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Meta: We need to talk about Yinsen
Dec. 5th, 2018 10:42 pmI’m watching Iron Man and I really like the interaction between Tony and Yinsen.
Yinsen is neither irreverent toward Tony nor does he coddle him. When Tony wallows in self-pity, and says he’ll be dead within a week, Yinsen basically tells him to stfu and do something about it.
This is a man who probably watched his family get killed either by one of Tony’s missiles or by the Ten Rings, who were armed with Stark manufactured weapons. Yinsen could’ve raged at Tony. He could’ve guilt tripped him or blamed him for his family’s death. Instead, he tried to change Tony’s mind, to challenge him to do better and create a legacy that’s more than just blowing shit up. For context, in their previous encounter, a drunk Tony not only made fun of his name (“I finally met a man named Ho”) but also completely blew him off in front of his guests.
Ho Yinsen is entirely responsible for Tony’s change of heart. He chose to see the inherent good in a cocky man who was “America’s most famous mass murderer.” He believed that even someone like Tony Stark could change for the better. Maybe there was understanding on Yinsen’s part that taking out his rage on Tony would not bring his family back. Or maybe Yinsen knew enough about Tony to realize that he would never willingly sell weapons to the Ten Rings. Whatever it is, Iron Man (the character) would not have existed if Yinsen didn’t dare Tony to do better.
Before y'all turn around and blame Wanda for her reaction, let’s make one thing clear. In the film, Yinsen was probably in his mid-40s or early 50s. He was mature enough to understand over the years that Tony personally did not pull the trigger, which killed his wife and kids. Wanda was literally a child when her parents died, so there is no comparison here. Her anger, no matter how misplaced, shouldn’t be judged against Yinsen’s level-headedness when they came face to face with Tony. So, just don’t even go there.
Anyway, the bottom line is Yinsen is an amazing character. I absolutely love Shaun Toub and wish he’d have a cameo in Avengers 4 - to properly wrap up Iron Man’s decade-long arc.
Yinsen is neither irreverent toward Tony nor does he coddle him. When Tony wallows in self-pity, and says he’ll be dead within a week, Yinsen basically tells him to stfu and do something about it.
This is a man who probably watched his family get killed either by one of Tony’s missiles or by the Ten Rings, who were armed with Stark manufactured weapons. Yinsen could’ve raged at Tony. He could’ve guilt tripped him or blamed him for his family’s death. Instead, he tried to change Tony’s mind, to challenge him to do better and create a legacy that’s more than just blowing shit up. For context, in their previous encounter, a drunk Tony not only made fun of his name (“I finally met a man named Ho”) but also completely blew him off in front of his guests.
Ho Yinsen is entirely responsible for Tony’s change of heart. He chose to see the inherent good in a cocky man who was “America’s most famous mass murderer.” He believed that even someone like Tony Stark could change for the better. Maybe there was understanding on Yinsen’s part that taking out his rage on Tony would not bring his family back. Or maybe Yinsen knew enough about Tony to realize that he would never willingly sell weapons to the Ten Rings. Whatever it is, Iron Man (the character) would not have existed if Yinsen didn’t dare Tony to do better.
Before y'all turn around and blame Wanda for her reaction, let’s make one thing clear. In the film, Yinsen was probably in his mid-40s or early 50s. He was mature enough to understand over the years that Tony personally did not pull the trigger, which killed his wife and kids. Wanda was literally a child when her parents died, so there is no comparison here. Her anger, no matter how misplaced, shouldn’t be judged against Yinsen’s level-headedness when they came face to face with Tony. So, just don’t even go there.
Anyway, the bottom line is Yinsen is an amazing character. I absolutely love Shaun Toub and wish he’d have a cameo in Avengers 4 - to properly wrap up Iron Man’s decade-long arc.