Synopsis

Iron Man 2 events take place six months after the events that occurred in the first film, Iron Man. After exposing himself as the armoured hero Iron Man, Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) has become a celebrity as he continues to fight crime, with the help of his artificially intelligent computer J.A.R.V.I.S (Just A Rather Very Intelligent System).

Unknown to everyone else, except J.A.R.V.I.S, the arc reactor in his chest has become a threat to his condition. The palladium core in the reactor is slowly poisoning him. Meanwhile, Stark’s rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) forms an alliance with Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) who is out to exact revenge on Tony. Their fathers used to work together on the arc reactor and Ivan’s father felt cheated by the partnership.

Tony continues to live his life like every day is his last until he finds a cure from an unexpected source. However Justin and Ivan recreate their own powerful armoured suits to combat Iron Man.

Like the first movie, Iron Man II is directed by Jon Favreau. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow reprises her role as Tony’s assistant, Pepper Potts. She was appointed CEO of Stark Industries but returns the position back to Tony towards the end of the movie. They have become a couple as well by the time the movie ends.

Actress Scarlett Johansson is introduced as Natasha Romanoff, also known as the Black Widow. In the spirit of continuity and as a transition to Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) Phase 2 plan, actor Samuel Jackson’s Nick Fury also appears in the film. A scene shows Nick asking Tony to be a consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Avengers Initiative despite finding his personality unsuitable for the job.

Iron Man II was released in 2010 and was followed by a third installment, Iron Man III in 2013. Iron Man is also part of Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (2012) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). He is set to appear again in the upcoming movie, Avengers: Infinity War, to be released in 2018.