Iron Man 2 (2010)

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After 'Iron Man' and 'The Incredible Hulk' were ultimately successful, it was time to drive the point home that the Avengers movie was most definitely happening. Before we knew it, we had a few upcoming titles to look forward to, including 'Thor' and 'Captain America: The First Avenger' to be released in 2011. However, 'Iron Man 2' would provide a decent "bookmark" for it all, and become the first grand-scale advertisement for 'The Avengers' in the form of the film's B-story.

The central plot, however, takes place about six months after Stark has announced to the world that he is, in fact, Iron Man. Wallowing in his own newfound glory and pride, he successfully uses the Iron Man suit to continue fighting for peace and refuses to sell his designs to the American government. However, in secret, the palladium core powering the Iron Man suit is slowly poisoning his heart, and much of the film focuses on him trying to find a suitable substitute, using his genius and a little help from Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).

Meanwhile, in Russia, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) creates an arc reactor very similar to Stark's. Discovering this information, rival weapons manufacturer, Hammer Tech, led by Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), hires Vanko to create weaponry for him. However, Vanko has his own plans for revenge against Stark and means to bring down Iron Man, driven by Vanko's father, who once worked with Howard Stark (Tony's father) on the original arc reactor and was deported after being caught trying to sell nuclear secrets to Pakistan. Vanko blames his father's disgrace solely on the Stark family now and is out for vengeance.

Soon, Stark finds himself up against Vanko (who becomes "Whiplash") as well as, in a sense, himself. A big chunk of this movie involves a look into Tony Stark's character, as Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and newcomer, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), known first as a new assistant to Stark named Natalie Rushman, look for the right reasons to recruit him to the "Avengers Initiative." Throughout the film, Stark shows off his more selfish side and proves he has a lot to learn about his personal life.

'Iron Man 2' makes for a decent stepping stone for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it doesn't come across as a hell of a lot more these days. One should also know that this isn't so much an Iron Man movie as a Tony Stark movie. That said, the climactic sequence over the last half hour or so of the film is a lot of fun to watch as an action-packed scene, primarily thanks to the introduction of War Machine; another Iron Suit piloted by Stark's friend, Lt. Col. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes (now played by Don Cheadle), giving the film a little extra umph.

Speaking for myself, 'Iron Man 2' finds itself in the mid-lower area of my list when it comes to the MCU. While perhaps necessary for its time, it's a straightforward setup for 'The Avengers,' and I've always found it to be one giant commercial for things to come. Truth be told, on its own, the movie is just okay. Still, it was ultimately successful in getting me excited for what was coming next, chatting with my fellow geeks about the possibilities of what 'The Avengers' would be like, how it would change cinema, and what we might expect to see in the future of the MCU.

Despite how I feel about 'Iron Man 2' as a whole, I can't deny that I sometimes wonder what might have happened if it wasn't released to not only get people excited for the MCU's future endeavours, but bridge the gap in time, so we wouldn't let go of that first tinge of excitement we got from the post/pre-credit sequences seen in the first 'Iron Man' and 'The Incredible Hulk', respectively. It also solidifies Stark as the MCU's leading player. It may not be among my favourites, but I can't really deny that, in some ways, it may have been necessary for the MCU to succeed fully.

3/5

POST-CREDIT SCENE: Agent Coulson gets called to a job in New Mexico in the middle of the film. This scene shows us what he was called in for. A crater has been discovered in the middle of the desert with Thor's hammer in the middle of it.

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