Tony Stark (film)/History/Iron Man 2

The Stark Expo Opening
Six months after he revealed himself as Iron Man, Tony's actions as a superhero have caused peace to break out across the world. Wanting to fulfill his father Howard's legacy, Tony reopens the Stark Expo for the first time since 1974 to bring scientists from around the world together to share ideas all year. Tony arrives at the Expo by dropping in from a plane in his Mark IV suit and gives a speech about the Expo before playing a video recorded by his father before the last Stark Expo. Having discovered that his Palladium Arc Reactor is slowly poisoning him, Tony checks his blood toxicity levels to discover that it has reached 19%. After the speech, Tony leaves, signing autographs only to be met by a process server named Marsha at his car who has a subpoena for him to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Attending the Senate Meeting
Following the subpoena, Tony attends the Senate hearing where Senator Stern demands he hand over the Iron Man technology, which he refers to as a weapon, to the government. Tony refuses, stating its not a weapon and calls it a prosthesis. Senator Stern brings in Tony's rival Justin Hammer of Hammer Industries to testify on how they need the technology. Hammer claims that Tony is not a shield which they should hide behind. Stern then calls in Rhodey to testify how in his report he claimed that Tony as Iron Man is dangerous as he has no national allegiances which his technology falls under. Rhodey goes on to testify against Stern's wishes that he'd also stated that he saw Iron Man as an asset that should be utilized and worked with, not taken. Stern tries to use images of attempts to create Iron Man suits by other people, but Tony hacks into the system and shows how the efforts by Iran, North Korea and even Hammer Industries are dismal failures. After Tony tells the committee that everyone else is years away from copying his technology, Stern, humiliated, calls an end to the proceedings.

Returning Home
At home, Tony is greeted by J.A.R.V.I.S. who reveals that his use of the Iron Man armor is increasing his Palladium poisoning. Tony's blood toxicity levels are now up to 24% and his Arc Reactor core has burned out. Tony replaces with it a new core, commenting that he is burning through them fast while J.A.R.V.I.S. tells him that he has tested every known element to replace Palladium as his power source, but none are viable. As a result, the very thing that is keeping Tony alive is slowly killing him as well. As Tony is drinking an organic drink to alleviate the symptoms of the poisoning, Pepper arrives to berate Tony for donating their entire collection of modern art to the Boy Scouts and for reopening the Stark Expo which she sees as him stroking his own ego. As Pepper tries to demand his attention for things that the company needs done, Tony tells Pepper to handle it and makes her CEO so that he'll have a successor that he can trust when he dies, though he doesn't tell her that, simply saying that she's the best choice he could think of to succeed him and that the company is now boring to him. Pepper is left clearly touched by his actions. The next day, while Tony is boxing with Happy, Pepper arrives with Natalie Rushman from legal for him to officially sign the company over to her. Tony is attracted to Natalie, especially after she easily beats Happy in the ring and considers her as his new assistant to replace Pepper.

Monaco
Tony travels to Monaco on vacation to visit the Grand Prix there and while at the hotel, he reveals to an annoyed Pepper that he has hired Natalie Rushman as his new assistant. He meets up with Justin Hammer and Christine Everhart and reveals his previous relationship with Christine to Justin who tries to flaunt the fact that she is doing a news article on him to Tony. Tony further embarrasses Hammer by publicly revealing that his contract with the government has been revoked before going to the bathroom to check his blood toxicity levels. Discovering that it has now reached 53%, Tony enters the Grand Prix as a driver to the shock of everyone, especially Pepper. During the race, Tony encounters Ivan Vanko who destroys his car and repeatedly attacks him with electro-whips. Tony dodges the attacks until Pepper and Happy rescue him by ramming Vanko with their car. Despite Vanko's repeated attacks, Tony manages to retrieve the Mark V suit from Pepper and don it. However, Vanko's electro-whips prove powerful enough to damage the armor and deflect his repulsor blasts. Vanko snares Tony in his whips, but Tony uses them to reel in and throw down Vanko. Tony then removes Vanko's power supply, defeating him and he is arrested yelling to Tony "you lose." Tony is shocked to discover that the power source, which he quickly destroys, is another Arc Reactor.

