Steve: My first inclination was to drop a big fat 100% Approval rating on this, but after I thought about it for a few seconds I realized that that would only be possible if Stark showed up in full Iron Man mode. This is exactly the sort of thing that fans have been clamoring for for years (decades, almost) with the Batman and Superman flicks, and Warner Brothers never managed to get it together. Ditto for all the companies that licensed the various Marvel characters over the years. Marvel, second movie out of the gates, hooks us up. Rock.

Duncan: William Hurt AND Robert Downey, Jr.? What year is this again? It’s like “The Accidental Tourist” and the 85 parole violations never happened! Hey, in a better world, they didn’t. Zing.

Anyway, these little bits (like the Nick Fury “Iron Man” cameo) are a lot of fun because they’re more than just a winking toss off — there’s actual mystery and plot and thought behind it. Who knew one of the strongest, most consistently intriguing, and important ideas of the Silver Age would be that of a shared universe? Perhaps even more shockingly enough, Marvel seems to know what they’re doing.

Spread the word!