Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
IRON MAN 2
Starring Robert Downey Jr (Tony Stark / Iron Man), Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts), Don Cheadle (James Rhodes / War Machine), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff / The Black Widow), Mickey Rourke (Ivan Vanko), Sam Rockwell (Justin Hammer), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Clark Gregg (Phil Coulson), Jon Favreau (Happy Hogan), Clark Gregg (Phil Coulson), Leslie Bibb (Christine Everhart), and Paul Bettany (as the voice JARVIS) with a special appearance by Stan Lee
Directed by Jon Favreau
Produced by Kevin Feige
Written by Justin Theroux
Music By John Debney
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Run Time: 2 hours and 5 minutes
World Premier: April 26, 2010, at the El Capitan Theater
Opening Weekend Box Office: $128 million (North America)
Worldwide Box Office: $623 million
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 72%
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Iron Man 2 Quotes
“It’s always fun when your hero is the hero from the start. From frame one of Iron Man 2, [Tony Stark] is in the suit. That allows you to hit the ground running in terms of the story we’re telling.” – Kevin Feige discussing the benefits of continuing the story established in 2008’s Iron Man in 2010’s Iron Man 2.
“The War Machine in [Iron Man 2] is built upon the base work of the Mark II, the suit that Tony builds in Iron Man. Over the course of the sequel, Rhodey gets his hands on that, brings it back to the military. Tony’s not turning anything over, Tony has gone rogue by this point, and the military believes – based on certain contracts from the past – that they have the rights to this armor.” – Kevin Feige explaining the birth of War Machine and Tony Stark’s conflict with the United States Military in Iron Man 2.
“After [Iron Man], a number of tech companies talked about how uncanny a lot of our depictions of technology had turned out to be, and how many different films and video games ended up being inspired by the imagery we used. This forced us to go a bit further into the future and try and change the nature of this technology. If we’d just duplicated what happened in the first one, we would be behind the curve. So now we’re dealing with holograms, the interface within the suit, and the suit being upgraded too.” – Director Jon Favreau describing part of the creative process that went into Iron Man 2.
[Scarlett Johansson] is a great, great dedicated performer who really loves the idea of this franchise.” – Jon Favreau assessing the actress that won the part of Natasha Romanoff / The Black Widow for Iron Man 2 and beyond.
“[Iron Man] was phenomenal. It was one of the most satisfying experiences of my life. I thought that [Iron Man 2] was either its equal, or better. When I was on the set and I saw the enthusiasm on the part of the cast, and Robert Downey Jr, and Jon Favreau and everybody, I had a really good feeling about the movie.” – Stan Lee comparing the first two Iron Man films.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Fun Iron Man Facts
The biggest story to come out of the early days of Iron Man 2‘s production was the recasting of the James Rhodes / Rhodey character. Terrence Howard portrayed Rhodes in Iron Man but was released from his contract and replaced with actor Don Cheadle for Iron Man 2 after a failed contract renegotiation. Cheadle reportedly signed an eight-picture deal with Marvel Studios.
In January-2009, actor Sam Rockwell was cast to portray Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2. Rockwell had previously been considered by Marvel Studios for the role of Tony Stark / Iron Man before the Studio settled on Robert Downey Jr. Rockwell would reprise his role as Justin Hammer in the Marvel One-Shot: All Hail the King short film.
In February-2009, Marvel Studios signed actor Samuel L. Jackson to a nine-picture deal that would see him reprise his role as Nick Fury from Iron Man in Iron Man 2 and other Marvel Cinematic Universe projects. Jackson would go on to portray Fury in three additional films in Phase One alone, appearing in 2011’s Thor, 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, and 2012’s The Avengers.
Actor Mickey Rourke was cast in March of 2009 to portray Ivan Vanko in Iron Man 2. The character was a combination of Marvel Comics characters Whiplash and Crimson Dynamo. Rourke invested himself heavily into the role, doing thorough research on Russian prison culture and Rourke was ultimately unhappy with the final cut of Iron Man 2, which saw many of the scenes that were filmed to further develop his character excluded. Though Vanko’s character is commonly referred to as “Whiplash”, even by Marvel Studios, Ivan Vanko was never formally referred to by that name in Iron Man 2.
