more often.

Back to the movie, Tony met a female reporter at the gala.

The reporter showed him a batch of photos: the weapons division of Stark Industries, which should have been shut down, was still selling arms abroad.

His weapons had caused severe devastation to Yinsen’s hometown, leaving countless civilians displaced.

Yinsen was his savior, and the civilians were innocent!

This typical American behavior filled Tony with righteous indignation!

He immediately confronted Obadiah, who no longer bothered to pretend and laid his cards on the table.

The weapons division had not stopped production, and he had already issued a board order to oust Tony Stark!

Since the mask was off, Tony had no intention of backing down!

The Mark 3 armor was ready, and accompanied by an exciting melody,

Tony, guided by mechanical arms, stepped into the armor piece by piece!

In most mecha movies, besides the combat scenes, these assembly and transformation sequences were equally thrilling!

Legs, torso, arms, and the helmet!

When Tony Stark was fully suited up and looked into the camera wearing the Iron Man mask,

the faceplate then slid down, and light ignited in the eyes!

The complete Iron Man was revealed to the audience for the first time!

Everyone was completely immersed in the excitement, failing to notice that the entire suit of armor was generated by digital effects!

The metallic texture was indistinguishable from real materials; even experts in film special effects couldn't tell for a moment whether it was CGI or live-action!

"Wow, did they really build a mecha?"

"That’s incredible. Is Xu Can actually Iron Man?"

Boom!

Iron Man had already appeared high in the sky, his thrusters suddenly flared, breaking the sound barrier, accelerating again in mid-air, and flying toward the distance at an uncanny angle!

The terrorists were currently attacking a village, holding civilians hostage and preparing for execution.

Iron Man descended like a god, landing in a standard superhero pose!

Machine gun fire left no scratch on the aerospace-grade material, and a few palm repulsor blasts blew the enemies to smithereens!

Even holding hostages was useless; the AI digitally locked onto all the thugs, and shoulder-mounted munitions poured out simultaneously, completing a surgical, precision strike!

Seeing that infantry was ineffective, the enemy actually had a tank!

The terrorists were using an M1A1 main battle tank; this might seem absurd in other countries, but it was understandable when it came to the Americans.

In the original version, the tank hitting Iron Man mid-air with a single shot was a bit magical;

tanks couldn't even hit WWII planes accurately, let alone Iron Man, who was more agile than an F-22.

Xu Can made a slight change here: the terrorists, in a fit of rage, used the tank to shell civilians, but Iron Man intercepted the shell.

Tony underestimated the tank's power and was blown away by the blast.

Fortunately, the titanium alloy material and its smooth surface deflected the shell, preventing any fatal injuries.

Standing up, Iron Man was targeted by another shell, but he dodged it sideways, casually raised his arm, sent a small rocket at the tank, and turned to leave.

Real men never look back at explosions!

Boom!

The small rocket had astonishing power, and the tank exploded instantly!

Iron Man soared into the sky, his AI locking onto all targets with precision!

Like a demon-slaying lord descended from heaven, truly a god of the mortal realm!

After wiping out the terrorist base, Iron Man was detected by the U.S. military radar on his way back.

Two F-22 Raptors were sent to intercept the unknown flying object.

Air Force Colonel James Rhodes felt a sudden sense of unease; he vaguely sensed it might have something to do with his good brother.