While Iron Man 2 conforms to its genre and has lots of action, it’s fundamentally driven by Tony Stark’s internal conflict. The Little World external conflict (and even the Big World external conflict) get lots of time and development, but the key moments that anchor us to the story predominantly relate to Tony’s internal struggle.
One Universe
Three Acts
Five Conflicts
Seven Characters
Iron Man 2 Notes
Much like The Godfather, Iron Man 2 has placed an emotionally-driven story in a traditionally action-oriented genre. By developing greater emotional emotional value than typical stories in this genre, Iron Man 2 has real staying power in a universe of stories that are often underwhelming and shallow.
The storyline is driven by Tony Stark’s independence. Despite facing new external threats and his own secret terminal illness, Tony insists on doing everything on his own. Because of who Tony is and his extreme ego, it is impossible for him to accept help or trust anyone with his secrets.
The elements through the first act are all designed to reinforce Tony’s isolation. From his ego, to the forfeiture of his company and growing antagonistic relationship to Pepper Potts, to his secret terminal illness—it all serves to strip Tony of his allies.
Interestingly, we have a subtle theme of legacy and its corollary—a father’s approval. In the rising action of the second act, Tony receives the approval of his father (from the grave), and that sets him on a course to solve his problems and make real changes. We see a complex layering of issues that leads to real change and the resolution of his isolation.
Tony Stark does completely resolve the driving conflict: his Little World internal conflict. He chooses to trust others and embrace a team. Because of that choice he makes (and receives) in the Epiphany Moment, he can also go on to solve the Little World external conflict.
In a wonderful irony, Tony’s Rock Bottom moment (at the end of the first act) is when he and Rhodes cross their weapons and blow up his house. In the resolution of the Little World external conflict, when Vanko is defeated (close to the Climax, at the end of the third act), Rhodes and Tony again cross their weapons—but this time they combine their power on purpose (functioning as a team, rather than enemies).
We see a typical standoff between the Guide and the Frenemy for the Little World philosophical conflict. Rhodes represents one half of the conflict, which encourages Tony to submit himself to the government and “join the team.” Howard Stark represents the idea that “technology will solve all of our problems” and must be protected from the government. Rather than Tony being caught between these two positions, he seems to be solidly in his father’s camp at the beginning of the story, and that’s where he stays. Tony does compromise his position somewhat, but never to the degree and certainly not to the government as Rhodes advocates.
Agent Romanoff is worth noting as she is an atypical Sidekick. While she does always act in Tony’s best interest, she doesn’t do it for Tony per se. She is loyal to the cause of SHIELD, but those interests are also aligned with Tony’s interests in this story. This works due to Tony’s exceptionally turbulent internal state. To be loyal to Tony would be to be loyal to nothing, or even to oppose Tony, as Tony often opposes his own interests! In this case, the split loyalty actually helps to stabilize the character, which is important feature the Sidekick often brings to the story.
By the same token, and with great irony, Rhodes, despite being the Frenemy, is exceptionally loyal to Tony. However, once again due to Tony’s internal issues, to act in Tony’s best interests is sometimes to act against Tony’s will. However, Rhodes is a true frenemy in that his actions also unwittingly support the Mega-Antagonist.
Because of these developed conflicts and ironies, Iron Man 2 is a more robust story than Marvel typically presents. This enlarges the story’s audience and also gives it real staying power in the ever-expanding catalog of superhero action movies.
