As you may recall, Iron Man ended by breaking the one taboo you simply do not break when you are a superhero (or a news caster, or a professional athlete): He came out in front of the entire world. Now that everyone knows Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) is, in fact, Iron Man, what's next?
Well, now we know.
The first trailer for Iron Man 2 is up, and it's as loaded with plot points as War Machine is loaded with automatic weapons. Oh, did we mention War Machine? That's right—get yourself prepared for some awesomeness.
Shot 1
We open with Tony in front of a Senate hearing with, as you can see, intrepid personal assistant Pepper Potts (Gwenyth Paltrow) right there with him. She's the redhead nestled between The GOP glee club.
Shot 2
And just who is in charge of strong-arming Stark into handing over the Iron Man tech to the U.S. Government? GARRY FUCKING SHANDLING, that's who! Oh, Iron Man 2. You just became a chocolate cake iced with cocaine and balloons.
Shot 3
Stark, naturally, tells everyone to F off, but who's that suspicious character next to him? Riiight, that's Stark's best friend James "Rhodey" Rhodes, who took the time between Iron Man and Iron Man 2 to work out, lose some weight, and become Don Cheadle.
Shot 4
Pepper and Stark share a totally professional moment before she playfully tosses his Iron Man helmet out of the back of a mid-flight cargo plane. Hmmmm…Stark diving out of a plane trying to collect pieces of his armor?
Well played, Jon Favreau.
Shot 5
Iron Man lands in the middle of "Stark Expo," a celebration of the awesomeness of all things Stark. Imagine Apollo Creed's entrance in Rocky IV amplified with more military-grade tech. The point is: Stark is on top of the world…
Shot 6
…which means, of course, that someone is aiming to take him down. That someone? Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), a Russian hardass with a mean-on for the Stark family. He's also pretty good with gadgets himself.
Shot 7
Stark in his lab. Note the two sets of Red/Gold armor behind him. It's not a dramatic make-over, but he is sporting an updated Iron Man suit in Part 2.
Shot 8
Of course, that chest implant appears to be giving him trouble. Who'da thunk that grafting a radioactive hunk of metal to your heart would have side effects?
Shot 9
You may also recall that, in addition to revealing his secret identity, Stark quit the weapons-making business. Well, someone had to step in and fill the void—enter hot shot weapons man Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). He's like a younger, brasher, less morally-upright Stark.
Shot 10
Those of you who stayed for the bonus scene after the end credits of Iron Man (or just watched it online) remember Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). He's the head of the shadow organization S.H.I.E.L.D., and he's the man in charge of gathering heroes for a little something called "The Avengers Initiative."
Shot 11
What's that? You're feeling like this movie is still too light on new characters? Fine. At some point in the movie, Stark Industries gets itself a new employee: A Russian hottie named Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson). Turns out she's also a super spy called Black Widow. Hmmmm… Natasha? Ivan? Could there be a connection?
Shot 12
Ivan builds himself a replica of Starks' armor-powering chest piece, and uses it to light up two enormous, electrified whips attached to his arms. Much damaging ensues.
Shot 13
With so much going on, even Iron Man needs back-up. Like they teased in the first movie, Rhodes does get his own armor, dubbed "War Machine." Here, he and Stark team-up for what may be the movie's climactic final battle.
Shot 14
The money shot: War Machine in action. Iron Man's repulsor rays seem almost quaint next to a guy who is, literally, a walking tank. Here, Iron Man and War Machine get jumped on all sides by…what exactly? Not sure, but we're guessing Justin Hammer has crafted himself his own army of Iron Men…But of course, we'll have to wait and see.
Iron Man 2 opens May 7, 2010.