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‘Iron Man 3′ trailer raises five major questions

Iron Patriot from 'Iron Man 3'
Iron Patriot from 'Iron Man 3'

The newly released "Iron Man 3" trailer is jam-packed with information, brand-new Iron Patriot armor, and lots of doom -- driving home the point that Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), and perhaps even the U.S. President too, are in deep trouble.

After a rapid-fire display of action sequences, destruction and plot points are revealed, the final frames of the preview footage symbolically show the lights going out on an already dilapidated "Iron Man 3" logo. Then we see Tony dragging a seemingly inoperable suit through the snow. This cannot be good.

Watch the new "Iron Man 3" trailer, then read what we found to be the five biggest questions raised by this first look.

'Iron Man 3' - Trailer 1

1) Is the Iron Patriot good or bad?

In case you mistake it for Tony's suit, there is actually another mechanized figure who appears on the scene -- the Iron Patriot. The new suit is reportedly worn by War Machine James "Rhodey" Rhodes, played by Don Cheadle. In the comic books, the Iron Patriot suit is inhabited by Norman Osborne, aka "Spider-man" villain the Green Goblin -- something we've deemed unlikely in this film version, especially since Rhodey's name can be seen on the suit. (An adept Yahoo! reader pointed it out. You can just see it if you look closely.)

The airplane shown in the trailer is more-than-likely Air Force One, as we identified the presidential seal in the jet that was ripped open. Iron Man appears to then be in a frantic effort to save passengers who have been ejected from the plane. And with the Iron Patriot body-slamming someone who looks to be a Secret Service agent, we're left wondering how it is connected to the President. Does, perhaps, a Rhodes-less Iron Patriot turn on our Commander in Chief?

Iron Man from 'Iron Man 3'
Iron Man from 'Iron Man 3'

2) Does Tony's suit have a mind of its own?

At the beginning of the sequence, we see Tony sort of psychically call his Iron Man hand-piece to fit on his hand. We also see Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) in bed with Tony as the Iron Man suit seems to attack her. In another part of the trailer we see the suit looming on top of Tony. If this is the case, then perhaps it is Tony himself who ultimately blows up the suits, also shown. Oh yeah, his home comes toppling down off a cliff and into the ocean during one part of the film's preview. And someone in a suit (Is it Tony? Is it someone else?) gets pulled underwater.

Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin in 'Iron Man 3'
Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin in 'Iron Man 3'

3) What does The Mandarin have to do with all this crazy suit stuff?

Sure, we now know The Mandarin (played by Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley) is a key villain, and we catch a glimpse of him and his ten rings in the trailer, but his connection to all of the destruction depicted is unclear.

4) Will Happy live?

Blink and you'll miss it, but we confirmed by freezing the frame: Happy (Jon Favreau) is on the ground, bloodied. It doesn't look good. We noticed his chest glowing with a circle light like Tony has. Maybe he has a heart condition, too? And since Favreau, who directed the first two "Iron Man" films, is only an actor this time around, there's a good chance that Happy's ending won't be a happy ending.

5) Does Tony cheat on Pepper?

Tony is up against a wall and someone -- who looks a lot like French actress Stephanie Szostak ("Dinner for Schmucks") -- gets up in his grill in an apparent romantic gesture. Knowing Tony, he'll only cave if it means helping save Pepper's life, which, yeah, seems to be hanging in the balance amid all the other havoc going on.

If you think you know the answers, or if you have questions of your own, tell us in the comments below. "Iron Man 3" lands in theaters May 3, 2013.

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