‘Iron Man 2’ Was Marvel’s Biggest Building Block
In conversations about the best films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, IRON MAN 2 is often cast aside as one of the lesser efforts. Even the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rankings of all the Marvel films (not just the Marvel Studios MCU projects but also those delivered by other studios) placed IRON MAN 2 at #18. The only MCU films ranked lower were THE INCREDIBLE HULK and THOR: THE DARK WORLD.
Some of the criticisms of IRON MAN 2 are understandable. For the most part, fans viewed it as a somewhat-silly installment, with cheesy villains and a little too much in the way of Tony Stark’s idiosyncratic antics. Nevertheless as we head toward 2016 and the massive release of CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, I’d argue that the second Iron Man film was actually one of the most significant projects in the whole bunch. It established a number of themes and put a lot of things in motion that are now beginning to define the aggregate films featuring multiple Avengers.
For starters, IRON MAN 2 was the first film in the MCU to really delve into S.H.I.E.L.D. and introduce its main characters. We Got This Covered discussed Tony Stark’s relationships as a reason that this sequel is actually better than the original film. I might not go that far, but it’s true that the relationships are crucial—not just to Pepper Potts and Col. James Rhodes, but also to Nick Fury and Natasha Romanoff. IRON MAN 2 laid the foundation for Stark’s involvement with S.H.I.E.L.D., and in a way even directly set the stage for AGE OF ULTRON. When Fury holds Stark at arm’s length, it plants a seed for Stark’s future renegade actions, such as creating a deadly A.I. in private.
Expanding on the relationship idea, IRON MAN 2 also firmly established the most prominent sidekick in the MCU in Col. Rhodes/War Machine. Don Cheadle stepped into the role and in no time became, basically, another Iron Man without the personal ingenuity or daring of Tony Stark. And ever since, War Machine has been beside Iron Man whenever he’s needed. He was in the major battles of IRON MAN 2 and IRON MAN 3, and he’s even a popular fixture in Marvel video games. War Machine is present in the Marvel Heroes MMO, he’s a playable character in Marvel: Contest of Champions, and he appears on the cover of the “Iron Man 2” slot amongst a number of other Marvel-themed titles at Gala Casino. The same casino game uses images of Whiplash and Black Widow as well to cultivate a sense of the film’s atmosphere, but it’s perhaps most recognisable for Iron Man and War Machine pairing. You won’t see other sidekicks, like Captain America’s buddy Falcon or Thor’s band of Asgard warriors, in roles like this—and it all started with IRON MAN 2.
I already mentioned that there are hints of the Tony Stark behaviour that leads to the creation of Ultron. But looking more specifically at that point, there are also numerous indications throughout IRON MAN 2 that meddling in advanced tech can unleash chaos. The biggest sign is that a Russian prisoner across the world gets wind of Stark’s suit and uses it as inspiration to build a highly energetic set of weaponry. Complex’s ranking of MCU villains placed Whiplash rather harshly at #21, but they acknowledged just how cool his big fight scene on the Monaco race course was. In that scene, Whiplash emerges as an unknown psychopath hell-bent on destroying Stark—sound familiar? It’s more or less what Ultron amounts to, demonstrating that Stark’s groundbreaking tech hasn’t just caused a calamity once or twice, as it kind of has a tendency to do so. And this is all without even mentioning the fact that Stark creates a new element in his basement, which is a step up from making an armoured suit and a bit of foreshadowing about the potential impact of a home project in the Stark house.
And finally, IRON MAN 2 was also the first film in the MCU to directly hint at supernatural involvement. This was an eventuality anyway, so it’s less of a strong point for the film and more of a detail. Nevertheless, the “secret ending” in which Agent Coulson sees Thor’s hammer stuck in the desert opened the door for the extensive cosmic content to follow.
All of the Marvel films are connected, and removing any one piece from the puzzle would make the MCU incomplete. But more than most (if not all) of the other films, IRON MAN 2 set the tone for a lot of what we’ve seen in the Avengers films, and what we’ll be seeing in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR.