| Title | : | Iron Man 2 |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0446564583 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780446564588 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 304 |
| Publication | : | First published April 1, 2010 |
Iron Man 2 Reviews
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This was a 4 star book until the third act.
It's much, much better than the film.
As I confessed earlier, I have a soft spot for the Iron Man 2 film. It's the first film that really made it clear that Tony and Rhodey weren't just colleagues/coworkers tied together by obligation - IM2 made it clear that they're friends. Tony and Rhodey refer to each other as best friends more than once in this book, as well. Iron Man 2 is why Tony and Rhodey are my favorite and (in my opinion) the best developed friendship in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. These novels do such a great job at conveying why Tony needs Rhodey and why Rhodey needs Tony.
Anyway, this plot closely follows the film but it adds some much needed character depth to Ivan Vanko. A big problem with the film is that Ivan Vanko is incredibly forgettable. Partly because Mickey Rourke did such a shite job but also because the film didn't bother to delve into who Whiplash is. Imagine my surprise when I read an Iron Man comic with him and it takes me forever to make the connection between that character and the one in this film. This book explains more about why Ivan comes after Tony and it explains that his father died from Palladium poisoning and that's how Ivan knows Tony's dying. That last bit may have been in the film but if it was, it didn't stick out to me. Ivan wants to make up for what was "stolen" from his father and that closely parallels Tony's desire to live up to his father's legacy. (I don't want to talk about both of these novels and their penchant for making Tony so loyal to his father's memory. Howard Stark was an abusive, drunken asshole and Tony deserved so much better. I wish the writers had researched that more before writing these.)
Anyway, Ivan is portrayed as much more of a calculated, engineering genius and he's kind of a badass. He's a much more formidable foe as this book emphasizes that he's been through just about everything. Several stints in Russian gulags, sensory deprivation, torture. He's survived all of that and it makes him much more threatening to Tony. This is a character that, if played by a much better actor, could have really transformed the film and made Whiplash more memorable. As it stands, Obadiah Stane is the only memorable villain in the Iron Man films.
It's worth noting that the Phase One films were separate from Disney and this book reflects that as well. It's more risque than the last. There are swear words, a little more chauvinistic behavior that I could've done without. It's also more violent.
I don't know if this was the plan but Justin Hammer works with the Ten Rings to get Vanko out of prison. So it seems like they were trying to build to the Mandarin. Makes me wonder if they would've actually followed the Mandarin plot in Iron Man 3, had the rights not been sold to Disney.
Anyway, Natasha is a little more fleshed out in this book. That was nice to see. There was even a subplot in which Happy's feelings were hurt by her taking him down in the boxing ring and they settle that later. Which brings me to Pepper.
She was a negative in this book. I love Pepper Potts. I have stuck up for her when people give her crap for being a "movie girlfriend" but this book characterized her as the jealous love interest and it was awful. She was unnecessarily rude and nasty to Natasha (playing Natalie of course) and I did not like that. It wasn't like her and I'm glad the movie didn't do that. Also, I'm glad the film changed the line Tony throws to her in the boxing scene because this film skipped straight to blatant sexual harassment.
Anyway, the heart of what made me love this book was Tony and Rhodey's relationship. Here, the tensions between them start because Tony feels threatened by Rhodey working with Justin Hammer. They have a lovers' tiff in the plane because Tony is mad Rhodey was brought to the Senate Hearing without telling him. Tony even says, "I can't believe you took him to Monaco. Monaco is our place."
This book was filled with Tony making suggestive comments to Rhodey and implying that Hammer was Rhodey's boyfriend now. He implies that Rhodey has moved on and Hammer is now "filling his vacuum", invites him to a threesome and later implies that he's "catty" because he needs a boyfriend. I don't want to read too much into it but its worth noting that Rhodey has never been shown dating anyone so Rhodey is an MCU character that could be gay. Anyway, this was all because Tony was jealous and upset about Rhodey not being his guy anymore and that's part of why I love their friendship.
Them bickering when Rhodey was forced to attack Tony was hilarious.
This book ends rather abruptly. It's a little jarring to be honest.
