Iron Man
Fatigue is with bad stories not superhero movies
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$248 – 303MM V $319MM
Mythosis universal quests used
3
Audience appeal
11.34 – 13.85%
Script Score
0.39
Iron Man, a 2008 superhero movie, directed by Jon Favreau is an origin story. The story is about the transformation of a genius from a successful entrepreneur into a protector of humanity. The story explores basic human desires of idealism, honour & vengeance. Mythosis uses 3 mythological tales to extract the plot structure of the movie.
1. The invisible plot structure of Iron Man
1A. The script of Iron Man borrows 88% of its events from 3 mythological tales
Tony’s quest is driven by the desire for justice and mirrors the tale of Prometheus from Greek mythology. Both Prometheus & Tony switch sides to protect the exploited.
Stane’s quest is driven by the desire to punish offenders and mirrors the tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology. Both Duryodhan & Stane reclaim their kingdom unscrupulously.
Pepper’s quest is driven by the desire to serve one’s clan or order and mirrors the tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology. Both Hanuman & Pepper prove their loyalty by fearlessly challenging any threat.
Tony also has an underdeveloped quest of Independence and mirrors few events from the tale of David. Both David & Tony faced with adversity, innovate to save themselves.
NOTE: Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
Mythosis plot structure
# 30,193
Tales interweaved
Duryodhan, Prometheus & Hanuman
I. How does interweaving mythological tales lead to infinite story plots?
II. Can the pursuit of a Desire have more than one quest?
2. The potential of Iron Man’s plot structure: $248 – 303MM
The interweaving of 32 mythological tales can generate a billion unique stories. By using these 32 tales, we can extract the plot structure of any story across various genres. Our study of blockbuster, hit, and flop plot structures led to the discovery of the Mythosis Code, a set of principles for creating compelling stories. The plot structure of a story is analyzed to see how well it adheres to these storytelling principles.
2A. Plot structure evaluation of Iron Man
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Iron Man uses 3 universal quests of Honour, Idealism and Vengeance.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Tony mirrors the universal quest of Idealism whereas Stane mirrors the universal quest of Vengeance. Pepper mirrors the quest of Honour.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Tony borrows 30% from the universal quest of Idealism. Stane borrows 36% from the universal quest of Vengeance. Pepper borrows 16% of events from the quest for Honour.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Iron Man has a perfect quest interweaving score of 1.
An example of interweaving the quests of Pepper & Stane:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Iron Man
Iron Man’s plot structure reveals perfect interweaving of all three quests. It has two powerful quests that of Tony & Stane. The plot structure suffers due to the shallow quest of Pepper.
The Script Score measures a plot structure’s adherence to the four principles of Mythosis Code. We use the Script Score to estimate a movie’s audience appeal & revenues. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Script Score
0.39
Audience appeal
11.34 – 13.85%
I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?
3. The ideal plot structure of Iron Man
We have identified 32 mythological tales, the superset of all tales across cultures. The quests of these tales have also recurred over time periods. They represent human behaviours that are deeply embedded in our shared memories. Each tale is the richest expression of the pursuit of a human desire. The tales have a unique pattern of events spread over 5 major arcs.
Mapping a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. Plugging these gaps with the missing events deepens the character quest. The missing events also provide an opportunity for interweaving the various quests. These events strengthen the story and unlock its hidden potential.
3A.Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Tony mirrors the universal quest for Idealism
Tony’s desire for Idealism stems from the need for fairness & justice. The tale of Prometheus from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Idealism.
Quest 2: Stane mirrors the universal quest for Vengeance
Stane’s desire for Vengeance stems from the need to punish offenders. The tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Vengeance.
Quest 3: Pepper mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Pepper’s desire for Honour stems from the need to serve a clan/order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
The gap in Iron Man’s plot structure arises from the relatively weaker quest of Pepper.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The plot of Iron Man is a subset of blockbuster plot structure # 30,193. It emerges from interweaving the tales of Duryodhan, Prometheus & Hanuman.
Contact us for Mythosis plot structure #30,193
Tags: Duryodhan, Prometheus, Hanuman, Vengeance, Idealism, Honour, Jon Favreau, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, Marvel Studios, Paramount Pictures, 2008