FILM · 2010 · USA
Iron Man 2
- Directed by
- Jon Favreau
- Runtime
- 124 min
- Studio
- Marvel Studios, Fairview Entertainment, Marvel Entertainment
213 archived facts 7 topics 2 sources Last reviewed Nov 2026
With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark faces pressure from the government, the press and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to let go of his invention, Stark, with Pepper Potts and James 'Rhodey' Rhodes at his side, must forge new alliances – and confront powerful enemies.
213 Interesting Facts About Iron Man 2
Interesting Facts (91)
- #001
- #002
According to director Jon Favreau, the technology in this film was portrayed as more futuristic: "After the first film, a number of technology companies told us how uncanny a lot of our technology depictions had become and how many different films and video games had drawn inspiration from the imagery we used. That pushed us to go a bit further into the future and change the nature of this technology. If we had copied what was in the first one, we would be behind where things are now. So now we're dealing with holograms, the interface inside the suit, and upgrading the suit as well."
- #003
- #004
Although Mickey Rourke spent several months on the treadmill and weight training, during the Whiplash costume test he was initially still unable to move because of its weight and could not use the whip support. To overcome this problem, Rourke wore heavy vests in later physical training sessions to get used to moving while wearing heavy armor.
- #005
The many news clippings shown in the film depict Tony Stark and Ivan Vanko in their youth. Most of them are real photographs of Robert Downey Jr. and Mickey Rourke, both of whom rose to fame in the 1980s.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
In Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Garry Shandling reprised the role of Senator Stern. In Winter Soldier, Stern is revealed to be a sleeper Hydra agent, which explains why the character strove so hard in this film to obtain Tony Stark's Iron Man suits and technology, though it is unknown whether Marvel planned the Hydra twist that far in advance. It may simply be a coincidence.
- #010
When Marvel first hired Samuel L. Jackson to play Nick Fury in the first two Iron Man films, they wanted to keep it highly secret. In fact, they drove his car into the middle of the set and surrounded it with wardrobe trailers so that no one could see him get out of the car and into character until Iron Man (2008) was released in theaters.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
At roughly the 22nd minute, according to Jon Favreau, the Asian man who gives Vanko false documents to reach Monaco is a member of the Ten Rings, the terrorist organization Stark encountered in the first film. This organization is reported to be led by Mandarin, Iron Man's archenemy.
- #015
Contains a major spoiler — show
Several scenes in the film clearly foreshadow The Avengers (2012): while Tony examines his father's case, an old Captain America comic book can be seen inside, and he later uses Captain America's shield (a prototype) to build a reactor. While Tony watches his father's old reels and leafs through his notebooks, one of the sketches is a Tesseract drawn as a "Schlegel diagram"; the Tesseract is a very important element in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and The Avengers (2012). News footage of the campus battle from The Incredible Hulk (2008) is seen near the end of the film. Stark and Fury discuss Stark's membership throughout the film. In the post-credits scene, Agent Coulson finds Thor's hammer in a crater.
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In the comics, Justin Hammer was a cunning but elderly businessman. In the film he was reworked as a younger character and became Tony Stark's contemporary rival. The original purpose of the comics character was to explain why the various enemies Iron Man fought somehow acquired unique and highly advanced weapons, yet generally kept them for violent crimes rather than marketing them for profit. Iron Man eventually discovers this was because Hammer gave the weapons to various criminals as part of mercenary contracts, with an agreement that they hand over a percentage of the spoils from their crimes.
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At around 1 hour 12 minutes, Hammer says, "If it were any smarter, it'd write a book, a book that would make 'Ulysses' look like it was written in crayon." He notes that the author of 'Ulysses', James Joyce, had his eyesight deteriorate so badly while writing it that he had to write in large letters with a crayon on large sheets of paper in order to see what he was writing.
- #027
Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) is a combination of Iron Man's enemy the Crimson Dynamo (Dr. Vanko, who wears weapons and armor capable of controlling electricity) and the supervillain Whiplash (who wields a specially designed razor and acid whip). The character is also portrayed as the son of Anton Vanko, the original Crimson Dynamo in the comics, and assumes the identity of B. Turgenev (Boris Turgenev, the second Crimson Dynamo in the comics).
