Iron Man (Comic + Movie)

I intended to talk only about the movie I saw this past wednesday, but one thing led to another. I am certain that not many know this, but I used to read quite a bit of comics back in the day. 90s, of course, and early 00s. For some odd reason I stopped. I guess I lost interest in comics, but I have always loved the aspects of the superhero. I have read Spider-Man, who hasn't?, Superman, Dead Pool, Iron Man, X-Men, Wolverine, Fantastic Four (only one comic), Batman, Hulk, Avengers and others that I cannot think of at this moment.
The Super Hero that I have followed and loved reading about was, and still is, Iron Man. As I mentioned, I stopped reading comics in early 00s, but Iron Man was my favorite. I remember the good old days when Tony Stark brought the Iron Man suit in his suit case. Oh, the glory. *happy face* I always loved Iron Man and War Machine scenes. War Machine was . . . . amazing. Anyways, the point I am bringing about, if any at all, is that I have gone back to those good old days where I would sit outside and read comic books. Yesterday I bought the graphic novel, Iron Man: Extremis, and Civil War: Frontline 1. I have completed Iron Man: Extremis, which was one hell of a story (great writing) and astonishing fight scenes. Now, you don't have to take my word for it. I am sure that comic book experts out there are better at criticizing and applauding every single comic out there because they have studied it, and made it their religion. One of the numerous aspects I enjoyed about Extremis was the amount of reference to how it all started. I know the story already, but for those who are not clear about it there are some scenes that mention how Tony Stark became Iron Man. Obviously, these scenes are not just shoved into the comic for the sake of shoving it in; there is an importance for its addition. Now to the movie.
I am going to make it brief as possible, and hopefully I will not ruin the story. For those of you who do not know, Tony Stark/Iron Man is played by one of my favorite actors after Denzel Washington, Robert Downey Jr. Mr. Downey Jr. brings a dashing and dry humor to the film, which works out perfectly: that is Robert Downey Jr. 101. The first half of the movie is spent on describing who Tony Stark is and what he does. Though within the first twenty minutes Tony Stark is captured by terrorists who demand him to build them the "Jericho," a powerful bomb like weapon (don't worry, everything is explained better in the movie). The other half of the movie is, well, Iron Man.
The cast was strong, no doubt about that. I believe there was great chemistry between Robert Downey Jr. and Gweneth Paltrow, but once again, that is just my opinion. There was also Terrence Howard playing militant, James Rhodes, and the famous Jeff Bridges, a.k.a The Dude, playing Obadiah Stane. The only problem I have with the cast was the lack of screen time and lines for Terrence Howard, who is a remarkable actor. Nevertheless, I believe they will build him up in Iron Man 2 because he will be ......... I will NOT say who.