New Coat of Paint (An Iron Man 2 review)

With three more days to go until the UK release of Avengers Assemble, that leaves three more Marvel Cinematic Universe films to review. Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk are down, so let's move on to the third.

Poster by Mike Saputo.

With The Avengers finally announced and moving forward as a project following Iron Man's strong box office opening in May 2008, Marvel were really beginning to lay the foundations for the film's May 2012 release. Samuel L. Jackson signed an unprecedented nine-picture deal to play Nick Fury in any films Marvel Studios produced. Thor and Captain America went into production, with the creative teams working together to create a world where modern sci-fi, high fantasy and WW2-era adventure could comfortably coincide. And, of course, we'd get an Iron Man sequel, both to show closer ties to Avengers, and because - financially speaking - Ol' Shellhead was Marvel's cinematic golden boy.

By the time Iron Man hit the cinemas, Iron Man's reputation in the comics was dire. Following the controversial Civil War event, Tony Stark now had a reputation as a mechanised crypto-fascist, imprisoning rogue superheroes in what I can best describe as Super-Guantánamo Bay without trial. He later became Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and did such a bad job that when Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin, took over in his steed, this was seen as an improvement. But then, comic fans were treated to the sight of Robert Downey Jr. playing a deadpan dry-witted Tony Stark and building revolutionary technology in caves with a box of scraps, and Matt Fraction began his run on the title, taking a similar track. Fraction's run is often celebrated, often condemned, but as a comic reader relatively new to Iron Man (apart from the animated series and its kickass intro), I'm enjoying how inventive it is.

And it is this run that influences the film reviewed today, with Fraction working as a creative consultant, for better or worse. Does it hold up to the original? Let's find out after the jump as we dust off the armour and look at Iron Man 2.