"Iron Man 3" As Conspiracy Narrative

The new movie "Iron Man 3" has pulled in the second-highest opening weekend in the history of cinema. It also boldly incorporates popular conspiracy narratives that the mainstream media normally condemns.

Spoilers for "Iron Man 3" ahead.


Mandarin Is The Fake Bin Laden

The "twist" of the entire movie is that The Mandarin, a villain that looks like a cross between Fu Manchu and Osama Bin Laden, is a complete fake. He is an actor, hired by A.I.M., an Illuminati-type terrorist organization created by scientists and working with traitors within the government. A.I.M. purposely manipulates the public by having this actor and his pseudo Al-Qaeda type group take responsibility for terrorist attacks.

In case it needs to be made any clearer, at one point in the movie it is stated that Mandarin is a fake "just like Bin Laden and Gaddafi."

The idea that Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda are "fakes" created by the C.I.A. (CIA/AIM), the Illuminati, or another such organization, has been made by many high-profile people within the conspiracy theory community, most notably Alex Jones. From Jones' Infowars website:

The real Osama bin Laden is a Western-trained CIA asset with the declassified code-name “Tim Osman.” He was chosen to lead the Mujahideen / Taliban in Afghanistan, in part, because his wealthy family has been a long-term business partner to key families in the West, including the Bush family (Carlyle Group). In fact, George H. W. Bush, the father, had been meeting with one of Osama bin Laden’s brothers on the morning of 9/11. The real Mujahideen has been used for a variety of Western-backed political purposes, namely upheaval and regional-destabilization.

Further, Jones/Infowars alleges that many of the Bin Laden videos we have seen are fakes, complete with multiple actors playing the terrorist leader:

"Admittedly fake videos with bad look-alikes and audio recordings supposedly sent by bin Laden surfaced routinely just before elections (Tom Ridge later admitted that terror threats were elevated to help Bush’s re-election bid) or when the American people needed a reminder of the threat of terror. Prior to the admissions, analysts correctly suspected that al Qaeda video logos matched the signature of the CIA-linked Intel Center, revealing an unholy connection at the source of the video-taped threats."

Again: this is the crux of the entire "Iron Man 3" movie, its big surprise: basically, that an allegorical Bin Laden is a fake and a smoke-screen. And if Bin Laden is a fake, it makes the Seal Team 6 stuff quite questionable.

The question must be asked: if conspiracy theorists are supposedly hated so much, their ideas so crazy -- why was this the central idea of the film? Further: why did the American public so readily accept it by going in droves to watch this movie?

It is significant to note that there is also a nod to the MSM/government suspicion of Libertarians/Constitutionalists -- in the backdrop of The Mandarin's videos are the words, "We The People."


Boston Bombing Parallels

There are creepy parallels between the terrorist bombings in "Iron Man 3" and the recent Boston Marathon Bombings. In the movie, bombs seemingly go off in several high-traffic civilian areas. When Tony Stark's assistant Happy is caught in one of them, the tableau is extremely similar to that of the aftermath of the bombings.

Everybody thinks that the Mandarin (representing Bin Laden/Al-Qaeda) are related to one of the bombings. Another bombing is blamed on a "domestic terrorist" -- a returning army veteran. As Infowars has mentioned many times on their site, returning vets are being "profiled" by the U.S. government as potential terrorists: "The government seems to be obsessed with targeting disgruntled veterans with pre-crime and other unconstitutional forms of surveillance, demonization and harassment..."

The focus on people missing limbs -- including one haunting image of a little girl -- also subliminally bring up memories of the Boston Bombings.


Army Vets Given Mind-Control To Become Human Weapons

Tony Stark finds out the that real culprit is not Mandarin or the vets, but A.I.M. -- who targets injured army vets and makes them undergo painful experiments to literally become human bombs!

These vets are essentially Manchurian Candidates and "sleepers," who can "go off" at any moment. Jones and other theorists have openly wondered if the Boston Bombing suspects might also be "mind-controlled" agents of a shadowy group that were sent to commit the attacks. From an article on Examiner.com:

The fact that the CIA successfully trained unsuspecting individuals to place and explode bombs and to serve as assassins while under hypnosis back in the 1950s raises serious questions. Could the Boston Marathon bombers and even the Newtown, Columbine, and other school shooters have been programmed to carry out these destructive deeds?