- #028
Writer Shane Black suggested that Tony Stark's characterization was inspired by J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist who led the team that developed the atomic bomb. After witnessing the destructive potential of his creation, Oppenheimer branded himself "the Destroyer of Worlds" and fell into depression. Black went on to write and direct Iron Man 3 (2013), and Robert Downey Jr. played Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer (2023).
- #029
- #030
Sam Rockwell (Justin Hammer) and Leslie Bibb (Christine Everhart) have been in a relationship since around 2008. In this film they play against their real-life romance, as journalist Everhart is notably unimpressed by Hammer, seeing him both as a potential romantic partner and as a story for her magazine.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
The original ending revealed that Whiplash survived the explosion and attacked Tony and Pepper before being killed by Rhodey. In case Marvel wanted to bring Whiplash back for future films, the ending was changed to a more ambiguous situation. As of January 2025, no such plan exists.
- #037
Interestingly, every instance of the word "Russian" was made inaudible in the Chinese version. Although there are many theories in the comments as to why — that China thought audiences would be offended by a Russian villain, that it was trying to show courtesy to long-time allied nations, or that it was instead trying to distance itself from Russia by hiding any mention of it — no explanation was ever given.
- #038
The sequence in which Hammer throws his weapons arsenal to Rhodey is a tribute to the sequence in Taxi Driver (1976) that begins at the 54:50 timestamp, where Travis Bickle meets the gun salesman Easy Andy in a hotel room. Like the salesman in Taxi Driver, Hammer gives brief descriptions of each weapon's capabilities and even later lays them out on a table in the same way.
- #039
Howard Stark's (John Slattery's) presentation about the idea of a futuristic city was heavily influenced by Walt Disney's televised explanation of the new EPCOT Center and its accompanying Florida Project. The city's 3D map closely imitates the EPCOTs, and the posters behind Stark come from the World's Fairs, over which Disney — as Stark may also have been — had great influence. In addition, one of the very few real-life 1964 World's Fair buildings featured at the Stark Expo is a replica of the General Electric pavilion, where Disney's Carousel of Progress was made famous. Richard M. Sherman contributed to the film with the song "Make Way for Tomorrow Today," which is similar to "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow," composed by Richard and his brother Robert B. Sherman for the Carousel of Progress, among many other classic Disney melodies.
- #040
- #041
(About 10 minutes in) The CEO of Oracle Corporation (a billionaire playboy often compared to Tony Stark) is briefly seen at the Stark Expo. As Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) escorts Tony out of the Stark Expo, he says, "This is Larry." Stark responds, "Hey, the Oracle of Oracle." Oracle's branding appears prominently at many points in the film, including an exciting showdown in a fictional "Oracle Biodome."
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- #044
(At about 1 hour 11 minutes) When Hammer presents his weapons arsenal to Rhodey, the Minigun evokes "Puff the Magic Dragon." Beyond the film and song references, during the Vietnam War the Douglas AC-47 "Spooky" attack aircraft was armed with similar Miniguns and was nicknamed "Puff the Magic Dragon."
- #045
- #046
This is Scarlett Johansson's third foray into comic book films. Her previous comic book films were Ghost World (2001) and The Spirit (2008), in which her character worked for the Octopus (played by Samuel L. Jackson). In this film, Johansson again works alongside Jackson (as Nick Fury). Johansson had previously stated that she was interested in playing the Marvel supervillain Moonstone.
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The vintage cars seen in Stark's private collection were a 1953 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe by Ghia that once belonged to Rita Hayworth (a gift from Prince Aly Khan); a 1949 Mercury "lead sled" customized by Sam Barris (George Barris's brother), provided by the Petersen Automotive Museum; and a 1932 Ford flathead Roadster that belonged to director Jon Favreau.
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Five original vintage Formula 1 race cars were used in the Monaco race, among them a 1976 Lotus type 77 owned by collector Chris Locke. In the starting grid of the drivers shown on television, one driver is named Locke and another is named Chapman, a tribute to Lotus founder and F1 team manager until his death in 1982, Colin Chapman.
