Granted, the first Iron Man was produced under similar circumstances. In fact, soon after the film came out - and even as it was shooting - the filmmakers were (often shockingly) honest and candid about the less-than-ideal circumstances surrounding the production. If anything, it emboldened them to “plus” their efforts - a term Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige likes to use. ( Iron Man 2 also sets up Thor in its end-credits scene.) Despite Favreau’s best efforts and an always-engaging RDJ leading a very compelling ensemble cast, Iron Man 2, unfortunately, fell significantly short of the creative and entertaining highs established by its predecessor.īut the creatives and Marvel did not let that detour them. The sequel was the summer movie equivalent of spinning plates: It had to pit Tony Stark against villains Whiplash (an over-the-top Mickey Rourke) and Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), introduce two new characters - Don Cheadle’s Rhodey (sorry, Terrance Howard) and the welcome game-changer Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) - and lay track for the MCU’s never-before-attempted level of serialized storytelling on the big screen.

At the same time, though, this noble creative misfire - which is celebrating its 10th anniversary today, May 7 - helped change the future of the very franchise it was on the ground level of.Ĭoming off 2008’s landmark blockbuster Iron Man, which overperformed at the box office and launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the expectations couldn’t have been higher for director Jon Favreau and star Robert Downey Jr.’s 2010 follow-up. Pick a reason to feel let down, because there are many (the offensive and shockingly gleeful way Tony Stark and Happy ogle Tony’s then-assistant and future Avenger, Natasha Romanoff, comes to mind).

Iron Man 2 isn’t Marvel Studios’ worst sequel, but it is its most disappointing one.

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