'Iron Man 3' trailer hits the Web

SALT LAKE CITY — In what seems to be a growing trend in movie marketing these days, a teaser for “Iron Man 3” was recently released. A few frames of Tony Stark, Iron Man, and Pepper Potts flashed with the promise that on Oct. 23, Apple Trailers would have the world exclusive look at the next chapter of the popular “Iron Man” series.

But unlike Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” which recently tried to use the same tease-the-teaser buildup only to leave audiences with a bewildered “that-was-it?” expression, “Iron Man 3” absolutely delivered.

People were wondering where the story could go after the lackluster “Iron Man 2,” and now that Tony Stark has helped save the world with a group of “Earth’s mightiest heros” in “The Avengers,” who, or what, is there that could possibly pose any sort of threat to the seemingly invincible Iron Man?

Enter the “Iron Man 3” teaser which hit, as promised, at Apple’s website.

The Mandarin, longtime comic rival to Iron Man and fan favorite, is going after Tony Stark, not Iron Man. Attacking the man and not the suit, the teaser delivers a wildly clever shot where the face of Iron Man is used to frighten audiences — not conjure up that rock star hero image we’ve come to expect.

Rumors about the plot have hinted that the “Iron Man: Extremis” storyline would be the focus of the film, a storyline that can be seen on Netflix in animated form, but the teaser makes it clear that “Iron Man 3” has an identity of its own. Extremis will have plenty of opportunities to be used as a plot device, but this is obviously not a cut-and-paste effort from Marvel and Disney.

“Iron Man 3” will hit theaters in early summer of 2013 and will probably carry a rating of PG-13. “Iron Man 3” stars Robert Downey Jr., Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley and Gwyneth Paltrow.

You can contact Travis at TSPoppleton@gmail.com.

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