Why Ironman failed...

Some weeks back, the movie "Ironman" premiered, and though I enthusiastically went for it, I was quite dismayed to find that the theatre was relatively empty. I don't know what happened worldwide, but I'm sure it wouldn't have been quite as bad. Thinking of it, I guess I shouldn't be surprised at all. After all, I don't remember seeing too many Ironman comics in stores 15 years back, and I haven't come across too many of them on shelves even now. I have a theory on why this is so.

Unlike the west, comics in India are targeted at ages 8-15. Only in the past few years has the concept of 'graphic novel' for more mature readers caught on. Tony Stark a.k.a. Ironman was created by Stan Lee in March 1963. Tony's character is that of a glamorous genius -millionaire-playboy businessman… possibly too much for India's youth to digest back then - especially the ladies' man bit. This would have been chiefly due to a fewreasons.

First, India's weak economy at the time made the capitalist consumer's 'good life' a bit far-fetched. For instance, back then, there were barely 3 types of cars available to the common man (after being on a waiting list for at least a year) while Tony Stark was buying sports cars.

Two, the middle class was not given to squandering money on comics and only the most popular ones ever really made it to the stands. Laurel & Hardy, the Phantom, Mandrake the Magician and some Disney were the popular ones, along with Asterix and Tintin. The DC comics which did make it (like Superman and Spiderman) were more expensive, as were Disney's Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse.

Third, and most important, was the conservative traditional outlook that the majority maintained. Anything remotely related to sex and nudity was frowned upon and there was an atmosphere of 'moral policing'. The cinema of the time is testimony to this. The Indian film industry, popularly called Bollywood, was churning out movies with messages of classical ethics and morals, where the good guys always won, and, more to the point, were virgin monogamists.

Times have changed now, and a teen hero like Superboy (not to mention Knockout!)does well enough in the market. Perhaps now would be a good time to introduce Ironman in the market here.