The movie that made Robert Downey Jr rage “Fuck DC comics”
It’s not too much of a leap to state that without the influence of actor Robert Downey Jr, the Marvel superhero universe wouldn’t be half as enthralling as it has turned out to be. A Hollywood star with an enormous personality, Downey Jr took to the franchise with the likes of Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Holland and Chris Hemsworth, changing the industry in the process.
Whilst Marvel has thrived ever since Downey Jr jumped into his superhero suit for Iron Man in 2008, their literary and cinematic rivals, DC Comics, haven’t fared so well. Sure, Christopher Nolan released his Dark Knight trilogy to great critical and commercial acclaim, but the franchise has struggled to hit such comparative heights ever since, with such directors as Zack Snyder and James Wan unable to create a compelling franchise.
Speaking about his franchise’s rivals, Downey Jr told Huffington Post in 2008 that he “didn’t get” The Dark Knight, explaining: “My whole thing is that I saw The Dark Knight. I feel like I’m dumb because I feel like I don’t get how many things that are so smart. It’s like a Ferrari engine of storytelling and script writing, and I’m like, ‘That’s not my idea of what I want to see in a movie.’ I loved The Prestige, but didn’t understand The Dark Knight”.
Largely seen as the saviour of the movie wing of DC, Nolan, who has long been established as an elite filmmaker, made three Batman movies from 2005-2012. But, Nolan’s dark vision of the comics, in which Christian Bale played the title character, didn’t please Downey Jr.
Later in the interview, the actor blasted the movie and the rival superhero franchise, stating: “Didn’t get it, still can’t tell you what happened in the movie, what happened to the character and in the end they need him to be a bad guy. I’m like, ‘I get it. This is so high-brow and so fucking smart, I clearly need a college education to understand this movie.’ You know what? Fuck DC Comics. That’s all I have to say, and that’s where I’m really coming from”.
Downey Jr, who had made a name for himself at the time as an outspoken industry rogue, had collaborated with the likes of Shane Black, David Fincher and Richard Linklater before taking on the role of Iron Man.
Nolan clearly didn’t seem to mind about Downey Jr’s comments either, with the star appearing in the director’s 2023 billion-dollar blockbuster biopic Oppenheimer alongside the likes of Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and Cillian Murphy.
