God, there was just such…integrity in the first iron man movie that none of the other MCU movies have. A maturity in the way the characters presented themselves, themes based in realism and heroics and focusing on the victims instead of the villain. There was no such thing as an “inherent good” character. No one tried to paint any of the characters as the impossible pinnacle of human perfection like what happened in the next Iron Man movie, the Cap franchise, and onward. Pepper had flaws. Rhodey had flaws. Tony had flaws. Everyone had flaws but at the end of the day, who gives a shit? Who gives a single fuck about any of the past mistakes when a job needs to be done and you’re the only one who can do it? When people need to be saved, who cares that you used to sleep around, that you would value the life of your boss and friend over the lives of the innocent, that you had a huge falling out with someone you consider family. Tony, Pepper, and Rhodey all stepped up and changed but it’s so subtle. So casual and so realistic. Actually watching a movie with such respect for the characters and confidence in its storytelling was amazing, and personally why the original Iron Man film is still the best of the MCU.