MCU: 11 Things You Learn Rewatching Iron Man 2

6. The Drama Feels Superficial & Lightweight

There are quite a few dramatic - or is it melodramatic? - subplots in the movie, and while several of them have sure potential to further develop Tony Stark as a nuanced human being, most of them end up feeling pretty light and malnourished.

Firstly, there's Tony suffering from palladium poisoning. This should present a major existential threat to Tony and heighten the movie's overall tension, but for the most part it just feels like a minor inconvenience that's forgotten about whenever it's not necessary for the narrative.

Then there's Tony's daddy issues, which reach a climax when Tony watches a video message from his father Howard (John Slattery) which makes it clear he really did love Tony most of all. "What is and always will be my greatest creation is you" is a great line, but the script tries to rush to an emotional epiphany for Tony, and it doesn't really feel all that earned.

And of course, there's Tony's alcoholism, which was reportedly planned to have a far more in-depth focus, but Disney wanted to keep things relatively family-friendly, and so Tony's drinking is only a fringe subplot at best.

Not one of these dramatic interludes feels anywhere near developed enough, further exemplifying why so many fans see Iron Man 2 as an inconsequential also-ran movie in the scope of the MCU.