Seven Things We Want From Iron Man 2
by Brian Tallerico

4. WINK AT THE FANS BUT DON'T BE A TEASE

The first Iron Man contained two well-publicized gigantic winks at the fans who knew how to catch them (along with a few other, more subtle nods to comic book fans). The big winks were a brilliant move because they caused the film's most dedicated fanbase, heavy internet users, to get excited on message boards and in the blogosphere in general. The first was obvious - James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Terrence Howard) staring at the Iron Man technology and making it clear that his comic-book alter-ego, War Machine, is coming in future films with a brilliant line reading on "Next time, baby.". Actually, Howard has been commenting on War Machine in interviews for over a year, implying that the main reason he took the underwritten part in the first film was to expand into a superhero in the second one. Set-up done. Now is the time to pay off. In the next few weeks, Favreau and his team should announce that Rhodes' transformation into War Machine WILL happen in the second film, otherwise that wink in the first film feels like a cheat. And, of course, there's the super-sized nod to fans after the credits, when Samuel L. Jackson shows up as Nick Fury, head of S.H.I.E.L.D. It was such a wink that Favreau actually held the scene from advanced screenings, including ones for critics. It's for the fans. That's great, but don't make it a false promise. Imagine if Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. aren't a part of the sequel. You'll just piss off the fans who you winked to in the first film. Jackson's not signed on yet. Make that your next priority. If War Machine and Nick Fury are announced in the next few weeks for Iron Man 2, fans will have more confidence that this project is going in the right direction before the script is even finished.

5. DON'T DULL STARK'S EDGE

A common problem in superhero sequels is a desire to appeal to as many demographics as possible. The Fantastic Four sequel got even more family-friendly and X-Men 3 and Spider-Man 3 felt softer than the previous films in the franchise, leading to angry fans. If Iron Man loses his edge, the franchise will collapse. Luckily, Favreau has said in interviews that he's interested in exploring the alcoholism that was a major part of the comics and only hinted at in the movie. With Stark even more on top of the world than he was a weapons dealer, booze and stewardesses on stripper poles need to stay a part of his world. We love the Stark/Potts dynamic and we don't want to lose that part of the story but we're very worried about a domesticated Tony Stark. That would be a disaster. If anything, we need to see Stark go more off the rails and with his increased popularity in the next movie, it shouldn't be hard to make a troubled character even darker than he was in the first film.

6. DON'T 'MARY-JANE' PEPPER

Gwyneth Paltrow actually does some of the best work of her career in Iron Man. She's charming and beautiful and her chemistry with Downey is essential to the final film. The same was true of the dynamic between Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire in the first two Spider-Man movies, but, without question, Mary-Jane became far too big a character in the third film. We never want to see Pepper Potts singing. We never want to see Pepper and Tony cooing at each other hanging above the city. And, for the love of Galactus, we NEVER want to see Pepper and Rhodey doing the twist like MJ and Harry did in Spidey 3 (a scene that still turns our stomachs just thinking about it.) Pepper has significantly more edge than MJ and we don't want her getting soft on us. Don't get us wrong - we absolutely love Spider-Man 2 but the lovey-dovey dynamic of MJ and Peter Parker simply would not work between Tony and Pepper.

7. THERE SHOULD BE BLOOD

Finally, let's up the stakes in Iron Man 2. When Tony is first held hostage and he looks beaten and bloody, it's one of the few scenes in the movie with any sort of emotional stakes, largely due to the work of Downey, but also because the pain feels real. After Tony blasts his way out, the action in Iron Man gets very comic book-safe. The film barely even earns the 13 in its rating. Let's see Stark really get hurt in Iron Man 2. Let's see him battered, bloody, and on the precipice of death. It might even be wise to kill someone close to him early in the second film. Make the potential for danger feel real, something that distinguished Batman Begins from its brethren and the ride will be that much more rewarding. We're all going to take the ride. Let's make it count.