In March-2009, Scarlett Johansson was cast as Natasha Romanoff / The Black Widow. Her deal with Marvel Studios included options for multiple future films, including 2012’s The Avengers. Marvel Studios initially sought to cast Emily Blunt as Romanoff, but scheduling conflicts prevented Blunt from appearing in Iron Man 2, prompting the company to reconsider Johansson. Brie Larsen was reportedly amongst the women who tried-out for the role of Natasha Romanoff. Brie would later be cast as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel by Marvel Studios. Natalie Portman was also considered for the part of Natasha Romanoff. She would go on to be cast by Marvel Studios as Doctor Jane Foster / the Mighty Thor.
The superhero outfit worn by Scarlett Johansson to portray Natasha Romanoff / The Black Widow in Iron Man 2 was quite similar to the character’s outfit in the Marvel Comics: a black catsuit used for tactical purposes. Though Johansson’s Widow would ultimately emerge as the first female member of The Avengers, in the Marvel Comics, the character debuted as a villainous adversary of Iron Man’s. As the MCU developed further, Johansson’s version of the Black Widow character would also be revealed to have had a villainous past as a member of Russia’s Red Room and as an adversary of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The layout of the 1974 Stark Expo was based on the 1965-1966 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, New York. Furthermore, John Slattery’s Howard Stark’s presentation of his idea for a futuristic city at this event was heavily influenced by Walt Disney’s 1966 television revelation of his new EPCOT Project and the accompanying Florida Project, which would lead to the construction of Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. The song that plays during the video presentation is titled Make Way for Tomorrow Today and was written by composer Richard M. Sherman, who along with his brother Robert B. Sherman, composed the song There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, which played during Walt Disney’s famed Carousel of Progress.
A key plot element of Iron Man 2 was influenced by 1979’s Demon in a Bottle comic book story written by David Michelinie and Bob Layton. It was in this story that Tony Stark’s struggle with alcoholism was first explored. Demon in a Bottle is one of the most acclaimed Iron Man stories and the arc influenced the Tony Stark birthday party scene in which Stark endangers his guests after becoming inebriated and donning his Mark IV Iron Man suit.
In developing Iron Man 2, Marvel Studios faced the important task of world-building and solidifying the Shared Cinematic Universe they were in the process of creating. This creative process saw Marvel Studios fill Iron Man 2 with various Easter-eggs that would serve to further expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe and set-up its future. As production on Iron Man 2 continued, Marvel Studios was hard at work on the development of both Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, and steadily mapping out its road to The Avengers team-up film. Several of these Easter-eggs therefore pertained to those specific films, including a prototype of Captain America’s iconic shield being clearly seen during a scene between Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark and Clark Gregg’s Phil Coulson, as well as a copy of Captain America Comics # 1, which could be seen amongst Howard Stark’s belongings. Thor was meanwhile referenced when Nick Fury stated that he had bigger problems than Tony Stark to deal with in the southwest region. On top of all of that, Marvel Studios’ second film: The Incredible Hulk was directly referenced via footage from that very film airing on a television monitor in Nick Fury’s office. The footage was a newscast pertaining to the Culver University incident between Bruce Banner / The Hulk, Emil Blonsky, and General Thaddeus Ross.