- #055
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(At about the 27th minute) When Tony Stark meets Elon Musk, he expresses his admiration for Musk's "fantastic" Merlin engines, the propulsion engines SpaceX uses in its Falcon series rockets. Musk said he was thinking about the "electric jet" concept, which he began revisiting between late 2015 and early 2016.
- #058
- #059
The action scene of the historic Monaco Grand Prix had to be shot in the parking lot of Downey Studios in California because (now former) F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone (who had initially given permission) withdrew permission to film on the Grand Prix track. When the permission was withdrawn, a Rolls-Royce Phantom was sent to the spot on the track where the driving scene was shot.
- #060
In a June 2021 interview with Collider about the then-upcoming Black Widow (2021), Scarlett Johansson discussed how her character had evolved since first appearing in Iron Man 2 and The Avengers (2012). She said, "You look back at Iron Man 2 and while it was really fun and had a lot of great moments in it, the character is so sexualized, you know? Really talked about like she's a piece of something, like a possession or a thing or whatever, like a piece of ass, really. And Tony even refers to her as something like that at one point. Now people, young girls, are getting much more positive messages, but to be part of that change and to be part of that change is incredible. Be on the other side and be part of that old story, but also move forward, evolve, I think that's pretty cool."
- #061
- #062
(At about 14 minutes) Tony is surprised to see Rhodey (Don Cheadle) at the Senate hearing. Rhodey tells Tony, "Look, it's me. I'm here. Deal with it. Let's move on." This can be read not only as Rhodey speaking to Tony but also as Cheadle subconsciously speaking to the audience and addressing the uproar over Rhodes being recast between Iron Man (2008) and this film.
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- #067
When Ivan Vanko and Justin Hammer meet for the first time in the airport hangar and sit down at the table, if you look at Justin Hammer's palms, they appear blotchy and darker compared to the wrinkles on his hands and around his fingertips, suggesting he likely has a sloppy spray tan meant to show his vanity and incompetence.
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Tony builds a particle accelerator in his basement to create the element his father discovered, which will power his suit and cure his palladium poisoning. Although the accelerator appears to be missing key parts, experts say this is not far-fetched at all. The beam Tony directs with a wrench would also not travel in only one direction. And elements are generally not stable enough to be found in more than a few billionths of a second. Not only that, but in this scenario Tony would also expose himself to very high, very dangerous levels of radiation.
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To keep various aspects of the production secret, Marvel Studios' official fake working title was "Rasputin." Two more fake titles were used during additional photography: "Murphy's Law" (named after Susan Murphy's recently deceased father, John Francis Murphy) and "The Adventures of Angus McDonald" (named after Scott Trimble's great-great-great-grandfather, William Angus McDonald).
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At roughly 1 hour 24 minutes, when Agent Coulson visits the laboratory with the accelerator under construction, some of the coils sit on a generator marked "Lincoln Electric." Coulson worked with a character in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013) who has electrical powers named "Lincoln," although in reality Lincoln Electric is only a leading manufacturer of welding equipment.
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Production Story (93)
- #092
Jon Favreau clashed heavily with Marvel executives over their constant interference; they even had him rewrite the script while filming was underway, particularly elements such as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s growing importance. The subplot was the result of the need to build a larger Marvel Cinematic Universe as preparation for The Avengers (2012), at the expense of the coherence of the film's own plot. These disagreements became so bad that Favreau turned down directing Iron Man 3 (2013).
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Don Cheadle had only a few hours to accept the role of Rhodes because he was at his child's birthday party. Although he was a comic book fan, Cheadle had never before made a film adapted from a comic book because of the absence of Black superheroes in the comic book universe.
Iron Man 2 (2010): Lt. Col. James "rhodey" RhodesImage: Wikimedia Commons · William Tung, CC BY-SA 2.0 - #095
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- #098
According to director Jon Favreau, the technology in this film was portrayed as more futuristic: "After the first film, a number of technology companies told us how eerie a lot of our technology depictions had become and how many different films and video games were inspired by the imagery we used. That forced us to go a little further into the future and change the nature of this technology. If we had copied what was in the first one, we would be behind where things are now. So now we're dealing with holograms, the interface inside the suit, and the suit being upgraded as well."
