8 Terrible Comic Book Movie Performances By Great Actors
6. Robert Downey Jr. As Tony Stark/Iron Man - Iron Man 2 (2010)
If the first Iron Man helped Robert Downey Jr. get his big-star, cinematic mojo back (and it did - his ascent to the top of the Hollywood earners list since the original Iron Man in 08 has been staggering), and the third instalment of the franchise gave us one of his best, most tempered performances (a nice blend of the RDJ braggadocio measured with something a little softer), then the second Iron Man is the runt of the litter, the ugly duckling, the black-sheep of one of Marvels most successful film franchises - and probably the most important one, too, for Iron Man truly kicked off the idea of the Cinematic Universe - and character sets. Not only is Iron Man 2 easily the worst of the three films, its the one that panders too much to the idea of Robert Downey Jr. himself, the one that pits his worst Tony Stark against his worst villain (Mickey Rourkes Ivan Vanko) in probably the worst superhero film since the MCU behemoth began. The drunken fight between a half-cut Iron Man and Don Cheadles Lt. Col. James Rhodes is the embarrassing nadir of a performance best stricken from memory.
