Poll: Which is tougher: iron or steel?

[bartholen_v1legacy]

With the two big superhero blockbusters of this year now having been in theaters for quite a while with Thor: Dark World still waiting in the wings, I'd like to know which one The Escapist preferred better.

My vote goes to Man of Steel. List of pros and cons for both below.

Iron Man 3
+ Pros

+ Robert Downey Jr.
+ That twist
+ Ben Kingsley
+ Big, nerdgasm-tastic action at the end
+ Cool visuals

- Cons

- Mish-mash story
- Some moments broke suspension of disbelief (yeah, he can totally sneak into that guarded house full of thugs all on his own)
- The big armor got shafted on screentime!

Man of Steel
+ Pros

+ Great casting for Superman
+ Actually made Supes look cool and feel human at the same time (I've always been bored to death by him)
+ Story touches on surprisingly deep themes
+ HUGE action, I don't think I've seen such massive destruction in any movie I've seen
+ Spectacular special effects
+ Great performance by Michael Shannon
+ Great visuals. The forever-in-production-limbo Mass Effect movie could take some pointers from this on how a proper sci-fi spectacle should look. On the other hand, it feels MoS already took those pointers from Mass Effect so there that is
+ A villain whose motives made sense and even made me root for them a little

- Cons

- Bit of a clunky and awkward start
- Maybe a bit too much action towards the end
- Lois Lane's character doesn't get to do much
- Vital changes from comics. This wasn't a problem for me, but some people are gonna call them out anyway, so I'll mention it right away.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I'm leaning toward Man of Steel despite the flaws it has (I have no problem with the ending but the pacing was jarring and a few plotholes).
I just find Iron Man 3 to be dissapointing (but I did had high expectation) and no it wasn't the twist. I just didn't like it was the usual iron fight like the previous two and I didn't like the detective aspect of the film.

 

[BeeGeenie]

Man, this was surprisingly hard. Edit: (That's what she said.)

Gotta give Man-o-Steel Man props for actually managing to make the Superman mythos interesting.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

They both aren't great. (As said by someone who doesn't like superhero movies.)

I thought Iron Man 3 was trying its hardest to recreate what made the other Iron Man movies so iconic (Stark being presumed dead, Stark having to rebuild with elementary supplies, an enormous firefight at the end with the colonel and a bunch of unmanned suits, main villain is some corporate dude trying to sell merchandise, secondary villain is the terrorist-looking fella who isn't a terrorist, whatever else.) And fuck the villains in the movie, they were either the ex-military guy's "I would stomp those kittens with my baby seal leather boots, but I'm too busy blowing up an orphanage", or they were Killain's "humanity is imperfect, I have the cure that is an evil plot device, I am going to spread it even though it's going to kill a lot of people but that's okay because those people are imperfect." And then the writers hastily added, Oh yeah, and I can also breathe fire.

Man of Steel was bad because I hate everything about Superman and his total incorruptibility. Fight scenes were really good, probably the best ever, because the people fighting had no logical limits to their power. Great to watch somebody punch a guy in the chin and level a three story building at the same time.

Despite Iron Man 3's poorly implemented plot -- making a detective story about the bombings but telling you the answer before the mystery even begins -- I liked it more. Because Stark has some flaws and limits as a character and his character is hilarious because of Robert Downey Jr.

And I hate Superman on principle.

 

[Quaxar]

Man, this was surprisingly hard.

Definitely harder than comparing material properties, yes.

Not having seen any of those films I'll withdraw. Next time don't get the metal fans all riled up. Go team steel!

 

[Amethyst Wind]

"Where is my sandwich?"

I'm going with Iron Man 3. Not a perfect movie by any means and I hated how Jim Rhodes was marginalised (the guy disappears for like 2 hours) but I enjoyed it more than Man of Steel.

Tony Stark being out of control is much more entertaining than Clark Kent constantly keeping himself in a state of rigid self-control.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

Spoilers abound...

Both are bad movies, but Iron Man 3 was far more watchable. Actual humor plus a charismatic and flawed protagonist go a long ways towards making up for the silly plot. Superman had just as many narrative issues while maintaining a dry, repetitive, and embarrassingly self-serious demeanor throughout.

Thor 2 is sort of our last hope for a decent superhero blockbuster this summer. Part of me hopes that one's a dud, too; wouldn't mind moving past this superhero obsession sometime soon.

 

[Pinkamena]

l preferred Man of Steel. Iron Man 3 was good, but overall, MoS comes out on top manly because it was pretty as fuck.

 

[Jandau]

Iron Man 3 was decent. Not spectacular, but decent.