- #099
- #100
Samuel L. Jackson was promised by Jon Favreau that Nick Fury would be given more screen time. Jackson nearly didn't return to play Fury because of problems in his contract negotiations, but he signed a landmark nine-film deal to portray Nick Fury not only in this film but in many other Marvel Studios productions.
- #101
Jon Favreau clashed a great deal with Marvel executives because of their constant interference; they even had him rewrite the script while filming was ongoing. Elements such as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s increased importance in particular. The subplot was the result of the need to build a larger Marvel Cinematic Universe as preparation for The Avengers (2012), at the expense of the coherence of the film's own plot. These disagreements became so bad that Favreau turned down directing Iron Man 3 (2013).
- #102
Although Mickey Rourke spent several months on the treadmill and weight training, at the Whiplash costume test he was initially still unable to move because of its weight and could not use the whip support. To overcome this problem, Rourke wore heavy vests in subsequent physical training sessions to get used to moving while wearing heavy armor.
- #103
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- #107
In Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Garry Shandling reprised the role of Senator Stern. In Winter Soldier, Stern is revealed to be a sleeper Hydra agent, which explains why the character strove so hard in this film to obtain Tony Stark's Iron Man suits and technology, though it is unknown whether Marvel planned the Hydra twist this far in advance. It may simply be a coincidence.
- #108
When Marvel first hired Samuel L. Jackson to play Nick Fury in the first two Iron Man films, they wanted to keep it very secret. In fact, they drove Samuel's car into the middle of the set and surrounded it with covering trailers so that no one could see him get out of the car and into character until Iron Man (2008) was released in theaters.
- #109
Mickey Rourke visited Butyrka Prison in Moscow to prepare for the role of Ivan Vanko, aka Whiplash: "I tried to put together the whole Russian philosophy. It's a culture unto itself and I really enjoyed doing the research and meeting people, and they treated me very kindly in the prison." Rourke also commented that Vanko's dialogue was in a Slovak accent.
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(At around 1 hour 1 minute) While brainstorming a location for the scene where Nick Fury encounters a hungover Tony Stark eating donuts, Jon Favreau wanted something distinctly Los Angeles, since Stark was the first Marvel superhero on screen on the West Coast. Favreau was trying to figure out where a character like Stark would go after being hungover from partying all night, and he thought Randy's Donuts, Los Angeles's twenty-four-hour donut shop with the giant iconic donut on its roof, was perfect. Favreau was relieved that Stark would not appear on a giant sign belonging to a national restaurant chain. When he met with the store owner, who liked the idea, the owner initially suggested that Stark fly out of the donut.
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In the comics, Justin Hammer was a cunning but elderly businessman. In the film, he was reworked as a younger character and turned into Tony Stark's contemporary rival. The original purpose of the character in the comics was to explain why the various enemies Iron Man fought somehow acquired unique and highly advanced weapons, yet generally kept them for themselves to commit violent crimes rather than marketing them for profit. Iron Man eventually discovers that this was because Hammer gave weapons to various criminals as part of mercenary contracts, with an agreement that they hand over a percentage of the spoils from their crimes.
- #122
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- #124
Terrence Howard, who was replaced by Don Cheadle as Rhodes for no apparent reason, claimed that Marvel did not honor his original three-film deal and matching salary. Entertainment Weekly later claimed that director Jon Favreau was unhappy with Howard's performance in Iron Man (2008), often reshooting or cutting his scenes. For the sequel, Favreau and co-writer Justin Theroux deliberately reduced Howard's screen time, which led Marvel to ask Howard (the highest-paid actor in Iron Man) to accept an 80 percent pay cut (though Marvel claimed this was because they did not consider him vital to the film's commercial success). Howard rejected the offer, claiming the real reason for the pay cut was to cover Robert Downey Jr.'s reported 2000 percent salary increase. Cheadle was then sought to replace him, and the role of Rhodes was strengthened again. Insiders later confirmed that former Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter replaced Howard because he refused to meet rising salary demands (Perlmutter himself was later replaced by Kevin Feige amid claims that he defended recasting Rhodes by saying "all black actors look the same"). Although Howard initially blamed Downey Jr. for "[taking] the money that was supposed to go to [him] and push[ing him] out" (especially since he had recommended Downey Jr. for the lead role), the two actors would later reconcile.
