Iron Man 2 (2010): Cast, Plot, Villain and Ending Explained

Tony Stark makes peace and publicity out of being Iron Man, and he refuses to give his armor to the military. His arc reactor is poisoning him, so he hides his condition and behaves more recklessly. He makes Pepper Potts the head of his company and hires an assistant who goes by Natalie Rushman.

At the Monaco Grand Prix, Ivan Vanko attacks Tony with energy whips and nearly beats him. Vanko is jailed, and then rival contractor Justin Hammer fakes his death and recruits him to build armored drones that will embarrass Stark.

Tony's decline peaks at a party, where he gets drunk while wearing the armor. His friend Rhodey steps in, takes a suit and gives it to the military. Nick Fury then tells Tony that Natalie is really the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha Romanoff. Fury also reveals that Tony's late father left a hidden clue to a new power source.

Tony follows the clue and uses it to make a new element that replaces the palladium and cures his poisoning. At the Stark Expo, Vanko takes control of Rhodey's armored suit and of Hammer's drones, and turns them on Tony. Tony and Rhodey fight the machines together, with help from Natasha, and they defeat Vanko, who dies when his own suit blows up. Tony and Rhodey are later honored with medals for their service.

The ending of Iron Man 2 resolves Tony's health, leaves Rhodey in a military suit, and quietly turns Tony from a lone hero into someone who works alongside S.H.I.E.L.D.

Vanko's attack ends when his armor and drones are destroyed, and Hammer is arrested. Tony and Rhodey are given medals, and Tony ends up as a consultant to S.H.I.E.L.D. rather than a full member. Rhodey keeps a military armor as War Machine.

In my opinion, the consultant detail is the most important beat of the ending. Tony spends the film refusing to hand over his technology, and the compromise is that he keeps his freedom while joining a larger structure on his own terms. It could be argued that this is the film's real answer to its opening question about who owns the armor.

The cure matters too. Tony does not fix himself with a new gadget alone. He builds a new element from a clue his father left, which ties the personal story to the Stark family and to Howard Stark (John Slattery) in particular. Perhaps that is why the film feels more like a family inheritance story than a repeat of the first movie.

The medal scene also reads differently against its neighbors. In Iron Man (2008), Tony's big moment is announcing that he is Iron Man, a solo act of ego. Here the public moment is a shared one, with Tony and Rhodey (now played by Don Cheadle rather than Terrence Howard) honored side by side. The Vanko fight at the Stark Expo is also a two person set piece, with Natasha helping, which is a small rehearsal for the team fights of The Avengers (2012).

The Natalie Rushman reveal is the other hinge. Nick Fury tells Tony that his assistant is the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha Romanoff, and Scarlett Johansson then plays her in The Avengers (2012). Compare that with The Incredible Hulk, released between the two Iron Man films, which links to the wider universe more lightly. Iron Man 2 is where the connective tissue becomes the plot.

Finally, the film sets up the wider team-up story that leads toward The Avengers (2012). If you need one reason to watch this film before that crossover, the reveal about Natasha is it.

Iron Man 2 has one post credit scene, and it sets up the next film in the release order.

After the credits, Agent Coulson arrives at a crater in the New Mexico desert and finds a huge hammer there. This sets up Thor (2011). Coulson is played by Clark Gregg, who is also billed in the main cast.