Interesting to note: one such "human bomb" introduces herself to Stark as an agent of "Homeland Security" before attacking him.


Tony Stark, "Domestic Terrorist"

One of the most eyebrow-raising sequences of the whole movie is when Tony Stark, on the run from A.I.M. and the "human bombs," has to essentially turn to an "Anarchist's Cookbook" of home-grown weaponry to defend himself. This includes a lingering camera shot of a big bag of fertilizer he buys at a Home Depot-type store. I am surprised he did not buy a pressure-cooker as well.

Further: when Stark uses his "low tech" weapons to infiltrate A.I.M., he wears a hoodie and sunglasses...making him look like the Unabomber!

Why is Stark being show embracing the "tools" of "domestic terrorists" in order to save the day?


Traitors Within Government

A key reveal at the end of the film is that the Vice-President has been covertly working with A.I.M. to help them on their terrorist missions. This plot includes killing the President.


Conclusion

So here is what we have learned from "Iron Man 3":
* Bin Laden was a fake, used in continuing "False Flags."
* Veterans and Constitutionalists/Libertarians have been purposely targeted by "Homeland Security" as potential "domestic terrorists."
* Injured vets and other American citizens are used in MK-Ultra type experiments to create literal "human bombs" who are then used in terrorism.
* Factions of the government are working with a shadowy Illuminati/C.I.A. type organization in order to create "False Flag" terrorist situations and eventually conduct a takeover of the United States.

They say that every blockbuster movie sort of encapsulates the zeitgeist of the people who watch it; these films are inevitably a reflection of our very world. What does this all say about "Iron Man 3?"

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"Man Of Steel" Trailer Decoded: We Love You, Space-Jesus

Watching the trailer for "Man of Steel" last week greatly excited me, as it fulfilled all the criteria for the Kid Messiah archetype as laid out in my post "Looper and the New Aeon, Part 1" -- plus a healthy dose of "Alien Messiah" archetype just for shits and giggles.

Now, the connection between Superman and Jesus/"Son of God" has been around for quite some time, so that's old news. New news: just how jaw-droppingly blatant the symbolism is in this upcoming movie.

Here's the first shot in the trailer, with choir-like music in the background:

Classic crucifixion pose, down to the rags he wears; only the orientation of the body is different. Hanging in "space" like that, he reminded me of the Dali painting:

This is a Cosmic Christ crucified in time-space, rather than with nails; the cross representing the axis-point upon which Spirit is tied to this material plane of existence. Young Clark Kent comments on this feeling of oppression by burdenous ties to the Physical when he narrates: "The world's too big, Mom."

Then we see another classic "Jesus" shot of Superman, complete with beard:

Here we have the story of the son of God, a "super" man: Kal El, "El" meaning the word "deity" in a whole host of languages including Hebrew, Arabic, and Phoenician. In the Canaanite religion, "El" means "supreme god."

Superman's pose, submerged in the water, also brings to mind another "Alien Messiah" from pop-culture: Valentine Michael Smith from Robert Heinlein's "Stranger in A Strange Land":

Smith is technically human but was raised on Mars, and, like Clark Kent, also has "super powers." He initially is chased by the authorities as a menace, but will eventually be something of a "New Messiah" who will bring about a new era. "Stranger" was written in 1961, heralding the deep changes in society during the 1960s. Smith is the herald of the New Aeon, the Age of Aquarius, literally a "water god."

The trailer now focuses on the travails of young Clark, exhibiting classic cinematic "Kid Messiah" traits such as struggling to control his powers and apparently some sort of psychic/ESP ability:

He complains about the world being "too big," but his mother Martha advises him to "make it small." This advice is narrated over shots of a bunch of pencils and words being written. The Word = Superman = Christ. Christ is "The Word." He will make the "too big" world small by bringing people together across the globe, by being the Alien Messiah that transcends world borders.

