Iron Man 2 - Introducing Black Widow, War Machine, and a Little of Thor

*Image taken from Wikipedia.

Considering the very little attention given to The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2 is for many the second MCU movie. It picks up right from where Iron Man left off. While the story line is no match as that of the first Iron Man, the movie does have its own merits.
First off, we meet Black Widow, and while she is undercover. While her mini encounter in Stark's ring gave some indication of her fighting abilities, even her greatest fight scene in this film is no match to what Black Widow comes to pull off later on. While being a female superhero, she falls as a supporting character, rather sexualized in her clothing and appearance. Yet, this is for the "bad" of Tony's character to bounce off of, him, of course, ending up with Pepper Potts, despite his comments.
Rhodey, obviously, has a big change, in that the actor is different. Still, I think Don Cheadle is the superior of the two, though it does hurt to have such big of a switch in the middle of a franchise, especially when neither actor looks like the other.
And of course, while never addressed by name, the "Land of Enchantment" is dealing with Thor, us being able to catch a glimpse of his hammer. I remember not really getting this scene before, having not the slightest clue about Thor. Now, I smiled at every reference.
I also liked catching the glimpse of the map behind Tony when talking with Fury, the map having a shining dot in Africa, referencing Wakanda. While I had heard of this from Youtube theorists long before this rewatch, seeing screenshots of this scene, it was nice to see it in the context of the whole movie. Well done, Feige!
So, yeah, Iron Man 2's highlights are in the foreshadowing, in the introduction of what is coming down the line. Rewatch to see the introductions of said characters, and appreciate how much the fight scenes involving Black Widow have improved.