Are Batman Begins and Iron Man the same movie?

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Of course, this hugely simplifies the narratives of both pictures, but it made me laugh anyway. Besides, most comic nerds know that Iron Man was at least partially created as a Marvel Comics variation on Batman, so the similarities shouldn't be too surprising. Still, it does remind me why Batman Begins was such a favorite of mine while Iron Man left me relatively unmoved. The biggest difference is the momentum of the second act of each respective picture. Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham with a specific plan and specific goals, while Tony Stark just builds a suit and twiddles his thumbs until circumstance demands action. Plus, the two characters are polar opposites. Bruce Wayne is a morally decent man who pretends who be an obnoxious, entitled jackass. Tony Stark is an actual obnoxious, entitled jackass who tries to convince himself that he's a good man without really changing. To be fair, there are hints that Iron Man 2 will deal with this specific character flaw head-on, which will go a long way in redeeming what I've always felt was a vastly overrated male escapist fantasy. Or you could just ignore all my rantings and just enjoy the video.

Scott Mendelson