Iron Man 2

A few months have passed since the events of the first Iron Man movie when the film begins. We are given a brief introduction to Ivan Vanko. Ivan's father Anton is gradually passing away and giving Ivan his final instructions. Ivan feels that he deserves to enjoy the same level of popularity as Tony Stark, but Anton encourages him to "ignore that rubbish." Ivan can only benefit from Anton's knowledge.

Ivan takes a blueprint bearing the names of both his father, Howard Stark, and Tony Stark. Ivan then starts building his own weaponized suit and replicating the Arc reactor. Thanks to the Iron Man armour, Tony Stark has allegedly become a champion for world peace and practically resolved the problem.

When Tony Stark realises his father's dream of reopening the "Stark Expo" in Queens, New York, to display all the most cutting-edge innovations that will benefit the world, it only increases his popularity with the general public. Six months after the conclusion of the first movie, Tony Stark has used his Iron Man armour to bring about a negotiated peace treaty between the major super powers of the world.

Tony realises this fantasy by flying into the expo decked up as Iron Man and making a grand entry to assume the role as the new global peace symbol. Following his speech, Tony quickly tests his blood behind the scenes and discovers that the palladium he uses to fuel his chest arc reactor is slowly poisoning him. After the ceremony, Tony and Happy are on their way out when a woman approaches them and presents Tony a subpoena, calling him to appear before the Senate Armed Forces Committee. Tony and Happy choose to travel to Washington, DC, by car, using Tony's new Audi R8.

The Senate hearing the following morning is dominated by Tony's trademark comedy, entirely oblivious to the fact that the government has designated the Iron Man suit as a weapon. Colonel Rhodes presents the findings of the study into the circumstances behind the birth of Iron Man, but Senator Stern, the committee's head, misinterprets his comments.

Tony responds by stating that he is Iron Man and will not give up his armour, comparing it to indentured servitude. Justin Hammer of Hammer Industries is present. Tony then proceeds to hack the committee's computers to demonstrate that various "attempts" at copying Tony's suit — from Iran, North Korea, and even Hammer itself — are total failures: Iran's falls to the ground and explodes, North Korea's is top heavy and readily collapses, and Hammer's suit rotates around 180 degrees at the waist and severes the pilot's spine. Tony leaves the hearing with his trademark swagger and continues to refuse to give the authorities the Iron Man armour.

When Pepper comes and starts arguing with Tony about the future of Stark Industries, Tony is back at home on JARVIS reviewing the most recent Iron Man suit prototypes and breakthroughs. Tony claims to Pepper that his profits from the company's common stock are more than they were during his time as CEO. He makes the decision that he's had enough of being CEO and wants to concentrate only on creating Iron Man. She is shocked when he chooses to name Pepper the new CEO.

The following day, Tony has a lovely notary public come in to formally transfer the company to Pepper. Happy is teaching Tony how to fight, and Tony accidentally executes an illegal technique on him because he thought it was MMA. Natalie Rushman is the notary; after having Happy teach her some boxing, he has her do a TKO on Happy utilising a takedown to demonstrate that she is much more than she first appears to be.

Tony goes to Monaco for some much-needed rest and relaxation. Tony is greeted by his favourite "Vanity Fair" reporter Christine Everheart at a reception prior to the Monaco 500, where Stark Industries is sponsoring a driver and entered a Formula 1 racer. Christine wants Pepper to be featured on the cover of the upcoming issue, which will introduce her as the new CEO of Stark Industries.

There is also Justin Hammer, by chance. They also welcome Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors, who requests a panel at the Stark Expo to present his most recent invention. When Tony checks his blood again, the palladium poisoning has gotten worse. Tony makes the decision to take the wheel of the Stark Industries vehicle instead of the pre-selected driver.

Ivan Vanko joins one of the race's pit crews before Stark even gets into the race. Vanko has an arc reactor that he created after the death of his father and uses it to power two enormous energy whips that he wears below his jumpsuit. Vanko uses the whips to ambush Tony, split a car in half, and trigger a huge pileup. Happy and Pepper rush to give Tony the briefcase Happy is carrying as Vanko causes chaos on the track.