As the Marvel Cinematic Universe evolved over the years, debates over when various events actually occurred began to plague the fandom. Originally, most everyone viewed the MCU Timeline as existing concurrently with our real-life timeline, i.e., Iron Man was released in 2008, therefore, the events of Iron Man primarily take place in 2008. However, the release of Iron Man 2 in 2010, and Thor in 2011, complicated things, as those films suggested that most of the events seen in Iron Man 2 happen concurrently with the events seen in both The Incredible Hulk and Thor as a series of events that were labeled “Fury’s Big Week” by Marvel Entertainment, the Timeline of which was first laid out in an intended MCU tie-in comic book of that same name. “Fury’s Big Week” was revisited in 2021 in Marvel Studios’ Disney+ animated series What If …? in the episode titled What If … the World Lost its Mightiest Heroes. Beyond that, in 2023, Marvel Studios endorsed the release of a book that was intended to settle lingering disputes within the fandom, titled Marvel Studios – The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline. This book confirmed that the press conference in which Tony Stark came out as Iron Man occurred in the Spring of 2008. For years, most fans assumed that Iron Man 2 takes place about six-months after Iron Man, but the Timeline book revealed that while Ivan Vanko does in fact begin working on his “Whiplash” armor following the death of his father in the Spring of 2008, it actually takes him two years to complete his work and the Armed Services Committee Hearing at the beginning of Iron Man 2 actually takes place in the Spring of 2010. So, Tony Stark has been Iron Man for two full years when we catch up with him at the Stark Expo. From there, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, and Thor overlap as follows: The Monaco Grand Prix incident occurs on May 5, 2010; just before General Thaddeus Ross leads a special ops team into Brazil to capture Bruce Banner, triggering Banner’s transformation into The Hulk at a local bottling plant. Then, right after Justin Hammer hires Ivan Vanko, Thor’s coronation in Asgard is interrupted by Frost Giants. Next, Tony Stark brawls with James Rhodes at his Malibu Estate, after which Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury reconvenes with Tony at a doughnut shop. As Stark gets to work on a cure to his Palladium poisoning, Thor gets banished from Asgard to Earth by Odin after provoking a war with the Frost Giants. The battle at the Stark Expo pitting Iron Man and War Machine against Ivan Vanko then occurs, followed by Loki’s temporary seizing of the Asgardian Throne and brief visit to Thor on Earth while also on Earth, Bruce Banner returns to the United States from Brazil. Next, Emil Blonsky gets injected with Super Soldier serum and Thor fights The Destroyer in New Mexico, then returns to Asgard to confront Loki. After the Bifrost is destroyed and Loki tumbles into the Abyss of Space, Blonsky challenges The Hulk at Culver University; a confrontation that sees the Super Soldier get physically decimated by the Green Goliath. This fight was recorded by concerned citizens and reported on by the Media, as seen in Iron Man 2. Meanwhile, Nick Fury informs Iron Man that he has been rejected for the “Avengers Initiative” but agrees to bring Stark on as a Consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D. From there, The Hulk’s fight against The Abomination occurs in Harlem, after which Banner goes back into hiding. The pre-credits scene from The Incredible Hulk between General Ross and Tony Stark occurs next, after Agents Coulson and Sitwell conspire to send in Stark to sabotage Ross’ hopes of having Emil Blonsky included in Fury’s “Avengers Initiative.” It works, and days later, the preserved body of Steve Rogers / Captain America is located by a S.H.I.E.L.D. team working in the Arctic. And that is Fury’s Big Week.
Robert Downey Jr gained twenty pounds of muscle in preparation of reprising his role as Tony Stark / Iron Man in Iron Man 2.
Filming on Iron Man 2 commenced on April 6, 2009, in Los Angeles California. Edwards Air Force Base was once again used as a filming location in Iron Man 2, while the Historic Grand Prix of Monaco sequence was primarily shot at Downey Studios in California. Scenes for the Stark Expo were shot utilizing a massive green screen at the Sepulveda Dam. The penultimate fight at the end of the film pitting Iron Man and War Machine against Whiplash and the Hammer Drones was shot at Sony Studios in Los Angeles.
On the first day of shooting for Iron Man 2, actor Don Cheadle ad-libbed the line “Look, it’s me. I’m here. Let’s move on.” during the Armed Services Committee Hearing as a way to acknowledge the casting change from Terrence Howard to himself while in-character.
By the time Iron Man 2 ends in the Spring of 2023, six specific Iron Man armors have been introduced. The Mark I, Mark II, and Mark III armors were introduced in 2008’s Iron Man. These suits are seen in Iron Man II as part of a gallery within Tony Stark’s garage that would become affectionately labeled the “Hall of Armor.” The Mark I was reconstructed by Stark to be featured as part of the gallery. The Mark IV and Mark V have already been created by Stark off-screen during the two-years between the end of Iron Man and the beginning of Iron Man II. The Mark IV was functionally identical to the Mark III, boasting minimal differences in terms of external design. The Mark V however boasted a smart-targeting computer system that was linked to missiles and could compress into a 33-pound suitcase for easy transport. The Mark II meanwhile served as the foundation of the War Machine armor that would be enhanced by Justin Hammer after James Rhodes commandeered the suit and turned it over to the United States Military. The highlight of the War Machine armor was a shoulder-mounted M134 mini-gun whose high-rate of fire meant it required a 9,000-round ammunition supply.