Visiting Vanko
Wanting answers, Tony visits Vanko in prison. Vanko calls Tony a thief from a family of thieves and tells him that the Arc Reactor technology he used came from his father Anton Vanko who Vanko claims is the reason Tony is still alive. Tony points out that he's still alive because Vanko missed his chance to kill him, but Vanko tells him he did that on purpose to show the world that Tony is not invincible. He plans to sit back and watch as Tony's enemies descend on him and destroy him. As Tony leaves, Vanko reveals his knowledge of Tony's condition, telling him that "Palladium in the chest is a painful way to die."

On the way home, Tony cooks Pepper dinner and mutes an interview with Senator Stern who uses Vanko's actions as proof that the Iron Man technology is out there despite Tony's assurances and furthers his demands that Tony turn it over to the government. Wanting to enjoy the time he has left, Tony tries to convince Pepper to go to Venice instead of home and to his birthday party so he can enjoy himself, dodging her questions about what's wrong. However, Pepper refuses, citing her new position as having too many responsibilities to do it.

Investigating Vanko and meeting with Rhodey
Returning home, Tony has J.A.R.V.I.S. investigate Anton Vanko and learns that he is a Soviet physicist who defected in 1963 only to be deported in 1967 after accusations of espionage. J.A.R.V.I.S. identifies Ivan Vanko as his son and also a physicist who sold Soviet plutonium and spent 15 years in prison for it though J.A.R.V.I.S. is unable to find anything more on them. As Tony contemplates this, Rhodey arrives, demanding answers from Tony as people are panicking over the revelation that someone else has Iron Man technology and he had to stop the National Guard from coming and taking the armors. Tony has Rhodey, who notices the infected veins on his neck from his Palladium poisoning, help him install a new core in his Arc Reactor. Tony asks Rhodey to trust him to handle it.

Tony's Birthday
Learning that his blood toxicity levels have reached 89% and he now has a week to live, Tony takes Natalie's suggestion of enjoying the time he has left and gets drunk at his birthday party while wearing the Mark IV suit. Pepper tries to stop the party as Tony is out of control, but he refuses and after he starts blasting objects out of the air and endangering people's lives, Rhodey dons the Mark II to stop him. Tony doesn't take his friend seriously and they end up fighting through Tony's house, damaging it and scaring off the guests. Finally, Tony and Rhodey end up in a stalemate when they fire their repulsors at each other, creating a massive explosion. A disgusted Rhodey then flies off in the Mark II to deliver it to the military as Tony is no longer fit to protect the world.

Meeting with Nick Fury
The next morning, Tony is eating donuts in the giant donut of a donut shop when Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. arrives and has a meeting with him in the shop. Fury reveals that "Natalie Rushman" is actually a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent named Natasha Romanoff who has been following him since he got sick. Fury has Romanoff inject Tony with lithium dioxide which deals with some of his symptoms, though it isn't a cure for Tony's condition. When Tony insists that there is no element in existence that can work instead of Palladium and insists that he has tried everything, Fury tells him there is something he hasn't tried.

Moving the meeting to the Stark Mansion, Fury tells Tony that the Arc Reactor technology is incomplete and his father discovered something that would make the energy race outstrip the arms race and make nuclear energy look insignificant. Fury explains that Anton Vanko was his father's partner in developing the Arc Reactor but when he tried to make profit off of it, Howard had him deported. When Vanko couldn't give the Russians the technology, they sent him to Siberia where he spent the rest of his life in a vodka-fueled rage which was bad to raise his son in. Fury tells Stark that Howard told him that Tony was the only one with the knowledge and resources to create this new energy source which Tony finds hard to believe as his father was very distant to him. Fury reveals that he knew Howard well as he was a founding member of S.H.I.E.L.D. and leaves, leaving Tony with a case of his father's stuff and Agent Phil Coulson to ensure he keeps on track.

Rediscovering Vibranium
Tony starts to work on trying to figure out what his father discovered, going through his notes and old videos from the crate Nick Fury gave him but has no luck in figuring things out. To his surprise, the videos contain a message from his father who tells him that the diorama of the 1974 Stark Expo represents more than just the inventions being displayed of other inventors, but the key to his life's work. Howard tells Tony that he created it for Tony but is limited in his ability to use his discoveries by the technology of his time but that Tony will be able to pick up where he left off and change the world. Howard ends his message by telling Tony that he is Howard's greatest creation, something that stuns and touches Tony as he didn't believe Howard cared about him at all.

Escaping from his house, Tony travels to Stark Industries, picking up strawberries for Pepper along the way. Tony tries to make up with Pepper but she is not interested and he is surprised to find her and Agent Romanoff getting along well. As Tony starts to leave, he notices something about the 1974 Stark Expo diorama which is in the office and entitled "the key to the future is here" and takes it home with him.

