Self-Sacrifice In Captain America And Iron Man

Captain America (Steve Rogers) and Iron Man (Tony Stark), despite existing in different eras, share a general plot in which there is the birth of the superhero (which usually entails a morally defining challenge motivating them to fight forces of evil as well as artificial enhancements allowing them to do so), a love interest who aids them, an evolution in their weaponry, a seemingly undefeatable villain with technology capable of threatening world peace and a final face-off where the villain dies at the hands of their own technology. Moreover, the themes of good versus evil and self-sacrifice are predominant in both films. Both films also make use of bright primary colours- red, yellow and blue, and use non-diegetic sounds as a cutting device. Both superheroes have a lot in common: sharing the

For Tony Stark, this is his superior intellect and for Steve Rogers it is his patriotism and selflessness. However, in both opening scenes their weakness is made apparent to the audience. For Steve Rogers this was shown by his comparable smallness and underdevelopment to other male characters in the scene where he is shirtless, lined up next to other men waiting to take the physical test required to join the army; the test he subsequently fails. With Tony Stark it was shown in the opening scene when he runs away from his assailant and hides behind a rock to try get help after the military tank he was in, is blown up- much like Steve Rogers he is also not physically strong and cannot defend himself in this scene. However, their respective qualities help them overcome their challenges as Tony Stark uses his intellect to build an Iron Suit with which he can escape, and Steve Rogers displays his indomitable spirit which eventually gets him into the army. Thus, they both have inherent humane qualities which help them achieve the