Iron Man 3's unusual love triangle

Los Angeles - Iron Man 3 will feature a "love triangle" between Tony Stark, Pepper Potts and his suits.

The forthcoming Marvel blockbuster still promises lots of action for the lead character in his Iron Man guise, but the heart of the film will see the inventor - played by Robert Downey Jr - battle with his devotion to his work and his relationship with his former secretary (Gwyneth Paltrow).

Marvel boss Kevin Feige explained to About.com: "The love triangle in this movie is really between Tony, Pepper and the suits. Tony, Pepper and his obsession with those suits, and the obsession with technology. And, it's sort of unique for a big superhero summer blockbuster franchise to have that kind of layers.

'Bored by the damsel in distress'

"Yes, there's a bad guy. Yes, the stakes are very, very high - the President of the United States is in danger. Air Force One is attacked. There are big stakes to this movie. But the real stakes are, is Tony going to be able to set aside the obsession to spend all day, every day in that workshop, tinkering with the suits in order to focus on, as he says in the trailer, the one thing that matters most: Pepper. And that actually is what the entire movie's about."

Kevin also insisted Pepper will not be portrayed as a "damsel in distress" in the movie.

He added: "I will tell you this. In this movie we play with the convention of the damsel in distress. We are bored by the damsel in distress. But, sometimes we need our hero to be desperate enough in fighting for something other than just his own life. So, there is fun to be had with 'Is Pepper in danger or is Pepper the saviour?' over the course of this movie."

Iron Man 3 is released next month.

Watch the latest trailer here.