Iron Patriot Spotted on Iron Man 3 Set and We're Going to Discuss it Like Distinguished Gentlemen.

Now this story has already spread to so many corners of the Internet that even your Grandmother knows about it. An international man of mystery took spy pictures of what clearly appears to be the Iron Patriot on the set of the now filming Iron Man 3. Who is Iron Patriot? He's what happened when Captain America and Iron Man had a baby...

Source: Aint it Cool News.

This guy is so patriotic that he shoots fireworks out his mouth and he never forgets.

So everybody already knows this now, but the difference is that you and I are going to ditch the fanboy speculation and talk about it like mature and distinguished gentlemen. We're going to talk about what this really means in terms of comics and continuity... after the jump!

So who was Iron Patriot in the comics? Was it Tony with a splash of paint? Was it Captain America in a less goofy suit? No, you dumb-dumbs! It was Norman Osborne aka the Green Goblin. Huh? I am assuming that it was the armour that he would wear during the pumpkin off season.

But further spy images revealed that it is actor James Badge Dale in the Iron Patriot suit, and he is said to be playing Eric Savin in the film who, in the comics becomes Coldblood. Who the hell is Coldblood?

Coldblood is a military guy who got exploded by a mine and then turned into a cyborg which meant he was finally able to grow out his mullet.

This causes much wringing of hands and speculation. Does Norman Osborne factor into this? Will Eric Savin become the Iron Patriot and then Coldblood? And where does M.O.D.O.K. factor into all this?

And this is where we put on the mantle of mature and distinguished gentleman, because we need to have learned that when it comes to the film universe, the comics continuity really doesn't matter.

This was something I battled back when I speculated that Thanos would be the secret villain in The Avengers. Folks (good folks, mind you, like you and me) argued vehemently that he couldn't possibly be in charge of the invading alien force because it clashed with his established role and continuity. And this sort of argument happens online all the time! 

But maybe it's time we acknowledged that most ongoing comic series are fun goofy soap operas with bewildering and outlandish twists and turns to keep us hooked from month to month, and that the same devices used in these books do not translate well to the narrative structure of a feature film. 

I don't think the team filming Iron Man 3 really give a shit about the comics continuity, and nor do I think they should. I think it's wonderful when they find a way to nod to the source material when such an opportunity presents itself, but I never, ever think that  they should be slaves to old books that only a handful of people have read. It would be absolutely criminal to let Coldblood or Norman Osborne or any of that business get in the way of telling the best possible filmed Iron Man story that they can with their available resources. And if that means that Eric Savin steps on a mine and becomes a cyborg Iron Patriot, or dons the suit for a frat party, or wins it in a poker game against Howard the Duck, then SO BE IT. I think it's crazy if you think that previous stories need to factor into it at all!

So now we have that out of the way let's sit back and puff on our pipes, and polish up our monocles for a time when we can go to the moving picture show and judge the film that Marvel is actually producing for ourselves. I bet we shall have a jolly good time. Tally ho!