Marvel movies like Blade, X-Men, and Spider-Man shined on the silver screen in the mid aughts. But a cohesive cinematic universe did not exist until Jon Favreau's Iron Man. Favreau and artist Adi Granov produced a comic book mini-series in order to capitalize on the film's visibility and provide needed synergy with the source material. In fact, Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas debuted a mere three days after Favreau's feature film adaptation premiered in 2008. Despite introducing fans to phase one of the MCU and smashing box office sales worldwide, the first Iron Man movie surprisngly almost did not happen.
Marvel movies before the MCU were hit-and-miss with success. Films like Ghost Rider and Fantastic Four captivated audiences, but neither wowed fans like the MCU franchise today. Spanning over 23 different movies, the Marvel Cinematic Universe began phase one when Jon Favreau's Iron Man hit the big screen. Shockingly, the movie struggled in the beginning as creative differences between Favreau and Marvel's writers clashed. Favreau intended for Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas, a canon comic book miniseries, to attract new Iron Man fans and introduce them to the world of Tony Stark. His plan was to engage new Iron Man fans with the comic books and film simultaneously. However, relations were so rocky between Favreau and Marvel during the comic book's creation that Marvel canceled the series after the first two issues.
Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas #1 contains major plot holes. It makes empty promises leaving seasoned Stark fans with a bittersweet taste in their mouths. Critics praised Favreau's adoption of the often mocked super villain Fin Fang Foom, but felt the story regurgitated the film's best attributes without ultimately delivering a fresh take on the material. The story connected loosely to the film and attempted to stand apart from Robert Downey Jr.'s now iconic portrayal, but fell short as fans never saw Iron Man actually fight Fin Fang Foom before Marvel canceled the series. The story paid homage to Iron Man's earliest appearances in the 1960s with a modern aesthetic but the plot line falls flat when Tony leaves to vacation in Las Vegas. Events become even more implausible when Tony visits Stark Casino. An enchanted dragon statue at the Golden Dragon hotel starts to glow and unleashes hundreds of lizards crawling all over the strip.
Where the aborted Favreau/Granov mini-series falls short, the movie Iron Man more than makes up for the ill-conceived storyline. The brilliance of Favreau's work in the MCU is apparent both in box office sales and in the audience's worldwide reception. Though Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige once stated they never set out to build an interconnected universe, the framework for the multiple phases and internal architecture behind the MCU is undeniably remarkable. With 2023 right around the corner, MCU fans still wait anxiously for any news regarding future projects. This year's San Diego Comic-Con revealed detailed plans and never before seen trailers for upcoming MCU films and shows in the franchise. And yet, many fans forget that a nearly forgotten mini-series almost doomed the project from the very start.