Issue #3: Sandy's Reflections on Iron Man 2 (2010)

I grumbled a bit about watching this movie, for although I love Pepper, Happy, Natasha, and of course, Tony, I don’t watch this film often—probably because the party scene makes me uncomfortable, fighting with Rhodey is just sad, and Tony makes an ass out of himself (even more than usual). Of course, he’s having a bit of a mental breakdown as he contemplates his life…or should I say his impending death? This seems understandable for a man who doesn’t emote well, often using snark and wit as shields to avoid sharing real emotion. He tries several times to tell the person most important to him that he is dying (Pepper, naturally), first by talking about legacy and bequeathing his company to her, making her CEO, and second, by making her an omelette and trying to get her to not fly home and instead “recharge” somewhere with him on an impromptu vacation. However, the words don’t come out, and he is left to keep wallowing in his despair before a video of his dead father nudges him to figure out how to make a substitute for the palladium that powers his arc reactor.

My first talking point, then, was going to be that I don’t like this film. However, I think that watching it from a critical perspective really helped me “see” Tony better. I think he is often knocked for not having emotion or layers. He’s the king of one-liners, and while Ant-Man or Spider-Man are more of the comic relief, I don’t think that Tony gets enough credit for just how much he’s grown since the first film. And I found much more in this story this time around to enjoy (though the party scene still makes me cringe). 

However, that’s not what I want to really write about. It’s interesting that in a film that hinges on this emotional rollercoaster of Tony’s life (or death), I want to talk about the two women in the film: Pepper and Natasha. They are set up interestingly, and watching IM and then IM2 back-to-back really allowed me to compare how Pepper was drawn in this film, especially with the addition of a new female character. Would they be competing for Tony’s affection? Perhaps one of my favorite scenes includes the Desk Set-like banter between Pepper and Tony when he first sees Natasha: 

Tony: [Sitting down next to Pepper] Who is she?

Pepper: She is from legal. And she is potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit if you keep ogling her like that.

Tony: I need a new assistant, boss.

Pepper: Yes, and I’ve got three excellent potential candidates. They’re lined up and ready to meet you.

Tony: I don’t have time to meet. I need someone now. I feel like it’s her.

Pepper: No it’s not.

Happy: You ever boxed before?

Natalie: I have, yes.

Happy: What, like, the Tae Bo? Booty Boot Camp? Crunch? Something like that? [Natalie’s face shows brief annoyance at his statement before Tony distracts her]

Tony: How do I spell your name, Natalie?

Natalie: R-U-S-H-M-A-N.

Pepper: What, are you going to Google her now?

Tony: I thought I was ogling her. [Brings up Natalie’s file on table which doubles up as a computer. He has computers on everything.] Wow. Very, very impressive individual.

Pepper: You’re so predictable, you know that?

Tony: She’s fluent in French, Italian, Russian, Latin. Who speaks Latin?

Pepper: No one speaks Latin.

Tony: No one speaks Latin.

Pepper: It’s a dead language. You can read Latin or you can write Latin, but you can’t speak Latin.

Tony: Did you model in Tokyo? ‘Cause she modelled in Tokyo.

Pepper: Well…

Tony: I need her. She’s got everything that I need. [Camera is now on Natalie and Happy, Natalie looking over, hearing what Tony is saying]

Happy: Rule number one, never take your eyes off your opponent. [He goes to take a swing, she grabs his hand and flips him over, legs over his head.]

Pepper: Oh, my God! Happy!

Tony: That’s what I’m talking about.

Happy: I just slipped.

Tony: You did?

Happy: [Who looks a little like he’s in pain] Yeah.

Tony: Looks like a TKO to me. [Rings bell; Natalie leaves ring]

Natalie: Just… I need your impression.

Tony: You have a quiet reserve. I don’t know, you have an old soul.

Natalie: I meant your fingerprint.

Tony: Right.

Pepper: So, how are we doing?

Tony: Great. Just wrapping up here. Hey--you’re the boss.

Natalie: Will that be all, Mr Stark?

Tony: No.

Pepper: Yes, that will be all, Ms Rushman. Thank you very much. [She leaves. Tony turns to Pepper]

Tony: I want one.

Pepper: No.

What is fascinating about deconstructing this scene is that it sets up many different facets to Nat: She can multi-task, she has an impressive resume of skills, and she is skilled as a boxer—hinting at her super-spy status that we viewers were in-the-know about before the characters in the film. In addition, adding another strong female character helps shade in the portrait of Pepper as well. She could have easily become shrewish or jealous; or she could have launched herself at Tony to try to divert his attention from Natalie. However, her character is drawn differently. While she originally says no to his desire to “have” Natalie, she acquiesces, and we see in the next scene that Natalie has been hired as his assistant. (We aren’t privy to whether or not the other candidates Pepper refers to get interviews or not.) Instead, Pepper becomes a completely different version now: A powerful CEO in charge of Stark Industries. 

So, where the does that leave Natalie aka Natasha aka Black Widow? What’s interesting is that Natalie has many scenes in this film, ripe to set up a storyline of her own, giving just enough backstory in the scene I describe above to show that she has many skills. In the Marvel Avengers: The Ultimate Character Guide, the comic version of her character “was code-named the Black Widow and sent to the USA to spy on Tony’s Stark’s (Iron Man’s) company, but met Hawkeye, who convinced her to leave her Soviet masters.” In addition to all her spy skills, she has powers: “a version of the Super Soldier Serum keeps the Black Widow in peak condition” (22). While this is never addressed in the MCU, it adds even more layers that they could have explored in the nine years between IM2 and Avengers: Endgame.

But back to my question: where does this film leave Natalie? While she and Pepper actually get along and discuss work, passing the Bechdel Test, we just don’t get enough of her after this film. She continues as the third wheel, a back-up player in Avengers and in Age of Ultron a misguided love interest for Bruce Banner. Almost every interview I could find from 2010’s PR mentioned her skin-tight catsuit, such as Matt Price’s expose in The Oklahoman (https://oklahoman.com/article/3457457/scarlett-johansson-is-the-black-widow-in-iron-man-2). There’s so much more to her than just how great she looks in her iconic outfit.

In Vanity Fair’s “How Avengers: Endgame Failed Black Widow,” Bradley argues that (spoiler alert!) while her sacrifice could be seen as noble, “it was a hasty exit for a long-sidelined heroine who has for years deserved better” (https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/04/avengers-endgame-black-widow-death-scarlett-johansson).We will finally get her backstory—but it feels a bit hollow considering that her character has no future story, unless there’s still another surprise up the execs’ sleeves at Marvel. Viewing Iron Man 2 now, I got to really enjoy seeing all these crumbs that Marvel enticingly laid out…only to, at the end, feel a bit of disappointment that we didn’t get to see those stories or feel like her character development got more consideration than her outfits or hairstyles.