The first and one of the most legendary Marvel movies was Iron Man. It’s a unique plot in which a “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” is kidnapped on a work trip. He has a crazy procedure performed on him to save his life after injuries and is hidden in a cave in the middle of no-where. He is instructed that he must build one of his companies missiles from scratch or he will be killed. Initially, Tony refuses and is tortured.
At this point, your average person would simply build the missile. His life is at stake, and it’s not like he’s going to be able to escape or be rescued any other way. Whether or not he builds, they will likely still kill him. He’s trapped between a rock and a hard place, and the most logical thing is to go along with the plan until you think of something better.
But luckily, Tony is a quick thinker and a skilled creative. He pretends like he is going to build the missile for them, but in reality he builds a huge protective iron suit- and eventually, becomes Iron Man. It’s sounds so simple for a “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” to pull off, right?
But the more I think about it, the more I realize how incredible this actually was. Because the truth of the matter is- that situation was impossible. He may have lots of resources in regular life, but he was left with nothing in the cave. When circumstances change, it’s easy to assume we’ve got nothing left to work with. But incredibly enough, Tony Stark doesn’t try to coast off of any of his accolades here and still comes up with something incredible
I’ve written a lot recently about impossibility. About how completely life-shattering it can be when you get placed in difficult circumstances and don’t see a way out and get overwhelmed by the limitations instead of the possibilities. I have to give Stark his accolades for continuing to dream even through catastrophe.
What takes Tony from being a wild-carefree, know-it-all to an actual leader is not the titles, not the money, and not even the situation, but the response. It’s easy to look at our lives and decide we could never be like Stark. Most of us are so immensely limited compared to the resources, family legend, training, money, important references, and seemingly unlimited possibilities that Stark had. But in the cave, he’s still just a regular guy, fighting for his life, and hoping to do something that matters even where he failed in the past. Where he truly wins, is he doesn’t give up in the impossibility before he dreams.
As a pediatrician, I’ve see hundreds of little boys running around in Iron Man paraphernalia over the years. Honestly, I attributed that all to the incredible suit that he creates- power to protect, shoot, and fly- it’s kind of awesome! But I think the real win in this movie is not the technology, but the opportunity to dream. The ability to give children the encouragement to see themselves in impossible situations and fight and maneuver their way out is one that can’t be forgotten. Neither for them nor for us.
In the medical field, I run up against impossible situations far too often. Difficult complications, horrible financial problems, unbelievable hurdles to care and wellness. Obviously, millionaire Tony Stark isn’t scared or frozen by hurdles and wouldn’t relate. But Tony Stark, by himself, in a cave, with few resources and little ability to trust anyone or anything reminds me that I have to keep going. Have to keep fighting through the impossibilities to dream of more. Have to keep reaching through the insane to try something daring. Have to keep using what I do have at my disposal- my brain and my hands- and put them to work for something better! However impossible it may seem to start with. And I hope he encourages you to do the same.
Amen indeed!