Iron Man and all associated characters are the property of Marvel Comics. All articles, interviews, write-ups, photographs, etc. copyright 1996, 2001-2010 Tim Rassbach.
The Iron Man Armory News
For past news, visit the Iron Man Armory News Archive.
IM 2’s Grand Prix Racer
Road & Track has pics of the Stark Industries race car that will be used in Iron Man 2’s Monaco Grand Prix sequence. Click to see and read more on the blue and white racer.
(While full reporting credit goes to the fellas at R&T, I scored a mention on Jon Favreau’s Twitter by sending him the link. [Cool.])
All the Shellhead news that fits . . . or I have time for.
As the Black Widow, Scarlett Johannson has already put in some stunning work. On his
Twitter, Favreau wrote that Scarlett “kicked ass” and that “all of her preparation has really paid off.” One of his funniest Tweets, however, was this one: “Scarlett's first day on set in the Black Widow outfit. You've never heard a crew get so quiet so fast.” So while we don’t know whether Black Widow will be a black hat or a white hat--or make a transition from the former to the later during the film--she’s sure to be a bad girl.
Sam Rockwell is playing Justin Hammer, but he’s not exactly like the guy we know from the comics. Rockwell told MTV News that the filmmakers "wanted to go with a rival for Tony Stark who is closer to his age, and make him American.”
Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury) reprises his role too.
Story
Obviously we are dealing with some classic Iron Man material. Like with the first film, Marvel is sure to give us a faithful reinterpretation. We know the movie will feature some scenes set in Monaco. And with the Hammer/Whiplash tie-in, it seems likely they are working from IM 125-128 (?). Tales of Suspense 52 and 53, with their early Black Widow and Crimson Dynamo appearances, are also sure to be mined. Favreau has hinted in interviews that Tony’s having trouble dealing with being this big hero celebrity and maybe drinking a little more than he should.
Favreau recently told Empire: "Tony's expected to be a role model and I 
don't think he's ready to be one. He's under a great deal of pressure and when you're under pressure, I think you find outlets for that. That's one of the tensions of the film: it's one thing to say you're Iron Man, and another thing to actually become Iron Man." Also, since the costume Rourke is seen sporting in early sneak pics resembles Stark’s own chest apparatus, it’s likely they’ll be some links to Tony’s tech. Did Obadiah pass along some of the tech to his friends in the Ten RIngs (the Hands of the Mandarin--I betcha Hammer’s wearing a ring and working with or for the Mandarin.)
In his Cup o’ Joe column over on CBR, Joe Quesada dropped a few more hints about the story’s direction:
That was really key to Favreau: why put on the suit and try to do good things? It was a much tougher question once he defeats the Iron Monger, gets his tech and his company back...why continue doing this? What does Tony Stark stand for?
In essence, the thing I never revealed about that conversation in the past is that Jon was looking for these answers because he was already thinking ahead, he was thinking about “Iron Man 2.”
See, it doesn't quite work on film that he goes and stops a little lady from getting mugged. While that may be an ancillary part of it, when you have that suit of armor, the world’s greatest weapon, the story has to be bigger, and your reason for being has to be bigger. But at the same time, it has to be small and streamlined enough that an audience can grab hold of it. Favreau is all about that. And at the same time, where do Tony's allegiances lie? It was almost the same kind of questions we had during "Civil War."
So, War Machine, Y/N?
Okay, so we know Howard is out and Cheadle is in. But will we see War Machine in Iron Man 2? All signs point to yes.
In an interview with Empire, Favreau teased: "Rhodesy is definitely stepping up in this film. Let me put it this way: Tony's not the only person with technology in the film."
According to a Marvel Studios press release, Cheadle has been secured to play Rhodes in subsequent Iron Man movies as well as in The Avengers film.
“We are very excited about working with the extraordinarily talented Don Cheadle as we expand the role of Rhodey in Iron Man 2. It has already become apparent as we prep the movie for production, that the dynamic between Robert and Don will take Iron Man 2 to new heights,” said Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios.
Whiplash Smile
Mickey Rourke of Sin City and The Wrestler fame will be picking up the lash as he brings not one but two of Iron Man’s greatest foes to the silver screen at once. So just how does he do it?
