Iron Man 2 review: How does it impact Infinity War?

How does Iron Man 2 impact Avengers: Infinity War?

Marvel should be commended for the way they’ve built up the Avengers franchise. From the moment Nick Fury asked Tony Stark about the Avengers Initiative, each movie led us one step closer to the next big Avengers project. Iron Man 2 is no different. But how does it lead us into Avengers: Infinity War and what did and didn’t work?

What worked?

Iron Man 2 was fun. Tony Stark maintained all of his classic arrogance and humor that we have come to expect after the first Iron Man movie. When Tony Stark was in front of the American Government explaining why his armor isn’t a weapon, it was full of hilarious sarcasm and insults to his rival (and I use the word rival loosely) Justin Hammer. It was capped off by Stark showing everyone how bad the world was at recreating his armor. This scene set the tone for the rest the movie. It let us know that this wasn’t going to be a serious movie. But even in the jokes, there was a hidden sadness.

Right after every scene of jokes and fun came a moment of drama. When Tony Stark acted like a drunken fool during his party, he ended up getting into a fight with his best friend (James “Rhodey” Rhodes) after he tried to stop Stark from doing something he’d regret. It was a throwback to the comics when Tony Stark was a drunken mess.

Another great part, was the introduction of Black Widow. It didn’t take long for her to make a lasting impression. Sure, her beating up Happy was hilarious, but she stole the show when she took out all of the goons in the Hammer facility. That topped with the moment when she showed up with Nick Fury in the doughnut shop proved Black Widow be a great character in the future.