I have to say that the existence, and the extent, of these viral sites and videos is a little astounding. Just for the fact that Marvel’s produced full videos with actors, sets and impressive effects spinning off of what I imagine are only going to be throwaway gags in IRON MAN 2. The latest of such viral promos is a faux commercial for the Stark-Fujikawa HUD (Heads-Up Display) - - a pair of goggles that more or less immerses you into a smart phone. I’ll stress, again, that this THING ISN’T REAL because the video is scarily convincing. This seems like science fiction, now, but I really don’t think it’s that far off. To put on the old socio-philosophical media theorist hat for a moment, I have to say that prospect of this thing - - totally integrating social networking, search engines, et al, into your waking, walking reality - - is definitely intrusive, but I can easily see it getting to the point where most people don’t mind it.
Alright, socio-philosophical media theorist hat off…
I have to smile, too, over the detail the crew behind these are putting in to draw connections to Iron Man’s continuity. Fujikawa is actually a Japanese corporation from the comics and it acquired Stark for a long time in the storylines before Tony took it all back during Heroes Return.
There’s also an “augmented reality” app available online at www.iamironman2.com. Basically if you have a web cam (which I don’t) and you have a computer that can handle the processing (which I don’t you), you can super-impose Iron Man or War Machine’s helmets on your face in real time, as well as drop yourself into Shellhead’s own high-tech HUD display. The wizards behind this are one step ahead and have actually put together a video demo that shows how this work to those of us who don’t have the tech to do it ourselves.
-- Tom Pinchuk is the writer of UNIMAGINABLE for Arcana Comics and HYBRID BASTARDS! for Archaia. Pre-order the HYBRID BASTARDS! hardcover now on Amazon.com.
