Disregarding costume design, Iron Man's Armor must reveal traces of industrial craftsmanship. A perfectly fitted suit can let the heroic spirit flow unhindered. The comic version allows flexibility and can ignore segments that disrupt the armor's silhouette. The movie version, however, does not have that luxury. The solution is to create a system where overlapping panels can slide or twist against each other.
Creating a realistic and believable metallic image is undoubtedly a very challenging task—especially when it comes to a digital jacket that is both seamlessly integrated and practically feasible.
A real brushed metal sheet delivers excellent detail. At the same time, a digitally created rugged brushed surface will require more rendering power to resolve issues like flicker and aliasing.
Special effects production must utilize the latest technology to simulate those changes that occur on the brushed metal surface. No matter how close or far the camera is from Iron Man, this is a mandatory task. All of it relies on the powerful technical capabilities of Industrial Light & Magic and Weta Workshop.
During the production process, surprises often emerge. Some tasks turn out to be simpler than expected. Sometimes results even exceed Duke's imagination—such as the effects-composited battle between Iron Man and Iron Monger in front of the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
Initially, Duke had planned for the two characters to fly in and, with overwhelming force, destroy the oddly styled theatre. But some VFX artists produced a version where the battle between Iron Man and Iron Monger only destroyed the theatre's most criticized archway. The contrast with the remaining Hollywood Chinese Theatre actually enhanced its architectural aesthetics and added an unexpected comedic flair.
So Duke simply abandoned the original plan and adopted this version.
As long as it fits the film's theme and style without delaying the post-production schedule, Duke is happy to try and implement some fun new ideas—instead of mechanically using CG effects. The results from that approach are inevitably somewhat limited.
In Hollywood, spending half a year or longer to produce special effects is commonplace. Iron Man was no exception.
In fact, from the preparation stage, some special effects were already ahead of filming. Though not all would be used, a substantial portion would make it into the final cut. Others would be continuously modified by the production team during post-production and gradually added to the film in new and fitting ways.
In addition, Stan Lee seemed eager to demonstrate his importance to Marvel as a whole. He brought his screenwriting team and tried to get involved in post-production, but Duke flatly refused. Even if it caused conflict between the two, he would never allow the screenwriters to meddle in the film's post-production.
The reason is simple: the script is indeed one of the foundations of a film, but what the screenwriters write is not necessarily what ends up in the final movie.
For instance, Stan Lee was unhappy that Duke didn't follow the script and allowed actors to improvise during filming. He even suggested cutting these improvised parts, but Duke completely ignored him, and the two even had an argument about it.
However, Duke held final cut rights. Even if Stan Lee the father of superheroes—screamed from the rooftops, he couldn't influence Duke's decision.
Such conflicts are quite normal. Everyone has their own opinions. Stan Lee wanted to continue influencing Marvel's operations to highlight his importance and gain a stronger position in revenue-sharing negotiations. But Duke knew very well that Stan Lee didn't belong to this era sticking to cameo appearances in the films was the only thing he needed to do.
As for the characters and the movie itself, Duke had his own vision. For some improvised scenes, he even prepared up to seven different versions during shooting, allowing him to select the most suitable ones during post-production editing.
No director is omnipotent, and Duke never intended to take over all work during production and shooting. He merely guided the overall direction and used his vision to inspire others which is not an easy feat. Once successful, the crew would burst with enthusiasm and creativity, turning into an extremely efficient team.
In turn, their ideas would bring Duke all sorts of creative inspiration, forming a virtuous cycle in the entire production process.
No matter what, Duke would never let people like Stan Lee destroy the synergy formed within the crew.
A team with great chemistry could also compensate for issues Duke might overlook. After all, he is just one person—not an all-knowing encyclopedia.
For example, during post-production when using CG to enhance the terrorist cave where Tony Stark was imprisoned, an assistant from Weta Workshop offered a suggestion.
"I've lived in the mountains of Afghanistan before, so I know a bit about the geology and climate there."
Standing in front of the large screen, the assistant pointed at Robert Downey Jr., who was breathing onscreen, and said, "In remote mountainous areas of Afghanistan, caves can be extremely cold some even close to freezing. A person's breath would definitely be visible as white vapor…"
In the footage, none of the actors' breath was visible.
