It was a classic "geek moment." Near the end of Iron Man, Tony Stark's best mate James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Terrence Howard) glanced over at a suit of prototype Iron Man armor and, after pondering a quick test drive of his own, smirked, "Next time, baby." Fanboys worldwide breathlessly whispered: "War Machine."

Well, they were right. Although Howard himself is not returning (welcome aboard, Don Cheadle), the character of Rhodey is making good on his promise, as the first official Iron Man 2 poster proves. War Machine - a heavily-armed version of the Iron Man suit that, in the comics, Stark builds for this trusty friend - is set to make his movie debut and the results have us perhaps rethinking our earlier statements.

And now, the Iron Men…

 

Iron Man 2 opens in May 2010.