Anyway, I recommend this if you like the films because I genuinely think there's enough added material to make this worth it. If you can find a copy that is. It's kinda hard to find. -
What have they done? And can Iron Man himself hold those responsible accountable? A shot to the cranium with a repulsor ray is certainly in order for them.
There's really only one place to begin with this review and that is the unforgivable editing that was inconceivably bad and left me in disgust. On page 70 we are introduced to Natalie Rushman where she steps into the ring with Happy and nothing transpires according to the text other than her flipping the gloves back to Happy. Later in the novel on page 82...
"...Pepper had been ever so slightly suspicious of Natalie Rushman since she had let slip that loaded comment in Tony's gym, which had led to her demolition of Happy Hogan."
Whoa, hold on a minute there! If Tony Stark's soon to be assistant had just beaten up Happy, who is an ex champion boxer, don't you think that would be integral to the story on pages 70 & 71 when the scene took place? Apparently not. I'm assuming it's poor editing as I recall seeing a few spelling errors one of which was "though" when it should have read "through" but I'll be damned if I'm rereading this trash just to find the page number as evidence.
The action sequences in this novel where just too campy for my liking with silly humor thrown in when the tension should have been rising. One example of that would be at the race in Monaco when Ivan starts destroying everything and Pepper, caught up in the fray, spits out a mouthful of seat cushion. Ha frickin' ha.
I actually feel sorry for those people who are reading an Iron Man novel for the first time and if you are one of those I can assure you that this is not the norm for an Iron Man novel. Greg Cox wrote two wonderful Iron Man novels 'Iron Man: Operation A.I.M.' and 'Iron Man: Armor Trap' which are far superior to this one in every way.
I also feel sorry for Alexander Irvine who is a well known name in the fantasy/sci-fi universe. He surely done his best in writing this novel but he was working from a screenplay and only the quality of his storytelling kept this book out of my hall of shame.
Needless to say I will not be checking out the movie which is a huge shame as I'm a Marvel addict but sometimes you just have to let your pocket do the talking. Unfortunately, it matters little as there is already an Iron Man 3 on the horizon and this franchise will make a fortune regardless of how shitty their tie-in novels are. -
I have been a fan of Iron Man since the first movie hit theaters. Being a reader, I always look for novelizations of movies in order to get more depth and detail on what I have seen. I read the first novelization done by Peter David and was surprised that the second Iron Man novelization was not done by him as well. Despite any hesitancy's I had about Alexander Irvine, he did a magnificent job on the novel.
Tony Stark is back, but not in as good condition as we left him last. Despite how well his company is going and how well juggling superhero work is, Tony himself is in bad health condition and declining. On top of this he has the government breathing down his back, trying to get him to relinquish the Iron Man suit to them. He decides, however, that this is the perfect time to resurrect the Stark Expo. A convention that thrives all year, bringing together the brightest scientific minds and their ideas.
While he battles court hearings and his own reactor problem, a new villain lies in wait in the wings. Plotting, wanting to take out revenge on Tony for the misdeeds of his father. And if that wasn't enough (Tony just can't have his life tumble down half way, can he?) his friend, James Rhodes, is losing patience with Tony. A sore lack of judgement (on Tony's part) at his birthday party prompted Rhody to take action into his own hands resulting in a stinging betrayal.
The Iron Man 2 novelization takes you through the twists and turns of Tony's life and is guaranteed to leave you wanting more, or (at the very least) wishing that someone would smack Tony with the common sense stick.
The novelization moves very much like the movie and sticks to it for the most part. It does have differences, most noticeable to me near the end, but it does not make the story any less interesting. I love the novelizations if only because we get a glimpse at what Tony is thinking. That's something we can't get in the movies that I value and find absolutely interesting.
The novel moves, has humor and wit and everything that made the movie fantastic. -
The only surprise in this book (where it differed from the movie) was the end. I'm glad the director/producer/whoever changed it though, because it was MUCH funnier to have the Ex-Wife missile be a dud because it was "Hammer Tech". Funniest line in the whole movie. In this book, however, the Ex-Wife functions properly. Its use did not ruin the story and I was actually rather glad to read an alternate ending, just for interest sake.
