15 Perfect Superhero Casting Choices Wasted On Terrible Comic Book Movies
10. Sam Rockwell As Justin Hammer - Iron Man 2
Marvel Studios
This is less a statement on how Iron Man 2 may or may not be a bad film, but more due to the fact that its lacklustre impact has deprived audiences of a brilliant antagonist.
Iron Man 2 is probably the weakest MCU entry thus far (either that or The Incredible Hulk - take your pick), but it also had plenty of positives to draw from. RDJ continued to own the role of Tony Stark, Don Cheadle was the perfect replacement for Terrence Howard as War Machine, and fans got to see the beginnings of the MCU come together. They also got to see Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer, a vapid industrialist weapons contractor who constantly tried - and failed - to outdo his greatest competitor, Tony Stark.
Rockwell's performance shines through in Iron Man 2, and he could've easily been used elsewhere as the MCU transformed into the behemoth it is today. Instead, fans have had to make do with his appearance in the first Iron Man sequel and the All Hail to the King short packaged alongside the home release of Thor: The Dark World.
As of 2019, it's doubtful Hammer will ever return. And that's a huge shame.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