The creation of the Mark VI is a central part of the plot to Iron Man 2, as Tony discovers that the Arc Reactor within his chest (which both powers his suits and protects his heart) has been poisoning him. This forces Stark to find a way to replace the Palladium Core by discovering (or rediscovering as it were) a New Element, expanding upon the work that had been started by his late father Howard, who was limited by the technology of his time. After successfully synthesizing the New Element, Stark adds it to his Mark VI armor, which is the first of his suits to boast a triangular unibeam lens.
Filming on Iron Man 2 wrapped on July 18, 2009. One week after filming wrapped, Marvel Studios returned to San Diego Comic Con for their third independent presentation there, emanating once again from Hall H. There, Kevin Feige, Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, and Sam Rockwell appeared as part of the Iron Man 2 panel where the first trailer for Iron Man 2 was shown to Hall H attendees.
On August 31, 2009, The Walt Disney company announced that a deal had been agreed upon that would see The Walt Disney Company acquire Marvel Entertainment, complete with Marvel Studios, for $4-billion.
On December 16, 2009, the first public trailer for Iron Man 2 was released online.
On December 31, 2009, The Walt Disney Company’s $4-billion purchase of Marvel Entertainment was finalized.
A second trailer for Iron Man 2 was shown on March 7, 2010, during Robert Downey Jr’s appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, which aired following the Academy Awards.
Promotional partners with Marvel Studios for Iron Man 2 included Symantec, Dr. Pepper, Burger King, 7 Eleven, and Audi.
Iron Man 2 utilized a reported 1,000 VFX shots, with eleven different visual effects studios working on the film. Industrial Light & Magic returned to work on the bulk of the shots, with digital effects needed to create the Hammer Drones, the Mark II Whiplash armor, and the majority of the Iron Man suits, including the War Machine armor.
Actor Seth Green briefly appears on-screen in Iron Man 2 when Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark is seen leaving the Stark Expo. Green would go on to voice Howard the Duck within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This scene also featured what was Iron Man co-creator Stan Lee’s third MCU cameo. Here, he is mistaken for famed radio and television host Larry King. In 2008’s Iron Man, Lee’s character was mistaken for famed Playboy magazine publisher Hugh Hefner.
In Iron Man 2, the photo of Ivan Vanko being arrested that Tony Stark views during his research is an actual media photo of Mickey Rourke being arrested on drug charges when he was younger.
Hammer Industries is in actuality Elon Musk’s SpaceX Facility in California. Musk cameos as himself in Iron Man 2 during the scenes set in Monaco.
In Iron Man 2, when Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark is setting up his lab to create a New Element, he opens a crate labeled Project: P.E.G.A.S.U.S. This Project would be revealed to be housed within the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility stationed within the Mojave Desert in Marvel Studios’ 2012 film The Avengers, where S.H.I.E.L.D. oversaw efforts to study and harness the power of the Cosmic Cube known as the Tesseract. Project: P.E.G.A.S.U.S. would formally come to an end following the events of that film when Thor returned the Tesseract to Asgard. The roots of Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. would later be revealed to stretch back to the 1990’s, nine-years later in Marvel Studios’ 2019 film Captain Marvel, which revealed that the Project was initially established as a joint one overseen by S.H.I.E.L.D., NASA, and the United States Air Force.
In Iron Man 2, when Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff / The Black Widow and Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan invade Hammer Industries, Romanoff takes out twelve security guards in the same amount of time that it takes Hogan to best just one.
Iron Man 2 serves as the introduction of the Peter Parker character within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a character that goes on to become Spider-Man! Peter Parker is the little boy wearing a toy Iron Man mask and wielding a toy repulsor blaster that Iron Man rescues from a Hammer Drone during the film’s climax battle sequence at the Stark Expo. This was not always the case of course in terms of MCU mythology due to Marvel Studios not owning the film rights to the Spider-Man character, but it became suddenly possible in 2015, when Marvel Studios reached a deal with Sony Pictures to bring Spider-Man into the MCU. From there, Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark would be a central part of Peter Parker’s superhero journey, beginning with 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, but the cinematic relationship between these two Marvel Heroes can now officially be traced back to 2010’s Iron Man 2!