I also read this as research, as I'm considering writing fan fiction, but I've never been a comics fan. As research, it did fill in a few small holes, although not as much as the first book did. I think the main "takeaway" here was the name of the new "element" Tony synthesized to replace palladium, which they never actually say in the movie. -
4 Stars. Very good novelization of the movie.
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Awesome! Fantastic! I had a stars in my eyes, and was enchanted while watching the Marvel movie and reading this book. Each Iron Man fan will love it, and should have this book in the collection <3
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Iron Man 2 may be the first novelization of a screenplay that I have read, and as an introduction, I think it was quite a good one. I m an old time comic book reader, and I ve gone to every comic-based movie that I can, including the first Iron Man, so when LibraryThing.com had some review copies of Iron Man 2, I signed up. I wasn t sure what to expect though, because I hadn t read a comic-book to screenplay to novel before, as I said, and I was concerned that the feel of a comic book would be lost in a novel, or that it would not appeal.[return][return]Face it. Most comic books, especially the old Marvel Comics which originally brought Iron Man to life, have a larger than life aura that defeats efforts to constrain them to the expectations of life. It s big, beautiful, brutal, life on the edge and without any sign of social conformity. Very few comic book heroes are people I d enjoy having in my life. They tend to be arrogant, obsessed, driven, and so totally focused that the details which make life livable are just cast aside as unimportant. What that means is that if you re not the super powered or gadgeted hero, you become something less than an appendage and more like an inconvenience. And none of that changes the fact that within a comic book, these stories are compelling, inspiring, and just work.[return][return]When they first started making comic book movies, ignoring the Superman franchise, of course, a lot of people thought that transition wouldn t make it to the big screen. The roaring success of these movies, and how those involved transformed paper images into a full-featured show, left readers like me stunned. These obnoxious people were conveyed in such a way that once again inspired and compelled, while maintaining their true characters. That didn t stop me from wondering if the same feel could make it back to paper without losing something in the translation. Frankly, the idea of spending some 300 pages with an arrogant megalomaniac had me nervous.[return][return]Let me reassure on both those counts.[return][return]Irvine manages to capture the same feel as the comic books (something quite similar to men s adventure) while not alienating me as a reader. In fact, I was thrilled by some of the lines, and appreciated the balance between the outward and inward lives of the characters.[return][return]He manages this balance in part by using multiple points of view, some of which are known and familiar, while others, including the villain, a mirror image of Tony Stark himself, are new to me. While there are some moments when I m feeling the oh come on part of hanging out with someone as arrogant as Stark, or when the sheer lack of honest and open communication makes me want to slap the characters, these same moments are very much in character. And the consequences are real and plausible.[return][return]Not only that, but Irvine has captured how Stark thinks in a beautiful way that opens a window into that kind of genius. While there s no way I m going to turn around and build myself a flying machine, nor am I so naive as Stark who continues to protest that the Iron Man suit is not a military weapon while he s flying around stopping the bad guys with the suit, I have a touch of that kind of focused problem solving, and I can tell you the portrayal is spot on.[return][return]Which segues nicely into a couple sentences I just had to pull out to say wow. I hope they work as well out of context, and give you a taste of the skill at which this tale is undertaken (Note that there are minor spoilers):[return][return]This is from his first meeting with the villain, when he s using a smaller version of the Iron Man suit that he s still testing out:[return][return]If he d been in the Mark IV, everything would have been fine. But in the Mark V, he had a fight on his hands. & It was like instant coffee if the Mark IV was Jamaica Blue Mountain; all it did was make you wish for the real thing.[return][return]And an illustration of the sense of genius I was talking about:[return][return]For a moment Rhodey had a daydream of how this same presentation would be going if it was Tony Stark doing the pitch. & Because Tony was an engineer at heart rather than a businessman, he spoke the language of the barely possible, the thing that could be done if the brain could be stretched enough to see the way to do it.[return][return]It should be clear that I enjoyed the book. It s a fun ride, and definitely a candy-type book.