Studying a holographic projection of the diorama with the help of J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony realizes that part of it resembles an atom. Tony realizes what his father's discovery is: a new element. Assembling the protons and neutrons based off of the pavilions of the Expo, Tony successfully rediscovers the element Vibranium which J.A.R.V.I.S. determines is a viable alternative for Palladium but believes is impossible to synthesize. Tony however is determined and begins building a miniature particle accelerator to try. As he works, Agent Phil Coulson approaches him to demand answers about him leaving. Tony is annoyed that Coulson is after him about that so long after it happened and is pleased to learn that Coulson is being reassigned to New Mexico. Tony has Coulson help him balance the accelerator with Captain America's Vibranium Shield. After Coulson leaves, Tony is able to use the particle accelerator to successfully synthesize Vibranium and builds the new Mark VI suit to go with it.

Confrontation at the Expo
As Tony and J.A.R.V.I.S. run tests on the new Vibranium Arc Reactor, Tony gets a call from Ivan Vanko which surprises Tony as Vanko is supposed to be dead. Tony has J.A.R.V.I.S. trace the call and Vanko promises to ruin the Stark family like Howard Stark ruined his family before hanging up. The call is only traced to Manhattan and seeing an article about Justin Hammer's demonstration at the Stark Expo, Tony realizes what Vanko is up to and puts in his new Arc Reactor which clears up his Palladium poisoning and dons the new Mark VI armor to stop Vanko.

Tony flies to the Expo where he tries to warn Rhodey wearing the War Machine armor about Vanko, but Rhodey believes him too late and Vanko takes control of the War Machine and the Hammer Drones remotely and uses them to attack Tony. Tony quickly takes to the air to lead the drones and War Machine away while J.A.R.V.I.S. unsuccessfully tries to restore control to Rhodey. Tony works to keep the fight away from civilians, saving a young boy wearing an Iron Man mask from a drone along the way. The drones and War Machine continue to chase Tony, but he manages to destroy the drones by tricking them into crashing into a giant metal globe. However, War Machine survives and forces Tony to crash in a dome.

Tony and War Machine battle with the Mark VI getting the worst of the fight until Natasha Romanoff makes her way to Hammer Industries and reboots the War Machine suit, restoring control to Rhodey. Romanoff also detects that Tony is no longer dying which shocks Pepper who hears the conversation. Tony and Pepper argue until Romanoff warns Tony of a massive amount of drones that are on their way. Tony quickly gets Rhodey up and warns him. The two make up then prepare to fight the drones together. However, while they are figuring out their positions, the drones arrive and Tony and Rhodey fight together, destroying many but end up surrounded. Realizing they're in danger, Tony orders Rhodey to duck then uses the Mark VI's one-time use lasers to destroy the remaining drones. Romanoff then warns them that something bigger is coming their way and Vanko arrives in a powerful suit. Even working together, Tony and Rhodey are unable to defeat Vanko so Tony has Rhodey fire his repulsor at Tony at the same time that Tony fires at him with Vanko in the middle creating a massive explosion that destroys Vanko's suit and defeats him. Vanko declares they lose and activates a self-destruct in his suit and all his drones. Realizing Pepper's in danger, Tony flies off to save her as Rhodey flies off to safety. Tony reaches Pepper in time to rescue her from the explosions and flies her to a nearby roof.

Aftermath
On the roof, Pepper decides she has had enough and resigns but Tony kisses her. She is pleased and they kiss again until Rhodey interrupts them. Rhodey makes fun of them and then flies off, telling Tony he needs to keep the War Machine for awhile longer as his car got destroyed. Tony refuses, but Rhodey flies off anyway. Tony and Pepper start a relationship afterwards.

Sometime later, Tony meets with Nick Fury about his participation in the Avengers Initiative. Fury has Tony read a file that states that while they want Iron Man, they don't want Tony because of the destructive tendencies he displayed while he thought he was dying. Tony contends that that was due to his physical and mental state at the time and he is trying to turn his life around now. Fury offers to hire Tony as a consultant but he refuses until he tells Fury he needs someone to present medals to him and Rhodey at an upcoming ceremony. Knowing who Tony has in mind, Fury promises to take care of it.

Tony and Rhodey are presented medals for their bravery by a reluctant Senator Stern who pointedly stabs Tony with the award, telling him how annoying "a little prick" can be.