- #125
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(At around 1 hour 12 minutes) Hammer says, "If it were any smarter, it'd write a book, a book that would make 'Ulysses' look like it was written in crayon." He is referring to the fact that author James Joyce's eyesight deteriorated so badly while writing "Ulysses" that he had to write in large letters with a crayon on large sheets of paper to see what he was writing.
- #127
(At around 1 hour 29 minutes) Hammer yells at Vanko, "I don't speak RUSSIAN!" The Russian phrase Vanko had just said (after Hammer's long speech) was "Slishkom mnogo govorish." This translates as: "You talk too much." Vanko uses the familiar "you" form of the verb, showing that he does not respect Hammer or see him as an equal.
- #128
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Writer Shane Black suggested that Tony Stark's characterization be inspired by J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist who led the team that developed the atomic bomb. After witnessing the destructive potential of his creation, Oppenheimer branded himself "the Destroyer of Worlds" and fell into depression. Black wrote and directed Iron Man 3 (2013), and Robert Downey Jr. played Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer (2023).
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- #140
In the original ending, it is revealed that Whiplash survives the explosion and attacks Tony and Pepper before being killed by Rhodey. In case Marvel wanted to bring Whiplash back for future films, the film's ending was changed to a more ambiguous state. As of January 2025, no such plan exists.
- #141
Interestingly, every instance of the word "Russian" was made inaudible in the Chinese version. Although there are many theories in the comments as to why—that China thought audiences would be uncomfortable with a Russian villain, that it was trying to show courtesy to long-time allied nations, or that it was instead trying to distance itself from Russia by concealing any mention of it—no explanation was ever given.
- #142
The sequence in which Hammer throws his weapons arsenal to Rhodey is a tribute to the sequence in Taxi Driver (1976) that begins at the 54:50 timestamp, in which Travis Bickle meets the gun salesman Easy Andy in a hotel room. Like the salesman in "Taxi Driver," Hammer gives brief descriptions of each weapon's capabilities and even later lays them out on the table in the same way.
- #143
Howard Stark's (John Slattery's) presentation about the idea of a futuristic city was heavily influenced by Walt Disney's televised description of the new EPCOT Center and its accompanying Florida Project. The city's 3D map closely imitates EPCOT, and the posters behind Stark come from World's Fairs, where Disney, as Stark might have been, had great influence. In addition, one of the few real-life 1964 World's Fair buildings featured at the Stark Expo is a replica of the General Electric pavilion, made famous by Disney's Carousel of Progress. Richard M. Sherman contributed to the film with the song "Make Way for Tomorrow Today," similar to "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow," which Richard and his brother Robert B. Sherman composed for Carousel of Progress, among many other classic Disney melodies.
- #144
- #145
(At around 4 minutes in) While showing Vanko's collection of covers and articles about Tony Stark, there is an article about Iron Man stabilizing East-West relations, with a signature attributed to "Rob Down," a reference to Robert Downey Jr. The text of the article is actually an obituary for Tony's father, Howard Stark.
- #146
(About 10 minutes in) The CEO of Oracle Corporation (a billionaire playboy often compared to Tony Stark) is briefly seen at the Stark Expo. As Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) escorts Tony out of the Stark Expo, he says, "This is Larry." Stark is said to reply: "Hey, the Oracle of Oracle." Oracle's branding appears prominently at several points in the film, including the thrilling showdown at a fictional "Oracle Biodome."
- #147
- #148
(Around 1 hour 11 minutes in) When Hammer presents his weapons arsenal to Rhodey, the Minigun is called "Puff the Magic Dragon." In addition to the film and song references, during the Vietnam War the Douglas AC-47 "Spooky" attack aircraft was armed with similar Miniguns and was nicknamed "Puff the Magic Dragon."
