I just watched Iron Man (maybe spoilers for some)

[The Lunch Break Kid]

Awsome movie, but one thing confuses me. It took Tony Stark a while to build and learn how to use the suit. But the old guy built one and managed to perfect it and learn to use it in about a day.

There just seems to be no clear timeline to the film. And also why do all superhero films spend most of the movie explaining how they become like they are? every one is the same. I know it should be explained but it leaves little time for the good stuff, thats why I usually prefer sequels with superhero movies.

But that aside, like I said awsome movie.

[DSR]

It took Tony Stark a while to build and learn how to use the suit. But the old guy built one and managed to perfect it and learn to use it in about a day.

Here's probably my best attempt to explain this:

When Tony built the first suit, he was in the desert with a bunch of people that don't really know the mechanics of blowing stuff up, just basically how to launch something that blows stuff up. And when he got in the suit for the first time, it was simply an escape plan, and you saw it didn't even work entirely right in that initial run.

"The old guy" on the other hand, had a team of engineers and other science type people working to build him the Iron Monger suit. Naturally those people would have an easier grasp on the mechanics of such a suit, so it would likely take them less time to build one (though there were problems for them, too, as that one argument between one of them and Stane would indicate).

As for why he can run a suit that Tony built, you have to remember the man has been with Stark Enterprises for a long-ass time, and ran the company until Tony was old enough to do it himself. I'm fairly certain no one would get as far in that company as Stane has without an extensive knowledge of the things that the company's working on, even if he doesn't necessarily have the inventive know-how Tony has.

Plus, Stane lost the fight anyhow, so obviously he wasn't all that smart about what he was doing.

[Mr. Emoticon Man, TF Fan]

DSR hit the nail on the head on the "How could Stane operate the suit?" issue.

As for why superhero movies spend so much time explaining how the hero came to be... what did you expect? The first movie tends to be the origin story; it establishes who the character is and what the character can do for the audience, who may not have a prior knowledge of the character.