Is it even news that “Iron Man 2” dominated the box office this weekend, pulling in $133.6 million in North America and an additional $57.2 million internationally? No, probably not.

The most interesting conversation to be had about “Iron Man 2” isn’t about the money, but about the movie itself, and what it represents for the genre. Matt Zoller Seitz has written a piece for Salon about his frustration with the limits of superhero movies, which is echoing through the blogosphere like Christopher Reeve’s mighty wail at the end of Richard Donner’s “Superman”. Jim Emerson tracks the more interesting responses and adds his own thoughts over at Scanners; you might want to take a look at that.

Me, well, I’m just happy for Robert Downey, Jr. “Iron Man 2” may have a few problems, but he isn’t one of them, and he richly deserves all the credit he’s reaping for its success.

Oh, and speaking of superheroes: Tom Cruise is telling people Brad Bird is directing the next “Mission: Impossible” movie. Now, Tom Cruise says a lot of things, but if that’s true … well, Bird did make “The Incredibles”, one of the very best superhero movies ever, so that could be something worth getting excited about. You know, once it’s confirmed.