Prompted by this assistant's reminder, Duke immediately had someone look up references. In some documentaries about Afghanistan especially recent TV clips showing interviews with Taliban members inside caves it was clearly visible that they were exhaling vapor.
So Duke instructed the VFX team to use post-production techniques to adjust all cave scenes accordingly, making those scenes feel 'cold.'
Their task was to use CG to add visible breath for the actors.
Once this was completed, Duke found the effect very effective having visible breath from the actors helped portray the harsh conditions of captivity, especially for someone like Tony Stark, a billionaire used to a life of luxury, who would naturally find it hard to endure. This also added an extra layer of credibility to his later transformation.
However, while the special effects team's work was one aspect, Duke's decisions in the final editing process were another.
Iron Man still maintained the hallmark of traditional Hollywood commercialism—prioritizing entertainment. In such commercially-oriented entertainment films, so-called profound themes or artistic value must give way to visual effects and entertainment.
Duke was very aware that the main audience for these kinds of movies clearly consisted of viewers aged 14 to 35. They love explosive scenes and high-intensity visual impact, stimulating their nerves with fast-paced editing and loud sound effects, and deriving satisfaction from it.
Compared to the previous Batman Begins, Iron Man's final cut would contain far more special effects scenes.
Within reason, retaining as many excellent special effects scenes as possible was one of Duke's core principles during the editing process.
In addition, the charisma of Tony Stark's character was also a key focus.
At first glance, Iron Man's appearance looked too bulky and not stylish enough, but Duke wasn't worried at all audiences would be captivated by the overwhelming charisma he exudes.
Unlike comic book heroes like Spider-Man or Batman who care greatly about appearances, Iron Man, when you get down to it, is just a suit of battle armor a weapon. So if you judge him by the standards of traditional comic heroes, it's easy to misinterpret.
Most of the time, Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark appears without the suit—his real-life image alone is enough to charm a legion of female fans.
In the final cut, Duke also made sure to keep as many scenes and lines as possible that showcase Tony Stark's personality and witty banter.
Tony Stark is a character full of personal charm, and it's not just about his womanizing.
Though fighting evil forces is the superhero's main task, they are not robots—they're flesh-and-blood humans with emotions. Especially Marvel's superheroes, who often possess flaws just like regular people. Whether audiences like them or not greatly depends on their personal charisma.
Robert Downey Jr. himself was never a goody-two-shoes. He always gave off an air of wildness and rebelliousness, along with a kind of toughness and defiance. These unique qualities were fully displayed in the film and made for a sharp contrast with past superhero portrayals, likely giving audiences a refreshing alternative feel.
Add to that Tony Stark's talent for cracking jokes and flirting—and most importantly, his immense wealth—women basically have zero resistance to him.
Unlike other heroes who are overly serious or solemn in daily life, Tony Stark is always candid and relaxed, wildly tossing his sense of humor around. Even when he's with robots, he doesn't stop with the wisecracks. Yet he still comes across as steady rather than frivolous, exuding a leader's aura that makes everyone around him willingly follow his lead.
It could be said that even without the armor, Tony Stark already carried the bearing of a superhero.
To a certain extent, in the rough cut completed by Duke and Mike Dawson, if Robert Downey Jr. spoke a hundred lines, at least ninety of them would make the audience laugh.
In Duke's own words, Tony Stark's personal charisma alone was enough to win people over. If his combat abilities were strong too, how could audiences not fall in love with him?
Then there was the matter of the soundtrack. Since Iron Man was a film full of metallic texture, the main score would naturally be centered around heavy metal rock. But it also needed to reflect the protagonist's personality—mischievous, often breaking convention, unpredictable, and frequently laced with a touch of humor.
By March, Duke had basically completed the fine cut. However, many scenes still lacked finalized special effects, which depended on the progress of the effects team.
It was also during this month that the collaboration between Time Warner and News Corporation, already secretly agreed upon, began to yield results on the other side of the Pacific. A delegation was sent to Los Angeles for on-site engagement with Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox, and Duke, the originator of the proposal, was one of their key contacts.