- #149
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- #153
The vintage cars seen in Stark's private collection — the 1953 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe by Ghia that once belonged to Rita Hayworth (a gift from Prince Aly Khan); the 1949 Mercury "lead sled" customized by Sam Barris (George Barris's brother) — were provided by the Petersen Automotive Museum. The 1932 Ford flathead Roadster belonged to director Jon Favreau.
- #154
Robert Downey Jr. burst out laughing when he tried to say the line "Goldstein, give me a phat beat to beat my buddy's ass to" as if it were completely real. Downey found the line so funny that he kept laughing every time he said it. It fit the scene so well that Favreau decided to keep it in.
- #155
- #156
Five original vintage Formula 1 race cars were used in the Monaco race. Among them is a 1976 Lotus type 77 owned by collector Chris Locke. On the starting list of the drivers shown on television, one of the drivers is named Locke and the other is named Chapman, in memory of Colin Chapman, the founder of Lotus and its F1 team manager until his death in 1982.
- #157
- #158
(Around the 27th minute) When Tony Stark meets Elon Musk, Stark expresses his admiration for Musk's "fantastic" Merlin engines, the thruster engines SpaceX uses in its Falcon series rockets. Musk said he was thinking about the "electric jet" concept, which he began revisiting between late 2015 and early 2016.
- #159
The action scene of the historic Monaco Grand Prix had to be shot in the parking lot of Downey Studios in California because (now former) F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone (who had initially given permission) withdrew permission to film on the Grand Prix track. When the permission was withdrawn, a Rolls-Royce Phantom was sent to the location where the driving scene on the track was shot.
- #160
(Around 46 minutes) Pepper Potts's (Gwyneth Paltrow's) line about the Stark Technology stock crash, "The fundamentals of our company are strong," is a reference to Senator John McCain's comment after the 2008 stock market crash, "The fundamentals of our economy are strong," which is believed to have contributed to McCain's loss in the 2008 United States presidential election.
- #161
In a June 2021 interview with Collider about the then-upcoming Black Widow (2021), Scarlett Johansson discussed how her character had evolved since her first appearance in Iron Man 2 and The Avengers (2012). She said, "You look back at Iron Man 2 and while it was really fun and had a lot of great moments in it, the character is so sexualized, you know? Really talked about like she's a piece of something, like a possession or a thing or whatever, like a piece of ass, really. And Tony even refers to her as something like that at one point. Now people, young girls, are getting much more positive messages, but it was incredible to be part of that change. Be on the other side and be part of that old story, but also move forward, evolve, I think that's pretty cool."
- #162
During Stark's birthday party, partygoers begin throwing things into the air for a drunk Stark (wearing the Iron Man suit) to blast. One of the girls throws a watermelon and Stark comments, "Oh, you want the Gallagher?" This is a reference to Gallagher, famous for his Sledge-O-Matic comedy routine in which he splatters the front rows of the audience (usually with juicy items such as watermelons and tomatoes).
- #163
(Around 1 hour 30 minutes) As Justin Hammer introduces each group of Hammer Drones, the anthem of each branch of the military plays in the background: the U.S. Army's "The Army Goes Rolling Along (The Caisson Song)," the U.S. Navy's "Anchors Aweigh," the U.S. Air Force's "The U.S. Air Force (Into the Wild Blue Yonder)," and the U.S. Marine Corps' "Marines' Hymn."
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(Around 14 minutes in) Tony is surprised to see Rhodey (Don Cheadle) at the Senate hearing. Rhodey says to Tony: "Look, it's me. I'm here. Deal with it. Let's move on." This can be seen not only as Rhodey talking to Tony, but also as Cheadle subconsciously speaking to the audience and addressing the uproar over Rhodes being recast between Iron Man (2008) and this film.
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The character "Rumiko Fujikawa" was originally going to appear in the film, and Marvel was reportedly interested in Ziyi Zhang for the role. Her part was cut because the film was already running too long, but viral marketing featuring the Stark-Fujikawa subsidiary was still used to promote the film.
