Iron Man 2 - update and story theories

So it's nearly here. The Iron Man 2 movie. And best of all is the fact that War Machine will be in the film. And it seems he may have a very large role in the movie.

The latest news on the movie is that War Machine is featured on the poster with Iron Man. The positioning of the characters is leading to some debate.



Because they are back to back the question is are they friends fighting off a horde of bad guys? Or are they pissed off at each other and at odds?

If you know the history of the 2 characters, from the comic books, they both options are available. For a while War Machine and Iron man, while still good guys, shared no love. Tony Stark and James Rhodes were at each others throat before they eventually became friends again. Part of that problem was the alcoholism of Tony Stark.

Now in the first Iron Man movie it did touch on the fact that Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr) was constantly drinking. Essentially he is a functional alcoholic, so due to his success and wealth few ever mention his problem. But what if he goes on a bender due to stress (like the world knowing he is Iron Man) and there is a need for the superhero?

That's where War Machine should step in. But based on the video trailer from Comic Con I think the real story will go something like this:



Warning!!! - though I don't know what the script is, I do know how movies get written. The following information will likely contain a lot of spoilers.

Stark is pulled before Congress where demamds are made for his new ultra-technology. He refuses to sell it. The Government decides that everything he has is eminient domain and try to take everything. Stark, either through his security/computer Jarvis or by his hand, destroys all of his lab. That includes the War Machine suit we saw with Terrence Howard in the first movie. Then Stark flies off to hide in the only other remaining suit.

Under orders Rhodes takes the War Machine suit as another Government weapons manufacturer comes in to fix it. As we see from 4:27 on, Rhodes takes the opportunity to not only rebuild the suit, but to add on a few extra perks. Now the Government has it's own version of the Iron Man suit. But there is a problem.

The arms dealer, Justin Hammer I believe, is hardly a good guy. Having worked on the suit he know has the technology too. And starts selling it to everyone who can afford it. Thus an assassin that prefers using whips gets to incorporate some of the tech into a new laser based whip weapon. And a bunch of other baddies creat tons of robots that War Machine has to take out.

Meanwhile, Stark is pissed. His greatest life work is stolen, and much - if not all - of his money is gone. His company is bought out from him, and he is drinking way too much. He get pissed off and decides to get rid of the other technology based on his design. Thus he and Rhodes are battling in full metal glory.

At some point before all that The Black Widow, a Russian spy extrodinare steals the plans from Hammer. Why buy it if you can steal it, and it's not like Russia is rolling in money. So expect a possible scene of Titanium Man for Iron Man 3. (And I think that should have been the villan in this film anyway)

But back to the fight. Eventually the 2 get interupted by some baddy bots. They fight them off, but need to work together to survive. The battle and co-operation make them understand they are really still friends.

Then comes in Whiplash (the assassin mentioned earlier played by Mickey Rourke). He get the suprise on Rhodes and disables his suit. Stark is left by himself to fend off the attack. Which he eventually does.

Left without a suit, the Government decides to forgive Stark and gives him back everything they took (mostly). It is revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. intervened to help out Stark in exchange for his work on the Avenger Initiative (ie The Avengers comic book).

Overall that is the movie. I'm missing details of course, but I would bet that I just covered 80% of the film. The big question is if it can do what I just wrote with style. Like the look and feel for the first film?

If the scene with War Machine is any indication, he will be back and possibly in his own movie. And if he is that popular, I hope that Don Cheadle screws Marvel with a huge salary demand. After changing the character once, with huge fan disapproval, they don't dare change him again.