[return][return]That said, there were some weaknesses I wish could have been handled better. The biggest one was how the story had too much going on for so short a book. While I understand that some of the threads may be introduced to set the stage for Iron Man 3, it seemed a little much for so many huge happenings to occur in the same short time span when they were completely unrelated. Since details would require major spoilers and I try to avoid that, let me just say that there were three main plots going on, ignoring the ongoing relationship issues between Pepper and Tony, and though they crossed over every once in a while, I felt there was a little too much popping up when needed going on to make that happen. I d have preferred a little more foreshadowing and prior integration to bring these things together smoothly.[return][return]And the other is a continuity error, which is something that drives me nuts. The end is dependent on something happening with the suits that logically should not have been possible because of the way the suits are designed around Tony. Now, with Stark the way he is, I can see it happening, but why not mention that he s done so, in his head at least. And how is it that Rhodey knew it was even a possibility? I m curious if any of you who end up reading this noticed the same thing, but I m hoping my comments here are intriguing but without spoilers.[return][return]Anyway, yes, I had quibbles, but my walk away was pure enjoyment. If I let quibbles taint my reads, I d never enjoy anything. If you like the comic book over the top feel, Iron Man 2 offers that and more. It s not a deep think by any means, but it has its moments, and they all add up to fun.
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This book must have been based off an early version of the script. The ending was completely different and it referenced deleted scenes that never made it into the movie.
It showed a lot more development of Tony's descent into self-destruction via booze and made Pepper and Rhodey's responses a lot more nuanced. However, it Irritated Me To No End that this was supposedly set 6 months after the end of Iron Man 1, Tony is having some very clear PROBLEMS with his health and mental status, and they really don't check into it too much. They attribute his behavior to drinking and his selfish nature. Which, yeah, that's what Tony pushed them into believing but if freaking Nick Fury can figure out something's wrong, these two should be more on the ball.
Also, it's treatment of Tony's perspective seemed a bit shallow.
All in all, I enjoyed it. -
The Iron Man movies are fun because of Robert Downey, Jr. He’s a charismatic actor who’s turned Tony Stark into a swishy disco playboy. Downey’s patter is (more or less) retained in this Iron Man 2 novelization, although you get a sense that the author is working from a preliminary script that was later rewritten by script doctors, ad-libbed by actors and edited in the studio. That’s good news for the movie audience, but bad news for the novel reader.
This time around, the villain is a guy named Ivan Vanko. He doesn’t get tagged with his snappy superhero name Whiplash until page 215. Consequently the author sticks him with a handful of unimaginative nicknames (Whip Guy (I’m not kidding) being the most popular). Interestingly (or not), Vanko is more compelling as a sad Soviet sociopath bent on revenge, and less so as a super villain.
Also in the mix is Natasha Romanoff (never explicitly identified as the Black Widow), an up-and-coming agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. If I remember correctly, in the comic books she was a super-athletic, high-tech spy from Russia. In this novel she’s Russian, but she’s just a sexy lady with a funny accent. It might have been interesting for Romanoff and Vanko to have one scene together to explore their individual (yet shared) cultural identity. But no such luck. The two never meet. Instead, Romanoff breaks into Vanko’s messy and abandoned laboratory, takes one look around, and dismisses him as a tragic doomed hero. “How very Russian,” she concludes.
It’s hard to fault the novel for the movie’s failings. But it’s easy to see where the author stumbles in his adaptation. When Iron Man and Whiplash clash for the first time in Monaco, the writing doesn’t service the events as they happen (that whole football/briefcase thing really didn’t work at all). And later, during the final explosive scene, the pacing seems rushed. All things considered, this is probably not the best book Alexander Irving has ever written. But that’s okay. Iron Man 2 is probably not the best Iron Man movie ever made, either. -
Excerpt:
"I am Iron Man." With those words, billionaire industrialist Tony Stark revealed his secret identity. Now a famous high-tech superhero, he uses his powers to protect mankind. Yet things are not going well for Tony Stark. The U.S. military demands control of the most powerful weapon on earth--the Iron Man suit. His beautiful new assistant has a strange, mysterious agenda while his best friend, Rhodey, has betrayed him. And Tony is hunted by a vengeful Russian criminal armed with a lethal technology that may be stronger than Tony's suit. But even as he fights his demons, the hero faces his greatest threat--one that no armor can defend against .
