Emmalee Smith

Mathews
ENC2135
22 March 2016
Invincible Man Defeated By His Own Mind
The 2008 release of Marvels Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr. as the invincible
hero, is said to have been the catalyst for the current Marvel frenzy. Downey Jr.'s character holds
great influence over the audience, especially viewers who are children. Like many heroes, Iron
Man, in his first two films, was portrayed mentally strong and capable of overcoming any
obstacle he was put into. From being trapped in an Afghan prisoner of war cave, to nearly being
killed by the shrapnel near his heart, Tony Stark continued forward with no change to his
narcissistic and witty personality.
However, when Stark is faced with an army of unstoppable aliens and the inability to
protect his friends and loved ones, his state of mind changes. The supposedly invincible man
showed signs of extreme insomnia, and had multiple anxiety attacks in Iron Man 3. Following
the traumatic events that occurred in Marvel's The Avengers film, the symptoms Stark displays
seem much related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, this disorder is difficult to
diagnose. Stark's symptoms will be analyzed and researched in depth to achieve the most
accurate description of his mental state. If Stark's symptoms were to indicate that he does have
PTSD, the character would be a great addition to the list of superheroes used in clinical therapy

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settings for children. Iron Man could be used as a great example of a successful influence for
children who suffer from PTSD or other anxiety conditions to relate to.
Marvels Iron Man 3 opens with a solid black screen and deep silence. In the darkness,
the audience hears a somber Tony Stark say We create our own demons (Iron Man 3). Because
Stark is typically comical and sarcastic, the serious tone he uses in the films opening is an
indication that Stark will be battling more than the just the films villain. Stark is indeed battling
his own inner demons throughout the entire film, showing many signs of post-traumatic stress
disorder. The main factors that lead to PTSD is a traumatic event that involves exposure to
actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence. The event is typically outside the
range of normal human experience (Black 177). In Marvels The Avengers, the last time the
audience saw Stark, an army of aliens was attacking New York City and only the Avengers could
stop them. The aliens were coming to Earth through a wormhole and for the wormhole to be
closed, Iron Man had to fly a bomb into the opening. When the bomb exploded, Iron Man was
nearly trapped in space, and actually accepted this fate, blacking out in space thinking he was
dead. He was awakened by his friends, back on Earth where all of the aliens were dead. This
event fits extremely well into the category of PTSD causes, as flying through a wormhole into
space is definitely beyond a normal human experience.
Regarding the symptoms of PTSD, Stark displays many of the listed symptoms that
clinical psychologists use to diagnose the disorder. A common symptom of PTSD is sleep
disturbance (Black 179). In a study conducted psychiatrist Robert McLay, results yielded that
insomnia was the most common symptom of PTSD (761). Early into Iron Man 3, Stark
mentions that he has not slept for nearly seventy-two hours. Throughout the film, Stark often
references his lack of sleep, saying that he cannot sleep because he needs to build more Iron Man

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suits to better protect people. Studies have shown that a lack of sleep can cause significant
impairment in quality of life (McLay 762) and Stark is certainly experiencing great
impairments. His constant need to build suits creates tension in Starks personal relationships and
his abilities as Iron Man. Because of Starks lack of sleep, he becomes rash in his thoughts and
behaviors, and this impulsivity eventually leads to the bombing of Starks Malibu home.
Research has shown that individuals with PTSD report greater fear and anxiety about
sleeping due to trauma-related nightmares (Gerhart 366). Trauma-related nightmares are likely
the reason Stark can no longer rest. When Stark finally sleeps in the film, he has violent
nightmares of his time in the wormhole. One nightmare was so physiologically arousing for
Stark, that he summoned one of his Iron Man suits in his sleep to protect him. However the suit
almost harms his love interest, Pepper Potts, while trying to protect its maker. In researching
nightmares of PTSD patients, psychiatrist Krzysztof Rutkowski discovered that when his patients
had nightmares, their autonomous nervous systems were stimulated (42). The autonomous
nervous system, when activated, controls the section of the brain responsible for fight-or-flight
mechanisms, which are typically only activated when a person feels they are in danger. The suit
Stark called in his sleep is connected to his brainwaves, and from the suits quick, violent
reaction, Starks physiological state reflected that Stark was in great trouble and needed help.
Many symptoms of PTSD are interconnected, meaning that one symptom usually leads to
another. In Iron Man 3, Stark has multiple anxiety attacks and displays many anxious behaviors.
These anxious behaviors likely stem from the violent nightmares that Stark has when he sleeps.
In a research study, patients with PTSD were separated into two groups: those who remembered
their nightmares and those who did not. The group which remembered nightmares, just as Stark
remembers his, showed that their level of temporary anxiety was aggravated to a similar degree