- #170
(About 1 hour 24 minutes in) Tony Stark refers to the government that wants his suit technology as the "Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers." This is a reference to the 1970s underground comic "The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers," a drug-culture comic about three brothers named Phineas, Franklin and Fat Freddy.
- #171
When Ivan Vanko and Justin Hammer meet for the first time in the airport hangar and sit down at the table, if you look at Justin Hammer's palms, they appear blotchy and darker compared to the wrinkles on his hands and around his fingertips, suggesting he likely has a sloppy spray tan to show off his arrogance and incompetence.
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(At about the 55th minute) Alberto Giacometti's bronze sculpture "L'Homme qui marche I" is seen in Stark's mansion. On February 3, 2010, the second cast of the sculpture became one of the most expensive artworks ever sold at auction, bought by Brazilian philanthropist Lily Safra, who paid 104.3 million dollars.
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When Justin Hammer first meets Ivan, he tells him: "Anything you want here, we got it." This is a reference to Sam Rockwell's very early role in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990). In that film, he introduces the character Danny to the Foot Clan's hideout and tells him almost exactly the same thing.
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The scene where Nick Fury says "I got my eye on you" to Tony Stark is not the first scene in which Samuel Jackson uses the same line; he also uses it in his voice characterization of Officer Tenpenny addressing C. J. in the "The Catalyst" chapter of Rockstar Games' "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas".
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Behind the Scenes (4)
Characters & Cast (5)
- #189
Terrence Howard, who was replaced as Rhodey by Don Cheadle for no stated reason, claimed that Marvel did not honor his original three-film deal and matching salary. Entertainment Weekly later claimed that director Jon Favreau was unhappy with Howard's performance in Iron Man (2008) and often reshot or cut his scenes. For the sequel, Favreau and co-writer Justin Theroux deliberately reduced Howard's screen time, which led Marvel to ask Howard (the highest-paid actor in Iron Man) to accept an 80 percent pay cut (though Marvel claimed this was because it did not consider him vital to the film's commercial success). Howard rejected the offer, claiming the real reason for the pay cut was to cover Robert Downey Jr.'s reported 2000 percent salary increase. Cheadle was then approached to replace him, and the role of Rhodes was strengthened. Insiders later confirmed that former Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter replaced Howard because he refused to meet rising salary demands (Perlmutter himself was later replaced by Kevin Feige amid claims that he defended recasting Rhodes by saying "all black actors look the same"). Although Howard initially blamed Downey Jr. for "[taking] the money that was supposed to go to [him] and push[ing him] out" (especially since he had recommended Downey Jr. for the lead role), the two actors would later reconcile.
- #190
In this film, two actresses who appeared together in films based on Marvel Comics characters have on-screen roles. Kate Mara plays a US Police Chief who serves Tony Stark with papers. She played Susan Storm in Fantastic Four (2015). Olivia Munn, who plays the series host at the Stark Expo, also appears as a guest actor. Munn took on the role of Psylocke in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016).
- #191
The character "Rumiko Fujikawa" was originally going to appear in the film, and Marvel reportedly wanted Ziyi Zhang for the role. Her part was cut because the film was already running too long, but viral marketing showcasing the Stark-Fujikawa subsidiary was still used to promote the film.
- #192
At around the 55th minute, Alberto Giacometti's bronze sculpture "L'Homme qui marche I" is seen in Stark's mansion. On 3 February 2010, the second cast of the sculpture sold at auction to Brazilian philanthropist Lily Safra, who paid 107.3 million dollars, making it one of the most expensive artworks ever sold at auction.
- #193
Easter Eggs & References (13)
- #194
- #195
- #196
- #197
(At about 4 minutes) While showing Vanko's collection of covers and articles about Tony Stark, there is an article about Iron Man stabilizing East-West relations with a signature attributed to "Rob Down," a reference to Robert Downey Jr. The text of the article is actually an obituary for Tony's father, Howard Stark.
- #198
- #199
(At about 1 hour 24 minutes) Tony Stark creates a new arc reactor using an object resembling Captain America's shield. That shield was seen resting on a table in Stark's office in Iron Man (2008). It is an Easter egg referencing Captain America, a founding member of the Avengers alongside Iron Man in the films (although Captain America did not appear in the Avengers comics until the third issue, in which he is found frozen). In the film, Nick Fury mentions something called "The Avenger Initiative." Contrary to popular theory, it is not actually Captain America's shield.
