11 Changes The MCU Wishes It Could Make
8. Overhaul Iron Man 2
On the list of movies Marvel wishes it could go back and do differently, Iron Man 2 is right up there with The Incredible Hulk. Tony Stark's second solo outing is a series of missed opportunities and a cautionary tale about sequels that went unheeded when Thor: The Dark World came around.
The movie spends too much of its time setting up The Avengers, and not enough doing justice to the Demon in a Bottle storyline it was loosely based on. Tony's alcoholism is a huge part of the character in the source material, but it was glossed over here, banished almost entirely by a coffee session with Nick Fury.
Perhaps this is because Disney's acquisition of Marvel was only recently completed when Iron Man 2 came out. Maybe the House of Mouse wasn't keen on a no-punches-pulled depiction of alcoholism. Whatever the reason, failing to plumb the dark depths of Demon in a Bottle was a missed opportunity.
Moreover, the movie's villain, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), is a strong candidate for the MCU's most forgettable. Nothing about this character sat right - from his look and motivation to Rourke's weird Russian accent.
Robert Downey Jr will leave one hell of a legacy behind when he exits the Iron Man role, but his second solo outing will always be a black mark on his CV, and you can bet Marvel is well aware of just how many things it got wrong.