REVIEW:
Wow! I was really really disappointed in this book. So disappointed that i'm not even going to bother even going to see the movie. Now i'll admit that i've read more DC comics rather than Marvel, but before i read this book i did a quick overview of Iron Man from various sites. This book/movie literally seems to ruin his character. In the comic Tony Stark would not have given away his identity to the world a mere six months after becoming Iron Man. He does this later during the civil war in the comics. That's years! after he becomes Iron Man. Ivan Vanko was a bit of a Joker wannabe to me. Actually i wouldn't even put him in the same category. He was a wannabe villain. The whole story was boring and i ended up having to force myself to read the rest. Definitely a flop to me. -
The editing in this book was horrendous. There are quite a number of inconsistencies that crop up throughout the story. Names and dates were swapped out, such as Ivan being referred to as Anton once or twice, and the author references the giant Arc Reactor (from the first movie) blowing up two years ago (incorrect) a few times, and then again mentions that it blew up six months ago (correct).
Also, its pretty obvious the author wasn't working with the final draft of the screenplay. The differences between this book and the movie it's based on are a lot more vast than the differences between the first Iron Man novelization and movie.
The POV and scene changes are also kind of shifty sometimes and, unlike the first Iron Man book (which I should point out was written by a different author), it's harder to understand whats going on sometimes. Or maybe that's my fault for trying to speed-read this one.
All in all, it's not the most horrible novelization out there. Read it if you're a fan of Iron Man, but make sure you watch the movie FIRST. I get the feeling that if I had read this without having seen the movie first, I would have been confused as hell.
2.5 out of 5. -
It was a mistake for me to enter the draw for this book. I should know better. I think the thought process was a combination of 'Hey, I liked Iron Man' and 'Well, I'll never win anyway'. Well, I did win, but had I been thinking I would have known that 'Hey I liked this movie' in no way means I might like the novel based on the screenplay of the sequel.
I don't envy Mr. Irvine's job in having to write a novel based on a movie and as far as adaptations of that type go I'm sure he did a fine job, but I'm not going to be able to finish this book. The PoV was distracting, I thought it was wordy and repetitive.... I'm not the right audience for it and will stick with the movie.
The mistake here was mine in entering the giveaway so I'm not going to pick how many stars I want to give it. That wouldn't be fair all things considered. I'm also willing to give my copy of the book to someone who thinks they might be a more appropriate audience for it. Message me privately if that person is you. -
Didn't really care for this book. I got it as part of the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway. I am a big Marvel Comics fan and thought when I put my name in for a copy that this would be a good sequel to the first movie and might actually be good.
My problem with this book was that there were references to action that had happen earlier in the book that either I completely forgot about or else was never in the book to start with. How can Natalie have bested Happy in the ring and I not remember it???
The action scenes left something to be desired. It was almost as if the author was trying to put only just enough into the story to keep you reading but not really make you feel like you were actually there watching what was going on. Reminds me of a bad newspaper story that left the best parts out. -
The first "Iron Man" movie got a novelization by Peter David.
This time around, it's Alexander Irvine putting pen to the sequel and, quite frankly, not bringing a lot to the table.
Irvine does well enough in translating most of the script to the printed page but where David could relate action sequences in ways that it was easy for the reader to visualize, Irvine doesn't quite have the same knack. The initial battle with Whiplash and later confrontations become confused and scattered a bit, almost as if Irvine had a script that said "Cool action will occur here" and was forced to create the action sequences from that.
Also missing are the trademark David touches like shout-outs to other comic book continuity points and a bit of character depth.