Vanko uses his electric whips on the Rolls Royce Phantom that Happy and Pepper are in, and after numerous efforts to ram Tony with the briefcase, Pepper eventually succeeds. The Iron Man armour is a portable version of the casing, which Tony activates. After a fierce fight, Tony finally succeeds in taking down Vanko by physically removing the Arc Reactor battery that powers his whips and destroying it after having JARVIS examine it. Tony is being yelled at by a defiant Vanko as he is being arrested by the cops while shouting "YOU LOSE!" The audience as a whole is in a state of shock after what they just saw. Vanko, though, according to Justin Hammer, has more potential.

Stark meets with Vanko in secret while he is being held. Tony replies that getting palladium in the chest is a very terrible way to pass away when Vanko asks him what it feels like to be a dead man. That makes two of them, Stark informs Vanko.

Hammer later frees Vanko. He slips Vanko a supper of mashed potatoes and chicken along with a note that reads, "Enjoy the potatoes." The same-branded uniforms are provided to Vanko and another prisoner. On his way out the door, Vanko promptly kills the prisoner and a guard. He then plants the explosive device hidden in the potatoes. As he makes his getaway, he is captured by two Hammer agents and taken away.

Vanko gives in since Hammer knows that he needs his resources to surpass Tony. Vanko is then employed by Hammer to create armoured suits based on preexisting designs. Hammer is informed by Vanko that everything they do is bad. He also asks Hammer to bring back his pet cockatoo from his residence in Russia.

Tony and Pepper are following the events as they unfold on the flight home while also watching a visibly irate Senator Stern vent his concerns with Tony on The O'Reilly Factor. According to Stern, Tony Stark lied to the Senate Armed Forces Committee and faces charges of criminal perjury as a result: Stark had informed the Senate that it would take 20 years for Hammer Industries and other nations to develop something that even vaguely resembled Iron Man, but Vanko shocked everyone by building a working model of the Arc Reactor.

They encounter an uneasy moment as Pepper realises that something is amiss and that Tony isn't telling her the complete truth as he presents her with a gourmet supper and intends to tell her the truth.

Tony is conducting research on Ivan Vanko at home using JARVIS. He discovers that Howard Stark's colleague and one of Stark Industries' co-founders, Anton Vanko, was the father of Vanko. Vanko was extradited to Russia and imprisoned after Howard Stark discovered that he was planning to sell weapons to the Soviet Empire. Vanko was caught for treason. Since then, his son has been trying to exact revenge on the Stark empire.

Tony nearly passes out when seated in one of his hot rods in his basement. Rhodes finds him and informs him that this isn't a good look for him. He demonstrates to Rhodey how palladium is slowly killing him. Additionally, Rhodes informs him that he has been engaged in conflict with the Pentagon by preventing them from visiting his Malibu home and stealing his suits to be turned into weapons.

Tony gets ready for what he thinks will be his final birthday celebration. What would Natalie do if this were Natalie's last birthday party? he inquires of her. In response, Natalie says she would do whatever she wanted to do and with whomever she wanted to do it. While at the party, Tony is acting wildly with the Iron Man suit's weapons while quite inebriated. Rhodes and Pepper are talking about how far off the deep end he has gone in the background. When dealing with the Pentagon and the Senate Armed Forces Committee, Rhodes informs Pepper that he is sick of it.

Rhodes dons the silver Mark II suit after growing tired of Tony's shenanigans. He then dares Tony to a duel, during which Tony arranges for the house DJ to start some upbeat background music. After the conflict comes to a standstill, Rhodey takes off in the Mark II armour and delivers it to the military at Edwards Air Force Base. Later, they ask Justin Hammer to examine the suit for himself, and he gives them cutting-edge weapons to arm it.

The following day, Tony is in the Iron Man outfit perched atop the renowned enormous plastered doughnut at Randy's Doughnuts, a Los Angeles institution. Nick Fury, the director of SHIELD, approaches Tony, who is dishonored and hungover. Fury informs Stark that despite his issues with the government and his drunken Iron Man antics, which are the least of his concerns, Fury has a problem to solve in the Southwest of the United States. Fury assures Tony that the "Avengers Initiative" is real and that he knew Howard Stark very well; in fact, Howard was one of the original members of S.H.I.E.L.D., the organization he works for. Tony questions whether Fury and the "Avengers Initiative" are real.

