Reports are that Tom Cruise wants to play Iron Man in a Hollywood adaptation of the comic book hero.

Cruise is working on a deal to portray him - but is keen to ensure it is not just another superhero film.

He told Empire magazine: "He's a fascinating character, but we've got to figure out how it's going to work. And everyone is doing a Marvel character these days.

"How do we make that new, create something fresh where it doesn't feel like: 'Oh, here comes another superhero story'?"

The story of Tony Stark can be an interesting one, although I have to admit that for the most part I've never really cared all that much for the comic book. Here's a guy who had a bad heart and (as originally conceptualized) built his armor both as a way to extend his life and also a vehicle to escape a Vietnamese prison camp. He is a playboy millionare who profits from munitions sales, and despite bouts of alcoholism he has no real motivation besides self-interest. He's no Bruce Wayne: he isn't out avenging the deaths of his parents at the hands of some nameless thug.

Thus, Iron Man can be regarded in a variety of ways, and themes can be developed to reflect a very selfish person who must come to grips with himself through his role as a costumed "hero." It can also examine some of the other aspects of the superhero, especially as "deconstructed" by things like Brian Bendis' Powers: namely, what would a relatively amoral guy do if he's got a fortune, a winning smile, and a virtually indestructable suit of superpowered armor?

Note: The author wastes a considerable amount of time writing about a variety of topics over at Walloworld, where this post originally appeared.