Iron Man 2 also serves as the introduction of the Nation of Wakanda within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is courtesy of a blink-and-you-miss it blip on a S.H.I.E.L.D. computer screen during Nick Fury’s meeting with Tony Stark concerning Stark’s candidacy for the “Avengers Initiative.” It was later revealed in the 2020 MCU tie-in book The Wakanda Files: A Technological Exploration of The Avengers and Beyond by Troy Benjamin, that the Nation of Wakanda had implanted several spies within the United States, some of which who were tasked with keeping a close eye on Tony Stark’s activities. Wakanda obtained a full transcript of the Armed Services Committee Hearing as well as a copy of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Avengers Initiative Recruitment Assessment of Stark, in addition to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s top-secret evaluations of Stark’s armors, as well as private Stark Industries and Hammer Industries emails, all of which they used in an effort to better understand the man behind the iron mask.
In a rehash of 2008’s Iron Man, Marvel Studios decided to create a post-credits scene for Iron Man 2 that would both excite fans and set the Marvel Cinematic Universe up for the future. The scene was shot and filmed by Director Kenneth Branagh, who was hard at work on the production of Marvel Studios’ Thor. The scene sees Clark Gregg’s Agent Coulson venture to New Mexico where he discovers the mythical Hammer (Mjolnir) of the Norse God of Thunder: Thor.
Iron Man 2 was dedicated to disc jockey DJ AM (Adam Goldstein), who appears in Iron Man 2 during Tony Stark’s birthday party where he is referred to by his actual last name. DJ AM died from a drug overdose on August 28, 2009, at the age of 36.
Iron Man 2 was the seventh highest-grossing film of 2010.
At the 2010 Scream Awards on October 19, 2010, in Los Angeles, the cast of Iron Man 2 were honored with three Awards: Robert Downey Jr for Best Superhero, Scarlett Johansson for Best Science Fiction Actress, and Mickey Rourke for Best Villain.
On January 5, 2011, at the People’s Choice Awards, Iron Man 2 was voted Favorite Action Movie.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
My Iron Man 2 Review
Iron Man 2 was the first Marvel Studios film produced exclusively by Kevin Feige (without Avi Arad) and the first film released by Marvel Studios under the Walt Disney umbrella, though it was still distributed by Paramount Pictures due to previous contracts. Iron Man 2 was nowhere near as well-received as the first Iron Man film was, criticized by many as a motion picture that served as an extended trailer for The Avengers that should have instead concentrated more on its own story. While Iron Man was the foundation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man 2 was indeed the framework for The Avengers.
Nonetheless, I personally loved this film, specifically all of the world-building that it did. I can see why at the time, others had a problem with it, but in retrospect, these things strengthened the movie because things that were set up in Iron Man 2 were ultimately paid off in extraordinary ways as the MCU developed! Iron Man 2 not only saw Samuel L. Jackson reprise his role as Nick Fury, but also saw the introduction of Natasha Romanoff / The Black Widow as an undercover Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Phil Coulson was back too, sharing a key scene with Tony Stark in which a prototype of Captain America’s shield was clearly seen, and leaving for an important mission in New Mexico that was revealed during the post-credits scene to tie to Thor, complete with the first view of Thor’s mythic Hammer Mjolnir! For me as a fan, these things were beyond thrilling! I could not get over the excitement of potentially seeing Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America share the same screen, and Iron Man 2 confirmed in several ways that this would soon in fact be a reality!
That being said, Iron Man 2 was for me, much more than a mere extended advertisement for The Avengers. The story was full of heart and drama and action and humor as Tony Stark struggled with his health, his lingering daddy issues, and his true feelings for Pepper Potts. This film was about further developing Tony Stark’s character and nudging him forward from his selfish ambition as he ventured further down the path of becoming a hero. Looking back, I think people were hoping for a direct adaptation of the Demon in a Bottle comics story, but that was never promised and was never Kevin Feige’s nor Jon Favreau’s intention.