- #200
(At about 46 minutes) Pepper Potts's (Gwyneth Paltrow's) line about the collapse of Stark Technology stock, "The fundamentals of our company are strong," is a reference to Senator John McCain's comment after the 2008 stock market crash, "The fundamentals of our economy are strong," which is believed to have contributed to McCain losing the 2008 United States presidential election.
- #201
During Stark's birthday party, partygoers begin throwing items into the air for a drunk Stark (wearing the Iron Man suit) to blast. One of the girls throws a watermelon and Stark remarks, "Oh, you want the Gallagher?" This is a reference to Gallagher, famous for his Sledge-O-Matic comedy routine, in which he splatters the front rows of the audience (usually with juicy items such as watermelons and tomatoes).
- #202
(At about 1 hour 30 minutes) As Justin Hammer introduces each group of Hammer Drones, the anthem of each branch of the military plays in the background: the U.S. Army's "The Army Goes Rolling Along (The Caisson Song)," the U.S. Navy's "Anchors Aweigh," the U.S. Air Force's "The U.S. Air Force (Into the Wild Blue Yonder)," and the U.S. Marine Corps' "Marines' Hymn."
- #203
About 1 hour and 24 minutes in, Tony Stark refers to the government that wants his suit technology as the "Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers." This is a reference to "The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers," a 1970s underground comic about drug culture featuring three brothers named Phineas, Franklin and Fat Freddy.
- #204
When Justin Hammer first meets Ivan, he tells him: "Anything you want here, we got it." This is a reference to Sam Rockwell's very early role in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), in which he introduces the character Danny to the Foot Clan's hideout and says almost exactly the same thing.
- #205
- #206
Deeper Meaning (4)
- #207
- #208
Mickey Rourke visited Butyrka Prison in Moscow to prepare for the role of Ivan Vanko, also known as Whiplash: "I tried to put together the whole Russian philosophy. It's its own culture, and I really enjoyed doing the research and meeting people, and they treated me very kindly in the prison." Rourke also commented that Vanko's dialogue was in a Slovak accent.
- #209
At roughly 1 hour 1 minute, while brainstorming a location for the scene in which Nick Fury finds a hungover Tony Stark eating donuts, Jon Favreau wanted something distinctly Los Angeles, since Stark was the first Marvel superhero on screen based on the West Coast. Favreau was trying to figure out where a character like Stark would go after being hungover from partying all night, and he thought Randy's Donuts, Los Angeles's twenty-four-hour donut shop with a giant iconic donut on its roof, was perfect. Favreau was relieved that Stark would not appear on a giant sign belonging to a national restaurant chain. When he met the shop's owner, who liked the idea, the owner initially suggested that Stark fly out of the donut.
- #210
Contains a major spoiler — show
The final confrontation takes place in the Oracle dome. The set resembles a Japanese tea garden, including a Japanese gate (which is destroyed). Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has a well-known fondness for everything Japanese, especially landscaping and set design.
Career & Awards (3)
- #211
Samuel L. Jackson was promised by Jon Favreau that Nick Fury would be given more screen time. Jackson nearly did not return to play Fury because of problems in his contract negotiations, but he signed a landmark nine-film deal to portray Nick Fury not only in this film but in many other Marvel Studios productions.
- #212
The film features three Oscar winners: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Sam Rockwell; and four Oscar nominees: Mickey Rourke, Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson.
Iron Man 2 (2010): Pepper PottsImage: Wikimedia Commons · 28277470@N05, CC BY-SA 2.0 - #213
Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man) and Sam Rockwell (Justin Hammer) would both later win Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor. Rockwell won for his role in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" (2017), and Downey won for his role in "Oppenheimer" (2023). Rockwell was also one of the five previous winners of the same category who presented Downey with his Oscar at the 96th Academy Awards in 2024 (alongside Mahershala Ali, Ke Huy Quan, Tim Robbins and Christoph Waltz).
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