One major plot hole in Iron Man 2 shows its ugly head when Whiplash attacks Tony Stark on the racetrack in Monaco. Prior to these events, Tony Stark is still laying the groundwork for being Iron Man. He starts the year-long Stark Expo, creates new suits, and deals with the toxic effects the Palladium from the original arc reactor had on his body, slowly killing him. Iron Man's constant checking of his blood toxicity levels affects his character for the first half of the movie, approaching life as someone with limited time. Iron Man is also called to testify in front of the U.S. Senate regarding his use of the armor, which he describes not as a weapon, but as part of him.
Throughout Iron Man 2, Stark is finding ways to remain a superhero at any cost. He is erratic, unreliable, and goes off the rails before Nick Fury and Black Widow show up with a supplement that helps save his life. He dons the Iron Man armor at his birthday party only to blow up liquor bottles, and eventually, a watermelon, putting everyone present in danger.
His risky behavior as Iron Man could have cost some people their lives. This is shown when he decides to get into the seat of a racecar and participate in the race in Monaco. It is at this point that Whiplash finally appears, with his super-powered whips in tow, to ostensibly whip Tony's car in half, killing him in the process. As Iron Man 2's villain Whiplash walks fearlessly across the raceway, he powers up his suit, and his clothes burn off, leaving him exposed to the elements from the waist up. It's a very cool, cinematic choice by director Jon Favreau to introduce the villain this way, but it does introduce a plot hole, begging the question of why Whiplash wasn't immediately gunned down by event police at that point.
Why The Police Didn't Stop Whiplash In Iron Man 2
The plot hole thickens when there are four armed police officers shown running from the event when they could have easily used their training to stop the danger and protect the world-famous billionaire. They also could have taken Whiplash down for the safety of the racers and those watching the event, if not for preventing Tony Stark's death specifically. It seems likely at least one of the officials would have tried to stop Whiplash, especially considering they were armed and that in a crisis, police officers usually do turn to their sidearms.
However, it's also worth considering that the officers may have recognized Whiplash to be a superhero-level threat and knew their weapons would likely be ineffective against him. They also had no way to know about his specific powers and if shooting him would cause more harm than good. From a movie perspective, it makes sense Favreau and his team opted for Whiplash having his first scuffle with a fully-suited Iron Man, as it makes for a far more interesting scene. Arguments like this often end with someone saying that if the problem had been solved logically, there would be no film, but this is, at this point, a cop-out answer. Plenty of movies, and even Marvel movies, have had the attention to detail to not leave in plot holes like the one in Iron Man 2, and the "it's a movie" argument holds less and less water as stories adapt to becoming internet-proof.
