It’s pretty well known that almost every young boy wants to be just like their favorite superhero.

As a child, one of my favorite heroes was Iron Man. The fact that he didn’t have any real super powers other than his brain always amazed me.

So when I learned “Iron Man 3” was coming out, I knew I had to see it.

“Iron Man 3” officially starts Phase 2 of the Marvel Movieverse. For those not in the know, The Marvel Universe is split into five Phases. Phase 1 ended with “The Avengers” and “The Amazing Spider-Man.” Phase 2 begins with “Iron Man 3” and eventually gives us movies about Antman and The Guardians of the Galaxy.

As I sat down in my seat, I felt a shiver of anticipation trickle down my spine as I waited for the movie to start.

There was, quite literally, not an empty seat in the theatre as the crowd trickled in.

The movie begins completely black, and we hear Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) voice giving an introduction.

The screen then shows the Stark of 1999. He is at a party, and is flirting with scientist Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall). She shows him her experimental drug, Extremis, which can stimulate the brain to rapidly regrow body parts. The drug is not complete, however, and before he sneaks out in the morning, he leaves her the rest of the formula.

Hansen isn’t the only one he stood up. Nerdy scientist Aldritch Killian (Guy Pearce), attempted to recruit Stark, only to be left on the rooftop alone.

As Stark states, this part of the past will come back to haunt him.

The movie then skips to the present, where we see Stark working on a new suit.

We then see the shocking scene of Stark having a panic attack. The end of “The Avengers,” where Stark fell through a wormhole nearly dying, had a greater psychological effect on him than the audience originally assumed.

But soon enough, Stark comes out of it and becomes the Iron Man once again.

Many events happen between the beginning and the end, including the Stark getting to meet Jimmy Neutron- not literally- and his girlfriend Pepper playing an odd part in the plot.

The main villain is called The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley). The Mandarin is the leader of a terrorist group who has been bombing the United States. Strangely, there is no evidence at the bombing sites that a bomb was even used, but it doesn’t take long before the audience is informed why.

There are two extraordinary new characters that step into the spotlight. One is Killian, who, after being ditched by Stark, has now become a powerful scientific genius rivalling Stark himself.

The other is Harley (Ty Simpkins), a boy genius who helps Stark repair his broken suit and take down the Mandarin.

If you watched the previous Iron Man movies, you may remember Colonel Rhodey (Don Cheadle), A.K.A. The War Machine. In this movie, he’s back as the Iron Patriot, an Iron Man- like figure, except for the fact that he is painted in a way reminiscent of the American Flag.

The Iron Patriot has been introduced to protect America from outside threats, namely the Mandarin.

The end holds a huge shocker, and I was a little disappointed in how it wrapped up, but then there was a small scene that made me feel a little better about how things turned out.

All in all, I suggest everyone sees this movie. It has great special effects, an amazing plot and hilarious one-liners, per the Tony Stark usual.

As usual, the graphics were enthralling. I especially enjoyed the lava skin effect that appeared throughout the movie. The plot was also satisfying. I found the action scenes amazing, and I couldn’t stop laughing at the jokes the writers came up with.

All of the actors played their parts flawlessly, whether they were playing a crazy loon or a sadistically evil assassin.

Make sure to wait through the credits to see a small scene after.

I give this movie 4 out of 4 paws, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of Phase 2 has in store for comic book fanatics.