Iron Man 2 Secretly Explained Why Tony Ignored An Easy Way To Save Himself

In Iron Man 2, Tony Stark, suffering from heavy metal poisoning from the arc reactor in his chest, misses a solution that could save him - or could at least stave off further poisoning - in a plot hole that is explored within the same film. Tony has need for the generator that he wears, as it is powering an electromagnet that is keeping shrapnel he acquired in Iron Man from entering his heart and killing him, but the very tool that Tony is using to prolong his life is also endangering it. The reactor also powers the Iron Man suit, but audiences learn that it doesn't need to be in Tony's chest in order to do so, as Rhodey Rhodes, Tony's longtime friend, wears an adapted form of the Iron Man suit as War Machine.

Eventually, Tony removes the arc reactor in Iron Man 3, following a complex and dangerous surgical procedure. In the interim however, he could still have removed the reactor, and powered the electromagnet with a high-tech battery, instead of a generator doing double service in powering his power armor and his heart at the same time. War Machine isn't threatened with palladium poisoning, because he doesn't have blood-contact with the generator for his suit. It's a straightforward solution to a worsening problem, and well within the capabilities of a genius engineer and inventor.

The most likely reason that Tony wouldn't have thought to remove the reactor from his chest is that heavy metal poisoning - such as he was receiving from the reactor - can compromise judgment, causing confusion, depression, and paranoia. Iron Man's PTSD from the Battle of New York is likely exacerbated by this, since having this kind of poisoning can sometimes lead to further mental and emotional trouble down the road. Within Iron Man 2, he is depressed and sometimes confused by what's going on around him. There is a scene where he buys strawberries for his assistant, Pepper Potts, forgetting that strawberries are "the one thing in the world [she is] allergic to" - memory loss is also a symptom of some forms of heavy metal poisoning. With the movie mentioning that his condition is already severe and worsening, it is distinctly possible that Tony Stark did not think of the simpler solution to his problem because his mind is being clouded.

Tony Stark with Strawberries in Iron man 2

While palladium by itself is not toxic, many of its compounds are both toxic and carcinogenic, and the movie never goes into detail as to how pure the palladium the arc reactor used was. The point ultimately becomes unimportant when the generator is replaced with a powerful new element, but Tony might have ultimately needed a replacement in the form of War Machine, even if he had gone through the process of synthesizing the new element. A reference to "tasting pineapple" suggests that the new generator is also insufficiently shielded, with the effects of inserting this new, presumably more volatile element into his chest unknown.

In all, it's hard to say what the fallout from Iron Man's protracted poisoning is long-term. Although some of the decisions he later makes are attributed to character growth, some of Iron Man's conflict with the other Avengers and his own choices might well stem from the side-effects of palladium in his system. All that's known for sure is that for the duration of Iron Man 2, he overlooks a much simpler solution than creating an entirely new element.

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