Despite the immense popularity of Iron Man in the MCU, the games starring the hero have failed to deliver on what makes the character so great. The tie-in movie games from the PS3 generation were extremely mediocre, while the Armored Avenger felt shackled in Marvel’s Avengers due to slow flight and a very low height limit for the game’s maps. Now, EA Motive has a chance to deliver the AAA Iron Man experience fans have been waiting for, but it will have one particularly tough challenge ahead of it.
When thinking about an Iron Man game, some of the challenges are obvious. A few are mentioned above, as players need to have the freedom to soar high in the sky while also moving at breakneck speeds. Getting his movement when on the ground right is a challenge, as it almost always feels a bit strange, while the character’s lacking rogues’ gallery brings about narrative challenges that are not present with a hero like Spider-Man or Batman. However, the toughest thing of all for EA Motive could be finding a voice for its Iron Man.
Robert Downey Jr.’s Perfect Portrayal of Tony Stark
There are not enough good things to say about Robert Downey Jr.’s performances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whether it was the brilliant solo film that started it all, its divisive sequels, or massive team-up films like The Avengers, Tony Stark consistently stole the show. Without RDJ, it is hard to imagine the character becoming as popular as he did, and the same can be said for the film franchise as a whole. Intimidating when he needed to be and likable whenever he wasn’t battling some kind of threat, RDJ turned a B-list Marvel character into one of the brand’s most popular heroes.
Because of how funny, complex, and memorable the MCU’s take on Iron Man was, EA Motive’s version of Tony Stark will be constantly compared to it. This is an incredibly high bar to get over, something that extends to the narrative too, as it may be best to skip the hero’s origin story altogether since the first film told it so well. Still, the bigger challenge will be recapturing the magic of the Tony Stark character, as everything from RDJ’s voice to his mannerisms is what people think of when they hear the name Iron Man.
EA Motive’s Iron Man is Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place
One option that EA Motive has is to seek out a low-budget version of Robert Downey Jr, getting someone who has a similar enough voice that gamers are not distracted by the difference. However, this would only remind fans more of the MCU version, with the new actor viewed as being close but not quite what fans expect. Going with an RDJ impersonator would see EA Motive constantly needing to clarify that the game is set in a separate universe, too, which would be another headache.
Unfortunately, the alternative has its downsides. While going with an actor who has a distinctly different sound to Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man could let EA Motive forge its own path and deliver a version of the hero that feels truly different, it would be a problem if there were no similarities to RDJ’s version at all. This is because Downey Jr. played the character so well and delivered such a spot-on portrayal of his comic book personality. By trying too hard to be different from RDJ, an actor could be chosen that does not embody all the aspects of Iron Man, and the result could be more distracting than an impersonator would be. Going with a big name like Marvel’s Avengers did with Nolan North is also risky, as gamers just heard Nolan instead of Iron Man.
What choice is better is unclear, as there are risks attached to both options. However, the lesser of two evils does seem to be going with an entirely new actor as opposed to someone who sounds like the Iron Man that fans are already so attached to. Perhaps this fresh face could deliver a performance on par with Yuri Lowenthal’s version of Spider-Man, becoming so great that they are used in multiple projects. Though Robert Downey Jr. will likely always be the best Iron Man in the eyes of many Marvel fans, trying to do something new with the character instead of mimicking something that already exists would be more interesting. If the risk pays off, perhaps EA Motive can capture lightning in a bottle just like the first Iron Man film did in 2008.
EA Motive’s Iron Man game is currently in development.