As we switch to a scene of water -- a school bus falling in a river -- we again are reminded of Valentine Michael Smith, the "water god" ushering the Age of Aquarius:

In a controversial scene, Clark's adoptive father, played by Kevin Costner (no stranger to playing Messiah/Jesus types in movies), advises the boy to hide his powers -- even if it means letting innocents die. His perceived callousness would make sense in the context that he is trying to protect the boy, who, like a young Jesus, would be persecuted if "found out." But the reluctance to protect the "innocents" also demonstrates an "old Aeon" old-school God (compare to the character of "Old Joe" in "Looper").

It is through getting back in touch with the feminine side of Deity -- the Goddess-Mother -- that Clark can transcend this old-school way of thinking and truly be an evolved Messiah for our times. As his adoptive father advises him: "You just have to decide what type of man you are going to be."

In the shots that follow, we see the familiar red flowing Superman cape -- but it is filmed in such a way (from behind and from an extreme long shot) that it looks similar to the robes of Jesus:

Superman's trek through the snowy peaks -- his "vision quest" to figure out "what sort of man" he will be -- parallels the "lost years" of Jesus, which some theorise took place in areas like Tibet:



His meditation -- and subsequent enlightenment -- sends him on literally a cosmic journey:



It also should be noted that by this point in the trailer, Superman displays "powers" that are very rooted in "Kid Messiah" lore -- far more like telekinesis (which, in theory, could be scientifically measured) than vague wondrous abilities. Compare the concentric rings of energy emanating from Superman's fist in this shot to a similar one in "Looper":

What follows next in the trailer is the standard "destruction of cities" imagery that by now we are quite used to in movies; the unique part here is that it is contrasted with the destruction of Superman's homeworld Krypton (are we just as arrogant as the Kryptonians that the world as we know it will always be the same? Did we "heed the warnings of God" -- Superman/Kal El/Son of God's dad?). In any case, these scenes further link "Man of Steel" to a Biblical, Apocalyptic narrative where the "second coming" of Jesus has to step in:



Earth is being attacked by an evil, outside, "Satanic" force: General Zod and his minions. Zod has the classic, pointy "Evil Goatee," almost striking an Anton Lavay pose:*

It is up to Superman to return from his Vision Quest, and bring back what he has learned to his community -- just like any good hero from a Joseph Campbell template. Zod takes the place of Pontius Pilate and Superman is forced to kneel to him:

Superman also "rocks" the traditional "Jesus in bondage" pose, as he is arrested:

But at this point, it must be asked: is Superman purely a traditional "Jesus" figure here?

He "fell" from the heavenly city of Krypton, away from his father/God.

He is depicted several times towards the end of the "Man of Steel" trailer on fire or within fire:

Is he Jesus, or the "Fallen One" -- Lucifer, who gives light and understanding to the people, liberating them from the slog and ignorance of Old School religion? Prometheus, who literally gave fire and heat to humanity, to help them grow?

Are these the flames of a Cosmic Christ, in flight like the bird Horus, usher of a New Aeon?

And that is why, though placing Superman within the traditional Christ narrative is helpful, it can also be misleading. It is only a template, the same way older Messiah Gods were templates for newer ones:

Superman is that next "god" in line, the usher of the New Aeon. He is a "god" of our times. That is why there has been so much hustle and bustle about his ownership in the courts, that's why the intense power of his icon transfixes the public. If you own Superman and can control his stories, you are, in a sense, "owning" the narrative of what has become a universal Messianic figure.

I believe that "Man of Steel" will succeed in the box office in part because it boldly reappropriates these primal religious images. It gives the public the hero -- the Savior -- they are so desperately looking for at this time.

But the movie also works as the herald of a New Aeon, and this era will transcend the "candy store" version of superheroes and the fire-and-brimstone teachings of the Old School. These are all remnants of our childhood as a species. We can find the Superman -- and the power -- inside ourselves, in our own DNA that looks so much like the "S" in the Superman logo, the twin serpents of the caduceus:

*When I say "Satanic," I am by no means making a value judgement on the Satanic religion as established by Anton Lavey. I am merely pointing out common tropes used in pop-culture.

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