The tribute to Iron Man, covered by B. Alan Orange of MovieWeb among others, that’s been given in Italy should be a truly monumental moment as many are already thinking it is, but in a way it also seems as though we’re allow pop culture to take over our every waking moment by incorporating it into real life in a way that immortalizes it in a very realistic way. Of course one could say the same thing about many statues that have been created over the years concerning certain mythological figures and creatures that have been seen across the world so raising a fuss about it doesn’t really seem like the best idea. Plus, Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man has been a popular character in pop culture for long enough that a tribute seems needed in some regard. But it still feels a bit out of place really since Italy has been known for a long time for being a place where art forms are considered to be far more classical in nature and less derived from pop culture.
Forte dei Mare, Italy, Dedicates Memorial to Iron Man https://t.co/imr3rED1vc pic.twitter.com/yJ8UJqU3br
— Krypton Radio (@kryptonradio) August 31, 2019
It’s hard to deny that it’s a very impressive design so I’ll gladly state that it’s impressive to look upon and is definitely worthy of an art museum, but sticking it on the street does seem to indicate priorities that might be kind of questionable. Had a real-life Tony Stark actually sacrificed himself saving the world from a real-life Thanos, then it’s understandable how monuments would be made to mirror his greatness, no pun intended. But the display of a real-memorial to a fictional character seems a bit kooky in all honesty no matter how great the movie was. Eyes might be rolling and people might be limbering up their fingers for a response that would be nothing less than scathing but in all honesty when a story is over it’s all well and good to enjoy the tale and watch it again and again like so many people have done at this point.
The first monument dedicated to #IronMan has been erected in Forte dei Marmi, Italy, in the year of his death in the cinematic world. The steel and brass statue entitled #ManofSteel was designed by sculptor #DanieleBasso.#MiaMarket pic.twitter.com/0lAejTuCTI
— MIA Market (@MIAmarket_Rome) September 2, 2019
This kind of argument has to be doubled back upon more than once since while some might claim that it’s juvenile and even disrespectful to ‘high’ art to display something like this, it’s also important to understand that the absolute love and joy that people throughout the world have shown the Avengers and Iron Man in particular is nothing short of breathtaking since it doesn’t seem to matter that it’s a movie, that it’s fictional, or that Tony Stark has never existed outside of the movies and comics. What matters is that someone had the inspiration and devotion to the story to put up something that is nothing short of breathtaking. So yes, it seems a bit juvenile since the depiction of actual figures in art forms such as this have typically been myths, legends, and actual people that existed throughout history. But if one is being honest then Iron Man would deserve a spot since as Molly Freeman of ScreenRant might agree he’s already become a part of pop culture legend that people all over the world have embraced.
The final realization that Iron Man was no longer going to be a part of the MCU hit a lot of people hard since he is essentially the man that started it all. A lot of people were theorizing over who was going to be killed off, who was just going to leave, and who was going to remain right up until Endgame was finally released. But despite several theories being correct and some coming as a surprise the realization was that the current phase was going to be shaken up in a big way. In fact the MCU is being shaken up in a very big way with the removal of Iron Man, as Adam Holmes of CinemaBlend might agree, since if you look back on the history of the movies you’ll see that he’s been integrated in some way into most of the movies since he’s been the one that helped to round up the Avengers and to keep them on this often tumultuous path that they’ve had to travel along. To think that he’s not going to be around any longer is kind of hard really but it’s also a necessary progression that needed to be made and one that has also been made in the comics.
So all in all you can’t really be unimpressed by this statue since it had to have taken a while and it was a nice gesture to remember one of the most iconic superheroes ever created, but again it might seem a tad silly to those that want to be cynical about it. To be perfectly honest it does seem out of place in a country such as Italy where so many other noted sculptures are entirely classical in their design, but maybe in another few decades to a century, if it’s still standing, this will be a testament of its own that people can look at and fully enjoy.
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