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as the anxiety being a constant personality feature (Rutkowski 47). The anxiety produced from
remembering his nightmares has caused Stark to become increasingly anxious in his general
state, making anxiety attacks more likely to occur.
Starks anxiety attacks only occur when the wormhole in New York is brought up or
when he feels helpless to others. For example, when his suit stops working and he cannot
immediately fix the machine, Stark goes into an immobilizing panic attack that causes him to
hyperventilate and worry about the people in danger that he cannot protect. Also, when his young
companion of the film, Harley, asks the hero to explain his battle against the aliens, Stark
experiences a panic attack to the similar degree. Research has shown that panic can be viewed
as a conditioned response to trauma that is later triggered by trauma related cues (Falsetti 688).
Stark, as a high profile superhero without a secret identity, is reminded constantly of his
traumatic experience by fans and by the media. He is not able to fully escape the event mentally,
and trauma related cues surround him every time he leaves him home.
While Stark displays several symptoms of PTSD, there are those who argue that Stark
does not suffer from the disorder. They argue that Stark has been through multiple events that fall
into the definition of traumatic, and has never displayed symptoms of the disorder before this
film. While Stark has faced many events that most people would find traumatic, in the world of
psychology, therapists generally say that a clinician doesnt singlehandedly determine what is
traumatic the patient does (Letamendi). Even Stark himself does not believe he has PTSD,
however his body reveals otherwise. In addition to the previously mentioned symptoms, Stark
displays many more symptoms that clinical psychologists use to diagnose the disorder.
Recurrent, involuntary, and intrusive distressing memories of the traumatic event, recurrent
distressing dreams, dissociative reactions (flashbacks) of the traumatic event, and unprovoked

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irritable behavior and angry outbursts (Black 178-79) are all major symptoms of PTSD that
Stark shows during the film.
Also, in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the next appearance of Iron Man, Stark continues to
show symptoms of PTSD. While the anxiety attacks seem to be gone in this this film, the
audience still sees Starks anxiety in regards to protecting his friends. Stark, in a hypnotic,
dream-like state that plays upon a persons greatest fear, sees all of his friends dead around him
in New York after the alien attack, while he is left alive and lonely. In this dream, he feels like he
let his friends die, and later in the film reveals that he believes failing the team is his legacy
(Avengers). The appearance of these anxious behaviors show that Starks symptoms are not
temporary, as Age of Ultron is set two years after Iron Man 3. From an external perspective,
Stark does exhibit enough symptoms to be diagnosed with some level of post-traumatic stress
disorder.
Because Iron Man is such a popular and loved character in the Marvel franchise, his
diagnoses of PTSD, or at least his struggle with anxious behaviors, has the potential to become
helpful in treating children with similar disorders. Young children are fond of superheroes and
look up to the heroes not just because of their powers, but also because of the behaviour they
promote (Martin 249). Young children are also difficult to treat with traditional therapy methods
because their feelings are less clear than those of adults. Using the backstory and behaviors of
superheroes, children are able to relate to the characters and reveal emotions in a method called
superhero play. Superhero play lets the children pretend to be their favorite hero, and while
acting as this hero, the children can reveal villains in their lives or overcome emotional
instabilities. Superhero play has been said to help children come to understand and begin to heal
in the face of physical/sexual abuse, family trauma, and the challenges of living with a disability,