Rourke, who recently finished up his main scenes, plays Ivan Vanko, a Russian weapons designer/assassin with an affinity for whips. Iron Fans are sure to see that this Whiplash is a combo of the original Crimson Dynamo and Whiplash. Both guys, or I guess we should say, this guy end up tangled up with Black Widow and Justin Hammer, suggesting Fav and Co. are weaving several key moments from Iron Man’s history.
In any case, just out of a Russian prison and covered in tats, Rourke plays one bad dude. He told England’s The Guardian:
"I decided to do half my role in Russian, and that's hard because the Russian language doesn't roll off the English-speaking tongue very easily. I spent three hours a day with a teacher, and after two weeks I know four sentences! Let me see, it's sort of like... 'Yezzamee menya... Yezzamee manya obott... Er, nemaboootty menya...'"
This goes on for quite some time. "It means," he says, finally, "If someone kills me, don't wake me up, because I'd rather be dead than live in your world."
In any case, Rourke said he was having the time of his life. Still, the role is demanding. He told Empire: "It's been really brutal, because my Iron Man suit weighs 23lb. It's sort of a half-suit, with half my skin showing, with lots of Russian tattoos, because [Whiplash is just] out of a Russian-zone prison."
Marvel’s Movie Slate
Iron Man 2
May 7, 2010
Thor
June 17, 2011
The First Avenger:
Captain America
July 22, 2011
The Avengers
May 4, 2012
Better Late Than Never
Classic IM Animated Series on 3-DVD Set
With all the hoopla surrounding the feature-length IM film, many fans missed the release of the classic Nineties cartoon to DVD.
Die-hard fans will want to pick up this great DVD set if they can find it.
More news below the ad . . .
Make an Origami Iron Man of Your Own
A talented paper folder at MIT, Tony Stark’s alma mater, Brian Chan, has made some really cool origami creations, including one of Iron Man. (It’s not really news, but it was just on Favreau’s Twitter.
Follow the link to check it out. Includes instructions to make your own.
Here’s a cool War Machine mock-up (based on an early IM publicity shot) that’s making it’s way around the Internet. (I wish I could credit the creator . . . )
More Bowen Iron Man Statues on the Way
Collector sites like Statue Marvels, are buzzing with pics of some new Iron Man statues from Randy Bowen. Now word yet on release dates.
Iron Man 2: First Movie Poster released
The greatest movie poster ever was just released by Paramount. I don’t know what else to say. It’s gorgeous.
Iron Man 2: The Latest
The much anticipated sequel to the smash hit Iron Man began shooting in April 2009 and is more than halfway done filming.
Back for round two are Jon Favreau (directing; playing Happy Hogan), Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man and Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts). Don Cheadle has joined the cast, replacing Terrence Howard, as Jim Rhodes.
You can keep up with what’s happening by checking here, the Armory’s IM 2 movie page, or by following Favreau’s Twitter. But here’s a summary of what we know so far.
The rest of the cast:
Mickey Rourke will play Whiplash. Interestingly, the character is being described as a weapons designer/assassin. It seems Rourke’s character will be an amalgam of Crimson Dynamo (a character they tried to fit into the first movie) and Whiplash, being both Russian scientist and killer. (See more below.)
As the Black Widow, Scarlett Johannson has already put in some stunning work. On his Twitter, Favreau wrote that Scarlett “kicked ass” and that “all of her preparation has really paid off.”
Big sets/scenes
The film spent three days at Edwards Air Force Base, which was seen in the first film. Favreau told reporters, “All these real military assets make the movie more authentic and the topography and the beauty of the Desert and flightline open the movie up. But it's the rich history of the location and the deep roots it has with flight that gives Tony Stark and his father a pedigree in the aerospace industry.”
Favreau also took his gang out to the Sepulveda Dam near L.A., where a massive physical set was augmented with one of the largest green screens ever used for a combination of live and CGI effects.
Another large outdoor set is a replica of the Monaco Grand Prix.
Armory Exclusive:
War Machine Creator Doing Mini
Kev Hopgood, the artist who first brought War Machine to life in the pages of Iron Man, is coming back to comics. He contacted the Iron Man Armory to let us know that he’ll be drawing a 12-page Iron Man/War Machine story for UK publisher Panini that will tie-in with the Iron Man 2. No word yet on whether the story will make it to the States. We’ll keep you posted.
For more on the history of War Machine, read the exclusive Armory Kev Hopgood interview and see the cool sketch he did for me.
See what Kev’s up to at his site: www.kevhopgood.demon.co.uk.