It's not a bad book and the movie itself will be fine. As an adaptation, it's a bit lacking and disappointing. -
I like reading the novelization of movies that I enjoy, I like getting that litle bit of extra. A bit more character insight and scene depth. This book fell a bit short of that, in fact was a bit of a disappointment. Pepper is a strong character in the movies and in the comics, the novelization turns her into a whiney, ineffective, spineless git. And it invalidates the redemption of Tony Stark. While he is concerned about dying there is none of the 'looking to the future' that was displayed in the movie. I found this hurtful and sad, it took away some of the best qualities of the evolution of the character and made his experiences meaningless. Black Widow's character description is physically wrong and she is made to look uncertain and as nothing more than a lapdog for a flaky Nick Fury. It was sad and a little offensive to the Marvel Universe to shallow the characters this badly.
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Won this in the first reads giveaway. This author had a very tough task. Most movies are based on books and the books are always better. This book was based on a movie. I actually saw the movie while in the middle of reading this book and you can tell the author had an early version of the script because some of the scenes were edited out of the movie. (They were in the commercials though.) I thought he did a good job. The book and the movie are both very good, but when you have them together you find that they compliment each other very well. The book gives you the mental insight into the situations and the movie gives you the visuals that you need in the fight scenes. It worked out well for me. I would recommend it to just about everyone. Good fun.
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In the first Iron Man, Tony Stark admits to the world that he is in fact the hero everyone has been talking about. The United States military wants to get their hands on the Iron Man suit and use it as a weapon. When a ruthless killer comes after Tony, he soon realizes that his suit may not be the most powerful weapon after all. Can he save people from the mass destruction his enemy is ready to unleash on the world or will it be all he can do to make it out himself?
I love superheros and I love books, so this was right up my alley. I love the good versus evil plot that keeps you guessing with each new development. Four stars. -
I am biologically incapable of passing up spoilers, and I always read superhero movie novelizations before I see the movie because of this.
This wasn't such a great novelization- Irvine does a great job with the characterization, but he's lousy at writing action sequences, and this is a story with many action sequences.
I also got the sense that the author was writing from an unfinished draft of the movie, because there are places that the story seems to shift around like an unfinished shifty thing.
All in all, a very fast read, though. -
Iron Man 2
Alexander Irvine
Ever though of being a superhero and saving lives of millions without using any specific super powers? Tony Stark had that dream and so did his father, who were both passionate about science and thought that technology and science could create a brighter future for the society.
As Iron Man's Identity gets revealed by the media, more trouble and wars had yet to come.
Tony had viewed as a superhero who was able to do anything to save his home town and he just felt too comfortable with his armor creations. -
This book was everything I was hoping it would be. Action from beginning to end, and a glimmer of romance between Pepper Potts and Tony Stark. Maybe that will come in the third installment.
Really well-written, and easy to get through. Though lots of scientific lingo to get through.
Still was a fantastic story, that I now can't wait to see the film!
On my recommendation list, if you saw or read the first one. -
Lebih suka novel Iron Man pertama hasil adaptasi Peter David. Dan lebih suka versi filmnya, karena improvisasi cerita, dialog, dan aksi yang lebih menarik dari naskah yang diadaptasi jadi novel kedua ini (mungkin ini baru naskah draft pertama, barangkali?).
And you know what, Ex-wife-nya Justin Hammer berjasa besar di ending novel ini, padahal aksi senjata teknologi mutakhir Hammer Industries ini di filmnya bikin aku ngakak abis. -
Started strong, ended less so.
Strong suit: Focused attention and insight into the mindsets of the protagonist and antagonist.
Weak suit: Poorly edited and seemingly rushed. Too much thrown away. -
This was TERRIBLE, okay, but the dialogue (which was taken from the script, which was basically written by J-Fav and RDJ and Theroux sitting around being drunk/high fanboys) is pretty great in places! ...yeah, that's all I've got for this one. Damn my obsessions.
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Definitely action packed. This was a pretty good read . . . I just hope the movie as done as well. They introduce or continue with a large number of charters, so it will be interesting to see where Marvel take their stories from here.
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I won this on first reads, can't wait to get it in the mail!
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If you like comic books this is the book for you! I won this from Goodreads and that is the reason I read it.