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acculturation difficulties, grief and loss, as well as anger (Rubin 123). Superhero play is
becoming increasingly popular in clinical settings and is helping children overcome their
problems in a fun and efficient manner.
In talking about superhero play and the ability the method has on helping children,
psychiatrist Lawrence Rubin says:
[The world of superheroes] is a place in which children escape from, but also
make sense of their world by creating and then living their storiestheir own
personal mythologies. As is sometimes the case with the world around them, this
inner place is populated by villains who hurt and heroes who help. Most special
among the latter is the superhero; the unique, bigger-than life figure, who by
virtue of gift or accident, possesses powers and abilities far beyond those of
mortal men and children. (129)
When a superhero has some kind of disability or mental disorder, many children begin to see that
they can persevere through their own problems. When a child has PTSD or severe anxiety, they
may not realize what is happening to them when they have extreme nightmares or anxiety
attacks. However, if children see that Iron Man also has these problems, and that he still saves
the day despite these hindrances, they may gain hope that they can overcome their own
obstacles. The film, Iron Man 3, is said to depict mental illness with a sophisticated level of
ambiguity and dimension (Letamendi). The ambiguity of Iron Mans depicted disorder allows
audiences and psychologists to make the symptoms shown applicable to many disorders.
Children with general anxiety disorder may relate to only Starks anxiety attacks, while, on the

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other hand, children who have faced extreme trauma may relate to the rest of his depicted
symptoms.
Iron Mans diagnoses of PTSD not only adds depth to the character, but also reminds
audiences that he is indeed only human. Unlike many superheroes, Tony Stark does not possess
any supernatural abilities. Stark built his own alter ego, and he himself will tell you that he is
just a man in a can (Iron Man 3). While the suit may protect Stark physically, his mental state
is left unguarded. After one fatal mental blow, Stark finally collapses under the pressure of his
emotions. Stark went through a qualifying traumatic event and displays ample listed symptoms
that would lead him to be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He is among the first
superheroes to show such persistent signals of a mental disorder, and this may be helpful to many
trauma patients. Because Marvel displayed the disorder to such a large, diverse audience,
negative stigmatization of the disorder may decrease, and those who suffer from PTSD,
especially those who are young, will have someone who overcomes the disorder to look to for
inspiration. Iron Man now stands with other troubled superheroes and together these characters
form a new superhero league of their own, helping children defeat the villains in their world.

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Works Cited

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Avengers: Age of Ultron. Dir. Joss Whedon. Perf. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris
Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlet Johansson, and Jeremy Renner. Walt Disney Studios
Home Entertainment, 2015. DVD.
Black, Donald W., and Jon E. Grant. "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." DSM-5 Guidebook: The
Essential Companion to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth
ed. Washington: American Psychiatric Publishing, 2014. 176-83. Print.
Falsetti, Sherry A., and Heidi S. Resnick. "Frequency and Severity of Panic Attack Symptoms in
a Treatment Seeking Sample of Trauma Victims." Journal of Traumatic Stress 10.4
(1997): 683-9. ProQuest. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
Gerhart, James I., Daphna Canetti, Brian J. Hall, Stevan E. Hobfoll, and Eric U. Russ. "Sleep
Disturbances Predict Later Trauma-Related Distress: Cross-Panel Investigation Amidst
Violent Turmoil." Health Psychology 33.4 (2014): 365-72. Print.
Iron Man 3. Dir. Shane Black. Perf. Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow. Walt Disney
Studios Home Entertainment, 2013. DVD.
Letamendi, Andrea. "Iron Man: A Terrible Privilege." Under the Mask. UndertheMask.com, 10
May 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.
Martin, Justin F. "Children's Attitudes toward Superheroes as a Potential Indicator of their Moral
Understanding." Journal of Moral Education 36.2 (2007): 239-50. Print.
McLay, Robert N., Warren P. Klam, and Stacy L. Volkert. "Insomnia is the Most Commonly
Reported Symptom and Predicts Other Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in
U.S. Service Members Returning from Military Deployments." Military Medicine 175.10
(2010): 759-62. Print.

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Rubin, Lawrence, and Harry Livesay. "Look, Up in the Sky! Using Superheroes in Play
Therapy." International Journal of Play Therapy 15.1 (2006): 117-33. Print.
Rutkowski, Krzysztof. "Anxiety, Depression, and Nightmares in PTSD." Archives of Psychiatry
and Psychotherapy 3.2 (2001): 41-50. ProQuest. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.