Iron Man, at his less indestructible

By Borys Kit

In what we promise -- no, really -- is the last "Iron Man" post, we're wondering where "Iron Man 2" goes now that it's officially on. Will, for instance, Marvel take on the classic "Demon in a Bottle" storyline from the early 1980s which featured industrialist playboy Tony Stark dealing with alcoholism?

Robert Downey Jr. (who's not yet signed on for the pic but could very well end up doing it) said he thinks oblique is the way to go. “I have a feeling that the best way to go into Tony and the 'Demon and the Bottle' storyline is show his 40th birthday party," he told Risky Biz at the premiere. "Let that tie in with something people can understand, (people) who maybe don’t have that disease. Anyone over 40 knows what it’s like to feel like you’re looking at the back 9 of your life. Mid-life crisis. A couple of bottles of champagne and he’s just getting started, and they think there’s something wrong with him, and you understand why he’s going to these excesses. It’s much more fertile when you don’t call a spade a spade."

Downey already faced a lot of questions from journalists on the subject of substance abuse during the worldwide tour promoting his new hit movie, and probably won’t be thrilled to rehash it again. In fact, he doesn’t think most fans are interested in that facet of his life. “It's simply not what people want to read or hear about. Its a failsafe thing for journalists who dont know that I’ve moved on from that.”