In Iron Man 2, Robert Downey Jr once again stole the show as the living embodiment of Tony Stark / Iron Man. I think even this film’s harshest critics would agree that Downey was just as entertaining here than he was the first time around, and I found it completely captivating to watch Tony Stark’s struggle with his own mortality and his failures to live up to the expectations that those who mattered most to him, had for him. In addition to RDJ’s exceptional performance, I also enjoyed everything that Scarlett Johansson brought to Iron Man 2 as Natasha Romanoff / The Black Widow. She kicked ass and I wanted to see more of Natasha coming out of this movie! Also once again, the special effects were spot on. All of the Iron Man armors looked incredible, and I especially loved the Mark V suit and how it fit into a suitcase, another throwback to the comics! On top of all of that, it was great to see the relationship between Tony Stark and Pepper Potts evolve. Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow boasted great chemistry throughout this film once again, firmly establishing themselves as the MCU’s First Couple. It was awesome to at long last see them come together at the end of the film after two full movies of teases and flirting. The dynamic between the two was really different in this sequel, as Pepper grew to be more confidant and less dependent upon Tony while Tony found himself needing her more than ever, both professionally, and personally.
My favorite scene in Iron Man 2 was the Monaco race scene. I especially enjoyed Tony’s interactions with Justin Hammer and how hard he rode Hammer and his would-be date Christine Everhart (a brilliant callback to Iron Man). Even Pepper Potts joined in on the rather mean-spirited fun, and Hammer’s no-sell of the whole thing was just perfect! In fact, I will go ahead and say that outside of RDJ’s Tony Stark and Scarlett’s Natasha Romanoff, Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer was my favorite part of this film! He was just so corny and cheesy, and almost innocent in a socially awkward sort of way, except for the fact that he was at his core an egotistical jackass that fully bought-in to most of what he spewed. Hammer just worked as a character; a sort of anti-Stark with some of the same smarts and all of the same ego, but much less of that likable charisma that Downey’s Stark exudes.
Some of the other things I enjoyed about Iron Man 2 were Natasha Romanoff’s manhandling of Happy Hogan in the boxing ring, and Tony Stark’s birthday party, which was as ridiculous in a humorous way as it was disturbing in an awkwardly haunting sort of way. I thought the fight between Tony and Rhodey was awesome, and it was fun to see Rhodey become War Machine! The suit was bulky and fully loaded with weapons, and I loved the over-the-top aspect of its design, its link to Justin Hammer, and Tony Stark’s reaction to the suit. I furthermore enjoyed the doughnut shop scene and seeing Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark and Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury back on the screen together, and I loved the video of Howard Stark and Tony’s reaction to it; a great father / son moment that was cloaked in irony and sadness, but which at the same time allowed Tony to at long last understand that he was worth far more to his late dad than he ever believed himself to be.
I also have to mention the Senate Hearing that opened the film, which featured the late, great Gary Shandling as Senator Stern. This is a scene that I can watch over and over, and I just love the banter between Stark and Senator Stern and the way Robert Downey Jr owned the scene both in character and in acting. Justin Hammer is again, a key component of this scene working as well as it does, and for me, this is the funniest and most purely entertaining sequence of the whole film.
While Iron Man 2 isn’t going to top even my list of favorite Marvel Studios films and is a film that even I consider to be inferior to the first Iron Man film that preceded it, this is still a wildly entertaining movie that is never dull and that features some solid performances. Yes, the film takes time to do some world-building, and yes, the Ivan Vanko character was a miss, and yes, some of the Black Widow stuff hasn’t aged too well, but there is a lot to appreciate, and this is a must-watch for anyone looking to understand the MCU in its earliest days.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Highlights of Iron Man 2:
Robert Downey Jr is Tony Stark / Iron Man
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / The Black Widow
Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer
Girl Power!
Gary Shandling as Senator Stern
Monaco Racetrack Fight
The Mark V Iron Man armor, complete with Suitcase
Captain America’s shield prototype in Tony’s workshop
Post-Credits scene introducing Mjolnir, the mythic Hammer of Thor
Senate Hearing
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Notable MCU Concepts and Characters Introduced:
Justin Hammer. Ivan Vanko. Anton Vanko, The Stark / World Expo. The Tesseract. Peter Parker (young boy wearing Iron Man mask at the Stark Expo). Senator Stern. The Nation of Wakanda. Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. The War Machine armor (Mark II expansion). Iron Man armors Mark IV-VI. Hammer Industries and Mjolnir (post-credits).
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