Media Marvel: Savvy Iron Man Clips Press

Much is being made (mostly by the man himself, naturally) of Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" cameo in Iron Man, but the hit Marvel movie is perhaps just as notable for its sophisticated take on how the news media covers business.

Early in the movie, at a glitzy awards ceremony honoring billionaire arms tycoon Tony Stark — a.k.a. Iron Man, played by Robert Downey Jr. — a montage of magazine covers chronicles Stark's rise.

"The Mind of Tony Stark," proclaims a fake Wired cover, with Downey in a business suit with arms folded in front of a typical Wired desert backdrop.

Similarly, a close-up of Downey shoulder-to-shoulder with his erstwhile business partner Obadiah Stane, played by Jeff Bridges, marks a phony Forbes magazine cover ("The New Kid" is the cover line), while a Rolling Stone cover with Downey in a playful pose informs us that "Tony Stark Wants to Save You."

Similarly savvy covers for Esquire and Newsweek follow.

Later, Cramer's antics and screeching voice are used to emphasize the stock hit that Stark's company takes after our hero has a life-altering experience and suddenly announces he's getting out of the arms business.

("It's a weapons company that doesn't ... make ... weapons!" Cramer squeals before smashing a model weapon with a hammer and punching his "Sell! Sell! Sell!" whammy button.)

True to the movie's media smarts, the scene is indistinguishable from an actual "Mad Money" segment — save for the fact that the company that Cramer is trashing is imaginary.

As for the comely magazine writer portrayed by Leslie Bibb (she winds up sleeping with Stark after interviewing him), well, we'll let that one slide because it sets up one of the best lines in the movie.

When he shows up late for an airplane flight, he explains his delay with the quip: "Sorry. I was doing a piece for Vanity Fair."

by Nelson Wang

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Correction: This item originally misidentified the actress who plays the magazine reporter.

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