Iron Man 2 Is Allegorical To Gates Vs. Jobs, Says Reader

The movie Pirates of Silicon Valley (based on the book Fire In The Valley) came out in 1999. The final scene takes place in 1997 when recently-reinstated (interim) CEO Steve Jobs takes the stage at Macworld to announce an alliance with Microsoft to ensure Apple’s future — with Bill Gates’ head on a giant screen behind him. Times have changed. Jobs has now been the official CEO for the past 10 years. Apple no longer goes to Macworld. The world now has the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad. Apple has over $40 billion in cash in the bank, and is rapidly approaching Microsoft in market cap. It’s probably time for a sequel.

That sequel, according to one TechCrunch reader, is Iron Man 2.

Laureana Varisco Bonaparte sums up the movie as follows:

I just came from watching IM2, and the whole Stark=Jobs, Hammer=Gates is NOT subtle. The relationship as the public sees it, is right there. Hammer is Bill with better hair. And Tony Stark is………. the movie starts with him giving a keynote speech on a Stark expo. Should I say more? And RDJr’s facial hair makes him resemble Jobs even more (it makes his face look slimmer). It’s pretty cool and almost distractive.

Watch it.

Thanks for the daily awesomeness.

For those unaware, Tony Stark is the character played by Robert Downey Jr. He is Iron Man. Justin Hammer is the character played by Sam Rockwell. He is Stark’s true nemesis in the film.

We haven’t seen the movie yet (it opens in the U.S. on May 7), so it’s hard to say how accurate this review is. Still, wishful thinking or not, it makes me want to see it even more. Has anyone else who has seen it thought the same thing? Could screenwriter Justin Theroux have based some characteristics off of the two tech icons?

Of course, if Steve Jobs were Iron Man, I’m not sure the law enforcement would need to be involved in that iPhone leak right now.

Update: Laurena left us a nice little update in the comments:

From a July 2009 post on Newsarama:

Another newcomer to the set, Sam Rockwell, is portraying weapons manufacturer Justin Hammer. What little we saw of him in the trailer hints at a fast-talking sleaze ball. The actor says Hammer’s relationship with Stark is similar to the rivalry between Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.

Emphasis mine – but that’s right from the lips of actor portraying the Gates role himself. So no, it’s not coincidental that some are coming away from the movie with that feeling.