This month $186 million worth of movie hardware lands in theaters. Of course, I’m talking about Iron Man, the best comic book movie since 2005’s Batman Begins. It sports a ton of action scenes and a twisting and turning plot. Robert Downey Jr. is custom-fitted for his role as Tony Stark. All in all, Iron Man’s a very thrilling start to a comic book franchise.

Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is the Howard Hughes-like CEO of Stark Industries whose main profits come from producing military weapons. Flying to Afghanistan, he demonstrates its new Jericho missile for the military chiefs. Afterwards, Islamic militants attack Stark’s military escort and capture him. Their leader wants him to construct the Jericho. A genius at inventing new technology, Stark builds a powered suit of armor and escapes. Once home, he vows to stop manufacturing weapons. His friends, secretary Virginia “Pepper” Potts (Gweneth Paltrow), Air Force buddy Jim Rhodes (Terence Howard), and business partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), all worry about him. But Stark feels it’s his duty to destroy the terrorists who somehow armed themselves with his inventions. He takes the suit as an alter-ego. Like any classic comic book, an evil genius waits to challenge Iron Man.

Maybe because Iron Man wields Gatling guns and missiles, hot pursuits and explosions are sure to follow. Often comic book movies bog down introducing superheroes and run out of time for action sequences. Even before the obligatory final act, Iron Man’s slugging it out with terrorists. Later, he swerves and dives to evade F-22s who’ve mistaken him for an enemy. The flying scenes are a joy to watch because we feel like he’s really is darting through the air.

The armored suit rivals Robocop in computerized metallic coolness. What I’m crazy about is that superheros can finally fling bolts of energy. Characters having such power have until now been off-limits in comic adaptations. With better 3D graphics, Iron Man blows that barrier away. The suit fires yellow “repulsor” laser blasts from its hands which blends in with the more modern weapons of the terrorists.