Thank you Sony. Thank you for not being that bright

Before the movie came out Ironman wasn't nearly as well know outside of the comics community. The same with Thor. You have to remember, this was before X-Men came out and reopened the doors for comic book movies in the mainstream. Superheroes weren't the massive blockbuster trend they have been for the last 19 years. So the scale of the current MCU would have been almost unfathomable both audiences and studios alike back then.

Still, people with comic knowledge should understand that a dude in a robot suit is awesome

But comics were mocked, as a rule, with only certain obvious exceptions, as were people who knew anything about them. They were DEFINITELY not considered profitable on mass, and that will always be the deciding factor in these things