Iron Man 3 completed the Iron Man trilogy in spectacular form, but the plot was definitely more convoluted than previous entries in the series. We've summarized the main plot points below to help you make sense of the movie without having to pay for a second ticket.
But first, does Iron Man 3 necessarily mean the end of Iron Man films? Apparently not, according to one of the trilogy's stars, Don Cheadle:
"It's going to be determined definitely by Marvel, and if they think there's another aspect of the story that needs to be told that wasn't covered in the trilogy, if there's another way in that's interesting. Because you don't want to just keep going to the well and have it be something where you're ending it and should have ended it a long time ago. I'd rather leave them wanting more than go too far. But we'll see. You know, these Marvel universes are vast, and characters can show up in each other's movies. And Avengers is whole other series of possibilities. Who knows?"
Warning: Massive Iron Man 3 Spoilers Below
The plot to Iron Man 3 is:
The movie begins with a flashback to 1999. Tony arrogantly ignores a proposal from a scientist named Aldrich Killian, who is suffering from a number of disabilities. Killian will go on to develop the Extremis serum.
The film then returns to present day, when Tony has been obsessively building Iron Man suits since the events of the Avengers. This has put him on strained terms with Pepper Potts.
Meanwhile, a terrorist named the Mandarin has set off a series of explosions in the U.S. Authorities are puzzled at the lack of forensic evidence. We discover that the explosions are not caused by bombs, but rather are exploding Extremis soldiers.
Later, we see Killian again, who appears to no longer be suffering from the disabilities we saw earlier. We learn that the Extremis serum has the ability to repair tissue damage and even regenerate limbs and organs.
Eventually, we find out that the Mandarin is just a front for Killian himself, who takes Pepper Potts hostage and prompts the movie's spectacular finale, which has Killian and his Extremis army matching up against Tony's army of Iron Man suits.
