Iron Man 2, not 3, is the worst MCU film
By Stephen Ippolito | March 24th, 2020
Over the weekend, a debate was sparked on twitter about which MCU film was the worst. The choices seemed to be narrowed down to Thor: The Dark World and Iron Man 3. While I do put both of those films in the bottom ranking of my personal ranking, I would choose neither as the worst. That honor, I believe, belongs to none other than Iron Man 2.
Here are three reasons on why the second entry in the Iron Man series was the worst film in the MCU.
Horrible side story
Specifically, the side story arc of Tony Stark using an unknown element to cure his arc reactor poisoning. It made no sense why this was the only thing that could cure his sickness. The scene in which he discovered the element was incredibly confusing. In it, he somehow finds a diagram of the new component in a diorama of the 1974 Stark Expo. I remember watching this in the theater and going, “WTF just happened.” It wasn’t till years later when I watched the film for the 10th time that I finally somewhat understood it. To me, this was the worst side story in MCU history.
Mickey Rourke’s Ivan Vanko was MCU’s worst villain
Now, for the most part, I don’t blame Rourke. This was more on the script and material he was given. But there’s no question in my mind that Ivan Vanko was the MCU’s worst foe. He was utterly forgettable, predictable, one dimensional, and his demise at the end felt like it was written after writer/producers didn’t know how to kill him. It also felt like not a great casting selection. Rourke was only cast, I think because he was coming off an Oscar Nomination for his role in The Wrestler.
Ivan Vanko first encounters Iron Man 
Ivan Vanko in his final armor
War Machine’s entrance into the MCU was a big letdown
To be clear, this has nothing to do with James Rhodes’s portrayal or Don Cheadle’s performance. I think Cheadle has been a great Rhodey throughout his time in the role. This has to do with how War Machine’s famous black and gray armor was introduced. If you don’t remember, the first time, we saw it was when it was introduced on stage at the Stark Expo before the final battle.
War Machine introduced at the Stark Expo 
Fighting alongside Iron Man in final battle
Personally, it was a huge letdown and a huge missed opportunity for Marvel Studios to create a favorite fan scene. It could have been similar to Thor’s arrival on Earth in Avengers: Infinity War that fans loved. To have him introduced to the MCU in a convention just seemed so dull and not exciting at all. My dream scene would have been for the armor to be introduced when Rhodey’s military base comes under attack by Ivan’s drones. Rhodes would then have to rush to put the suit on, and that’s when we would first see it, him destroying a couple of drones with ease. To me, that would have been a stand up in your seat moment, but unfortunately, it was not.
So do you agree or disagree with me? This is one of the joys of the MCU for fans, debating these kinds of topics.
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