Why do we love Iron Man?

Nobody wanted to make Iron Man.

That seems almost ludicrous now as Iron Man 3 opens to rave reviews and packed theaters, which is more of the same for Marvel's billionaire bad boy Tony Stark. But that wasn't always the case.

Since 1990, major studios had tried and given up on the character. Universal, 20th Century Fox and New Line all worked at developing a script, but never went much further. Even Marvel Studios, the company behind the comics, struggled to make it happen, but when it finally took off ... even one of Stark's rocket powered suits couldn't catch it.

But why do millions of movie-goers connect to this ridiculously wealthy, insanely brilliant, arrogant "mechanic," as he dubs himself in the latest film? Behind all of the layers, through all the suits of armor, we see, for better and for worse, ourselves.

Let's face it. Tony Stark can be an absolute jerk. A lovable jerk, but a jerk nonetheless.

He cannot honestly face the problems in his life. He either turns to alcohol or work, making them an obsession. Everything else in his life is ignored as he refuses to deal with his personal issues in an appropriate way.

He loves Pepper Potts, but still doesn't even know how to be in a functional relationship with her — making rash decisions without thinking of the consequences for her and not really getting to know her enough to understand what it is she really wants.

All of this and more stems from his being absolutely and almost unavoidably self-absorbed. He struggles to ever think beyond how something will impact him, how another person can benefit him.

Through it all though, he is driven by a desire to live up to the name of his father and the greatness, the true greatness, not the brash arrogance, that lives inside of him. He knows he is here for something special. He's just trying to figure it out along the way, while making his father proud.

Tony Stark is a superhero, but a fallen, human one.

He's not Superman, the pure, infallible knight in shinning armor. He's not Batman, the dark knight motivated by revenge and fear.

To hit closer to his home, he's not like any of his fellow Avengers. He's deeper than Captain America, a shining symbol of bravery. He's not trying to hide some buried monster like the Hulk, the world has seen his demons. He is definitely not a god from another world come down to save us like Thor.

In various situations, in moments of brashness and moments of humility, Tony Stark likes to say, "I am Iron Man." We could appropriately say, "Iron Man is Man." We are Iron Man.

We too are fallen. We have problems that too often rear their ugly heads at the worst moment. We want to love those in our lives, but far too frequently, we can't stop loving ourselves to do that. More than anyone else, we know our failures and our weaknesses, but there is still something inside of us that yearns for greatness.

See, we also have a great Father whose image we bear. Inherently, we recognize this, even if the reflection often seems very dim. We know we were made for more than the piddly little obsessions that so often overtake our lives — job, hobbies, alcohol, pleasures, etc.

Just like the cinematic hero, we have to lose our lives to save them. In death, we find true life.

Stan Lee didn't create the Iron Man character as a representative of humanity or to display our need of a Savior, but as C.S. Lewis argued in the essay "What Are We to Make of Jesus Christ?"there is something about great myths that reflect the one true myth.

In Iron Man, we don't see the Savior from the myth. We see the one who needs to be saved — us.

Where Iron Man often misses the mark, is the savior it proposes. Technology, personal growth, relationships, knowledge, despite what modernity and postmodernity may say, they all fall short of bringing salvation.

In Tony Stark, we see ourselves and we also see the many ways we attempt to find salvation outside of Christ. While Iron Man may triumph over The Mandarin with one more power suit, we won't find victory in the same way.

We love Iron Man because he's us, faults and pluses, failures and accomplishments. We love Iron Man because we recognize, underneath all the armor we may build around ourselves, who we are and who we need. We are fallen, but still destined for greatness that can only be found from a Savior.