However, Man of Steel was outright bad. The pacing was painful. Not just a bit jarring, it inflicted physical discomfort. The fight scenes, while solid, were all clumped up at the end and became tedious roughly 1/2 way through. The whole final fight with Zod was a snoozefest. Add to this the completely pointless subplot with the Daily Planet people that only served to pad the movie (which hardly needed padding), the constant pathetic attempts at melodrama (which contrast severely with Superman's complete disregard for human life in the later stages of the movie) and some genuinely bad filmography and you get something that's mediocre at best.

One cool thing were the final days of Krypton. It was well done, fun to watch and didn't outstay its welcome. Like the rest of the movie did...

 

[CriticalMiss]

I've yet to see Man of Steel but from what I've heard it's rather terrible in a mediocre way. Iron Man 3 was a bit 'meh', the twist was quite good I thought but everything else was kind of uninspiring plus the ending wasn't so good. I found the whole part with the kid just annoying and unnecessary.

I'm hoping that Thor 2: Hammer Time will be good. Fingers crossed that Natalie Portman gets offed early on and Sif gets more screen time.

 

[Dango]

God dammit, I actually came into this thread expecting arguments about the metallic properties of iron and steel. That'll teach me to want to show off whatever I remember from high school science.

 

[DSK-]

In my opinion Man of Steel was a better experience than Iron Man 3. Iron Man 3 was god awful.

 

[Sack of Cheese]

I love Superman (comics, TV shows and movies) and never read any Iron man comics, but I prefer Iron man 3.

Man of Steel was disappointing. I can see how people like it though.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

I prefer Iron Man 3, but that's mostly because I find Superman incredibly uninteresting.

Iron Man 3 had it's flaws and it was pretty bad in comparison with better superhero movies such as "The Dark Knight", but atleast it tryed to be interesting rather the Man of Steel which was kind of just retelling Superman's standard origin story.

 

[White Lightning]

God dammit, I actually came into this thread expecting arguments about the metallic properties of iron and steel. That'll teach me to want to show off whatever I remember from high school science.

Screw the rules, I didn't do a google search on this for nothing!

Steel is stronger than Iron because it's an alloy, a mixture of metals. Steel is made of Iron as well as Carbon, Manganese, Phosphorus, Sulfur, Silicon, and small amounts of Oxygen, Nitrogen, and Aluminum. So it makes sense that Steel is stronger because it's made from Iron. However Iron has more Ductility, which is an extremely important factor as well.

The question stated however was which is "tougher", so in this case the answer is Steel.

 

[Naleh]

God dammit, I actually came into this thread expecting arguments about the metallic properties of iron and steel. That'll teach me to want to show off whatever I remember from high school science.

I knoooooooow. Such a disappointment.

[Props to OP for a clever title though.]

 

[LostCrusader]

Iron Man 3 was decent. Not spectacular, but decent.

However, Man of Steel was outright bad. The pacing was painful. Not just a bit jarring, it inflicted physical discomfort. The fight scenes, while solid, were all clumped up at the end and became tedious roughly 1/2 way through. The whole final fight with Zod was a snoozefest. Add to this the completely pointless subplot with the Daily Planet people that only served to pad the movie (which hardly needed padding), the constant pathetic attempts at melodrama (which contrast severely with Superman's complete disregard for human life in the later stages of the movie) and some genuinely bad filmography and you get something that's mediocre at best.

One cool thing were the final days of Krypton. It was well done, fun to watch and didn't outstay its welcome. Like the rest of the movie did...

You almost completely nailed my opinion of these movies, the only point I would give to Man of Steel is that it has a villain that is miles ahead of Iron Man's. Zod's motives and actions actually made sense, though I never understood why no one ever brought up the idea of Superman trading the power to restore Krypton for Earth's safety.

 

[TheKaz]

Hopped into this thread thinking it was an in-depth discussion on metalurgy....

I am dissapoint.

:L

 

[The Harkinator]

I prefer Man of Steel. Iron Man 3 is good but it sacrifices what could have been a great villain so they could have a funny scene. I laughed at first but after thinking about it was annoyed at the wasted potential. Also the ending felt like the film was trying to have its cake and eat it with the "I am still Iron Man, but I've moved on to be a better person." thing.

I really hope we don't get more "I can now move on" endings (that was one of the few things that annoyed me about TDKR) for superhero movies.

Man of Steel was genuinely thrilling, great music and great fight scenes. The film told the origin story and established Superman as the hero we already know he is. He has the Fortress of Solitude, works at The Daily Planet and is ready to save the world at a moments notice. Just how it should be. The film could have been a bit lighter with a few more jokes, those couple of funny moments at the end teased something that could have been but otherwise I thought Man of Steel was a great film.