Iron Man: Enter Black Widow

Iron Man: Enter Black Widow

Iron Man 2 is currently wrapping up filming right now and this weeks Entertainment Weekly gives us a little insight. Of course, if you've been driving around anywhere in L.A, you'd more than likely have already seen some glimpse of this movie being filmed. If you were driving by the 405 the other week and saw a large green screen on the dam, then you were seeing them filming Iron Man.



Looks like it'll be at least grand in scale in terms of movies. I mean, I loved Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr. was perfect for the role of Tony Stark. Recovering alcoholic and all! After that film, Jon Favreau could do no wrong. As you can see from the latest Entertainment Weekly, they seem to have a good footing on what they're doing for the sequel.

When Marvel Studios first announced the sequel, no one was sure what the movie would be about. Downey, director Jon Favreau, screenwriter Justin Theroux, and the rest of the creative team struck upon the idea of introducing two very different foes for Stark. On one side is Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), a fast-talking weapons manufacturer who fancies himself the next Tony Stark; on the other, Vanko, who, while incarcerated in a Russian prison, creates his own battle-suit, which shoots devastating, whip-like beams. Hammer and Whiplash join forces to take down Downey’s character, Tony Stark. Rourke, for his part, wanted to instill some lightness into the role of the heavy. "I told Favreau, 'I don't want to just play him as a one-dimensional p----,'" he says. "He let me have a cockatoo, who I talk to and get drunk with while I’m making my suit."

Just as the deals were being hammered out, Terrence Howard -- who had played Stark’s best friend -- fell out of the sequel in a public salary dispute. The role was re-cast, with Don Cheadle stepping in. "We had to make some tough deals," says Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. "When they got public, you go, 'That sucks. Okay, you want a peek behind the curtain? Here you are!'" Says Cheadle, "Terrence and I couldn’t be more different. We address it head-on in the movie in one exchange. We're not trying to fool people." (Cheadle admits he didn’t know much about Marvel’s superhero before the first movie came out: "I always thought Iron Man was a robot.")

But then, we get to the real meat and potatoes of the article. The point where my interest gets peaked! When they mention Scarlett Johansson. Holy hell, has it been since Ghost World that I had a crush on you? My, that's been a long time since that little indie comic film was released. Who would have known that the world would jump all over your.. um.. ok, I'll just say it.. Boooooooooobs. Seems like everyone is all up on her grill. Let's see what EW has to say about her role

Adding more flesh and blood to the new movie, Scarlett Johansson joined the cast as Stark’s mysterious new assistant, Natasha, who has an alter ego of her own, Black Widow. That introduction inevitably sparks romantic tension between Stark and former assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), who’s been promoted to CEO of Stark Industries. "The men want it to be, like, 'Ooh, the girls are fighting over Tony,' but it's not as standard as that," says Paltrow. "There's a weird male catfight fantasy. Downey agrees. He believes what differentiates the franchise from other superhero series can be summarized as follows: "We're horny. Not, like, can't-bring-your-kids horny, but just…horny."

The question remains whether Iron Man 2 will soar like the first film or show signs of rust when it hits theaters. "People are going to be more critical," says Downey. "That’s their prerogative….In a way, there's no way to win, except to win. Big."

For more on Iron Man, as well as a first look at the hottest movies and TV shows heading to Comic-Con, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly on stands Friday July 17.

As a comic nerd... and most of all, a guy who has a weakness for redheads.. and already had a weakness for Scarlett Johansson, I'm going to be weak at the knees here. Black Widow is one of those bad girls who just kicks ass and doesn't take names. Besides that, she's the love interest to Bucky Barnes, the new Captain America. A character that I can relate to given my years as a teenage fighting in World War II.



So who is this comic character? She's some russian spy who seems to always be triple and quadriple crossing someone or other. A person that really can't be trusted but is always one that you want near you because of her looks. Yes, it's superficial like that... Not to mention she can back it up when needs be. Though I suppose the most cheese cake to really come close to Scarlett in terms of looking exactly like Black Widow is from artist Frank Cho. But that's cause he loves a little meat on the bones of his drawings.



See, at first I was a little worried about Scarlett as Black Widow. Not because of her acting or anything. I typically don't think blondes are all that much special. But then you give her red hair? Jesus man, why don't you just give me a heart attack or something. Clearly some force of nature is trying to kill me! Curse you film industry! Wait, that's where I work. never mind that cursing. It's allllll good.



And speaking of the real life world of Scarlett, it's a little strange to think that Black Widow is with Hal Jordan. Oh how the worlds of marvel and dc have been blurred. Wait, did that make any sense to you non-comic nerds? You see, Ryan Reynolds is going to be Hal Jordan, one of my favorite characters in comics today. He's Green Lantern..



And as to why I wrote about Iron Man instead of the news that Ryan Reynolds getting the role of Hal Jordan? Well, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Ryan getting the role of Hal. He's already Deadpool and Hannibal King. Does he need to be another comic book character? I can't hate the role because behind all his smart ass remarks, he does have the acting chops to handle it a bit more seriously. If you doubt me on that, go rent Adventureland. Not only is it a great movie but it also shows he can take the more serious tone while still being a cocky asshole.