The parts that are hard to follow from the film alone, explained with a story summary, a character map and key terms.
Released
2013
Runtime
130 min
Set in
2013
Good to know before watchingNo spoilers
It's set after The Avengers
Fighting the alien invasion has left Tony with deep scars. Seeing The Avengers first helps explain how he's acting.
The end of the Iron Man trilogy
Tony's story, which began in Iron Man, comes to a turning point here.
Watch the villain closely
The Mandarin, the terrorist making threats on TV, is hiding a big secret.
Stay until after the credits
There's a funny scene after the end credits.
Character mapSpoilers
Who's who in Iron Man 3 (2013), with Tony Stark and Pepper Potts at the center. Friends are above, enemies below.
Because of copyright, we can't use stills, posters or any other images of the characters as they appear in the film. All face photos are freely licensed photos of the actors themselves (non-human characters are original illustrations made for this site; people without a photo are shown with initials).
Drag to move, pinch (or scroll on a computer) to zoom. Tap a person to read about them.
Face photos are freely licensed photos of the actors from Wikimedia Commons, cropped to a square and resized. Non-human characters are original illustrations made for this site, and people without a photo are shown with a placeholder (initials).
On New Year's Eve 1999, Tony meets scientist Maya. He also brushes off another scientist, Killian, who wanted him to hear his pitch.
2. Tony can't sleep
After the Battle of New York, Tony suffers anxiety attacks and can't sleep, so he keeps building suits. Things get tense with Pepper.
3. The Mandarin strikes
One of the Mandarin's bombings badly injures Happy. Furious, Tony taunts the Mandarin on TV, and his house is destroyed by attack helicopters.
4. Tony without his suit
Crash-landing in rural Tennessee with a broken suit, Tony investigates the bombings with help from a boy named Harley.
5. Who the Mandarin really is
Tony sneaks into the Mandarin's hideout and finds Trevor, an actor playing the part. The real mastermind is Killian, the creator of Extremis.
6. Pepper and the President in danger
Killian kidnaps Pepper and injects her with Extremis, then steals Rhodey's suit and abducts the President.
7. The final battle
Tony and Rhodey call in every suit Tony has built and fight at Killian's base. They save the President, and Pepper, now with Extremis powers, defeats Killian.
8. Even without the suit
Tony destroys all his suits for Pepper and has surgery to remove the shrapnel from his chest. He declares "I am Iron Man," a hero with or without the suit.