Agent Phil Coulson and Natalie Rushman—real name Natasha Romanoff—who was placed in Stark Industries to keep an eye on Tony himself—join them. After being shocked by this information and firing Natalie/Natasha, a hungover Tony is then informed by her that he is being investigated by S.H.I.E.L.D. and that she and agent Coulson are on hand to ensure his compliance with instructions and avoid making mistakes. Tony responds that he has examined and tested every known element and every combination of them with no success when Fury and Natasha both bring up his palladium poisoning.

Tony receives an injection from Natasha of a serum that considerably lessens the symptoms of his palladium poisoning, giving him time to find a different element to keep him alive. Tony will be confined to his Malibu house in the meanwhile.

Fury gives Tony further information about Anton Vanko's history with Howard Stark and gives him a trunk filled with his father's ancient relics in the hopes that they will help him find a cure for his illness. Agent Coulson promises Tony that he won't leave until Tony has the answers he's looking for about his condition, despite Tony's continued resistance to further S.H.I.E.L.D. meddling.

When Stark examines the film reels in the chest, he finds a note from his father that directs him to the Stark Expo's original 1974 diorama. In an effort to make amends with Pepper, Steve takes the diorama from his former office. Pepper is now working there. The diorama is actually a covert schematic for a new element's atomic structure, which Howard was unable to create in his time but which Tony might be able to do with his cutting-edge knowledge and contemporary technology.

With the aid of his computer system, J.A.R.V.I.S., Stark makes a significant modification to his home workshop and creates a small particle accelerator by hand. Stark creates a new triangular breast arc reactor out of this brand-new element that is significantly more potent than Stark's previous designs and cures his poisoning. Coulson notifies Tony that he is free to leave and that S.H.I.E.L.D. has reassigned him to another assignment in New Mexico just as Tony finishes the particle acceleration.

Hammer Industries' suits have undergone a significant redesign thanks to Vanko, who has transformed them into automated drones. Hammer is not satisfied with Vanko's perceived advances and locks him up in a small room with two guards while he transports the drones to the Stark Expo.

Rhodes, who is in command of Hammer's brand-new military drones, is dressed in a heavily-armed version of the seized Mark II armour. Sadly, it soon becomes out that Vanko has already pre-programmed the drones, giving him total control. Stark shows there just as they launch their assault, and he is also in possession of Rhodes' new armour. Happy Hogan and Romanoff rush to Hammer's Queens base to stop Vanko while Stark fights these remote-controlled foes and tries to elude Rhodes. When they get there, they have to fight their way past Hammer's security personnel. Happy is happy to have killed one of them, but he becomes a little alarmed when he observes that Romanoff has eliminated at least half of them in a short period of time.

In an upgraded armoured suit from the one he wore when he attacked Tony in Monaco, Vanko has already left for the Expo. Hammer finishes his presentation back at the Stark Expo when the standing-room-only crowd is attacked by drones, prompting them to leave. While Agent Romanoff and Pepper arrest Justin Hammer for harbouring the wanted Vanko, Stark pursues and engages the drones.

In order for Rhodes and Stark to attack the remaining drones together, Natasha is able to restore Rhodes' control over his armour. Combining their strengths, the two armoured allies eliminate every drone. Vanko then flies in with a significantly upgraded set of armour and upgraded plasma energy whips. After a long fight, Stark and Rhodes decide to utilise a strategy from their earlier conflict at Stark's birthday party. They will fire their energy repulsors at each other, causing them to collide and explode, trapping Vanko in the process.

Vanko is defeated by the manoeuvre, but it is later discovered that his drones and armour were fitted with self-destruct devices. Stark rushes to save Pepper as they are about to explode, saving her just in time. She quits her job as CEO after landing on a roof, and after giving Tony their first kiss, they both discover Rhodes nearby. Pepper is extremely upset when Tony finally tells her the truth about his heart. Stark orders Rhodes to go, but Rhodes counters by saying that since he arrived first, they should have their own "roof."

At a debriefing, Fury tells Stark that SHIELD wants him as a consultant even though Stark is "unsuitable" for the "Avengers Initiative." Stark consents under the condition that Senator Stern personally hand the bravery medals to him and Col. Rhodes. However, Senator Stern is not amused when Tony is given his medal by Senator Stern.

An impact crater in the New Mexico desert is where SHIELD agent Coulson is shown travelling in a post-credits sequence. He tells Fury over the phone that they have "discovered it" and that Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor, lies in the crater.