The parts that are hard to follow from the film alone, explained with a story summary, a character map and key terms.
Released
2010
Runtime
124 min
Set in
2011
Good to know before watchingNo spoilers
It continues Iron Man
It picks up after Tony told the world "I am Iron Man." It's easier to follow if you've seen the first film.
Rhodey has a new actor
A different actor (Don Cheadle) plays him now, but it's the same James "Rhodey" Rhodes.
Black Widow's first appearance
Natalie, the new assistant at Tony's company, is really a S.H.I.E.L.D. spy, and later one of the Avengers.
Stay until after the credits
A scene after the credits leads into Thor.
Character mapSpoilers
Who's who in Iron Man 2 (2010), with Tony Stark and Pepper Potts at the center. Friends and S.H.I.E.L.D. are above, enemies below.
Because of copyright, we can't use stills, posters or any other images of the characters as they appear in the film. All face photos are freely licensed photos of the actors themselves (non-human characters are original illustrations made for this site; people without a photo are shown with initials).
Drag to move, pinch (or scroll on a computer) to zoom. Tap a person to read about them.
Face photos are freely licensed photos of the actors from Wikimedia Commons, cropped to a square and resized. Non-human characters are original illustrations made for this site, and people without a photo are shown with a placeholder (initials).
In Russia, Ivan Vanko's father dies. He once worked with Howard Stark before being pushed out. To avenge him, Ivan starts building a reactor like Tony's.
2. Tony the hero
Tony is a celebrity as Iron Man and opens the Stark Expo. When the government demands he hand over the suit, he refuses.
3. Poisoned from within
The palladium in his chest reactor is poisoning Tony. He tells no one, makes Pepper CEO, and acts more and more recklessly. A new assistant, Natalie, joins the company.
4. Attack in Monaco
At the Monaco Grand Prix, Vanko attacks Tony with electric whips. Tony suits up and wins, but is shaken. Rival Justin Hammer breaks Vanko out of prison to build weapons for him.
5. A fight between friends
At his birthday party, a drunk Tony causes chaos in his suit. Rhodey steps in, they fight, and Rhodey takes one of the suits to the military.
6. Fury and his father's clue
Fury appears and reveals Natalie is really Natasha, a S.H.I.E.L.D. spy. From the film and papers his father left, Tony creates a new element and cures himself.
7. Showdown at the Expo
At the Expo, Hammer unveils his drone army, but Vanko secretly controls them, and Rhodey's suit too. Natasha frees Rhodey's suit, and Tony and Rhodey team up to defeat Vanko.
8. Afterwards
Fury tells Tony he'll be a consultant rather than a full member of the Avengers. After the credits, Coulson finds a strange hammer in New Mexico.
A big fair of future technology started by Tony's father, Howard. Tony brings it back.
Palladium
The metal at the core of Tony's arc reactor. It's slowly poisoning his blood.
The new element
A new substance Tony creates from clues his father Howard left behind. It replaces the palladium and solves the poisoning.
War Machine
The gray, heavily armed suit Rhodey wears, built from one of Tony's suits.
Whiplash
Vanko's fighting persona, using electric whips powered by a reactor he built himself.
Hammer Industries
Justin Hammer's weapons company, a rival of Stark Industries.
The Avengers Initiative
Fury's plan to bring together people with special abilities. Tony is one of the candidates.
Confusing parts, explainedSpoilers
Contains spoilers about the ending.
Why does Vanko hate Tony?
Vanko's father once worked with Howard Stark on the research behind the reactor, but was sent back home and died poor. Vanko believes the Starks stole his father's work.
Why is Tony so reckless?
The reactor's poison made him think he was about to die. He couldn't tell anyone and gave up on behaving.
Who is Natalie (Natasha)?
Natasha Romanoff, a S.H.I.E.L.D. spy. She joined the company as an assistant to check whether Tony was fit for the Avengers. She's Black Widow.
Where does War Machine come from?
It's the silver suit Rhodey took from Tony's house. The military had Hammer load it with weapons.
What's the round shield in Tony's workshop?
A prototype that looks a lot like Captain America's shield, a nod to his father Howard's connection to Captain America.
Why does Coulson leave partway through?
He's called away to a mission in New Mexico. The hammer he finds at the end leads into Thor.
Easy-to-miss details
A father-and-son story
Tony believed his father didn't love him, but the film Howard left behind shows he put his hopes in Tony.
Happy gets a fight scene
Driver Happy goes into Hammer's company with Natasha and shows off his boxing.
The suitcase suit
In Monaco, a briefcase unfolds into a suit.
Stan Lee's cameo
Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee appears at the Expo, where Tony mistakes him for someone else.
The ending and post-creditsSpoilers
After the end credits
Coulson finds Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, in New Mexico.
