Iron Man 2 poster...with War Machine!

[Dr Mordrid]

Ho. Lee. Crap. This is gonna be so damned cool

[Elie]

I totally agree

[Evildead666]

War Machine is his buddy in that spare suit ?

[Fat Tone]

It's gonna be a tough job matching up to the original. Same went for Batman Begins.

[Elie]

so what's the story about war machine? I never followed the Iron Man comics. Is it Tony Starks friend in the another suit helping Iron Man?

[Dr Mordrid]

James "Rhodie" Rhodes; an African-American US military officer and friend of Tony Stark who helps him out, sometimes as War Machine
and sometimes taking over as Iron Man when Tony falls off the wagon or is injured. His suit is more heavily armored and designed for all
out combat & military ops.

Tough-As-Effing-Nails

In the first film Rhodes was played by Terrence Howard, but never got a chance at a suit. In Iron Man 2 he's portrayed by
Don Cheadle (Best Actor Oscar nominee for Hotel Rwanda) and has a much larger role as War Machine. Cheadle is slated to
continue the part through the Avengers film.



Also in, Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Samuel L. Jackson, who was the model for the Ultimate series version of the character way back when)



and Whiplash (Mickey Roarke) - Ultimate version of the character, a baddie with adamantium whips)



plus a few surprises including;

Melina Vostokoff/Iron Maiden (Olivia Munn): Russian assassin who wears a skin-tight flexible metallic armor, not a suit.

(pic not from the movie, couldn't find one, but this looked good )


and enemy of -

Natalia Romanova/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson): meta-human - slowed aging, enhanced immune system and....she kicks ass

[Elie]

OY!!!!! Thanks Doc!

Can't wait to to see it!
Hope The Avengers becomes another epic.

[Dr Mordrid]

Also in what's a real sweet cast;

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man (of course)

Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer (competing industrialist)

Jon Favreau as Hogan (also directing)

Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts (Tony's gal Friday)

John Slattery (Mad Men) as Howard Stark (Tony's father)

Paul Bettany as Jarvis, the computer (voice)

Gary Shandling as Senator Stern

Stan Lee as Larry King (!?!)

[Evildead666]

Wonder why T.Howard was dropped/whatever, I actually thought he fitted the role...?

This is looking like its gonna kick the first ones ass, although I'll not be too hyped, and wait to see it first....

At least 7 months....Aw Boooo.

[Dr Mordrid]

Wonder why T.Howard was dropped/whatever, I actually thought he fitted the role...?

Because from many indications he's a world-class a-hole.

From Entertainment Weekly comes the specific reasons;

1. on set behavior

2. he was the highest paid actor in the movie, but was botching takes left and right

3. they tried to renegotiate his salary in light of how much he cost them in retakes in the first film, which is where things broke down

Once Cheadle came in they had a real pro to work with, so War Machine took on a larger role in the movie.

>
Hollywood insiders believe the exit stems from Terrence Howard's difficult behavior on the set of Iron Man. But those with intimate knowledge of the situation suggest a far more dramatic backstory: Howard was the first actor signed to the film and, on top of that, was the highest-paid. That's right: more than Gwyneth Paltrow. More than Jeff Bridges. More than Robert Downey Jr. And once the project fully came together, it was too late to renegotiate his deal. It didn't help that, according to one source, Favreau and his producers were ultimately unhappy with Howard's performance, and spent a lot of time cutting and reshooting his scenes. (Favreau could not be reached for comment, while Howard's publicist says: ''Terrence had a tremendous experience working on Iron Man.'')

As such, when Favreau and screenwriter Justin Theroux went to map out the sequel they found themselves minimizing Howard's story line. Once Marvel learned that Favreau was thinking of curtailing the role, the studio went to the actor's agents with a new and drastically reduced offer — a number that's similar to what supporting cast members were paid for the first movie. The agents, according to sources, were so taken aback by this new figure — estimated at somewhere between a 50 and 80 percent pay cut — that they questioned it. Why did they blanch? Multiple sources say that Marvel execs never told Howard's reps that they had issues with the star's on-set conduct. (Marvel would not comment for this story.)

It's unclear whether Howard's team walked away first, or if Marvel ended the discussion at that point. Either way, the studio moved quickly to secure Cheadle and the story leaked out the next morning, Oct. 14 (2008). And alas for Howard, there will be no next time.

This 2000 story from ABC News might give an insight into Howard's personality;

Actor Terrence Howard was recently seen playing a thug on the run in Big Momma's House, and now he's being accused of acting like a criminal off-screen.

Howard was released Friday after spending a night in jail for allegedly roughing up a female cabin attendant on a Cleveland-bound flight, police said. The actor could face federal charges for Thursday's incident on board a Continental Airlines flight from Toronto, where he is filming All That Glitters with singer Mariah Carey.

The flight attendant claims that Howard grabbed her wrist and barked at her to get out of his way when she warned him to remain in his seat while the "fasten seat belt" sign was on, Cleveland Police Lt. Sharon McKay said.

Howard was reportedly taking his 3-year-old daughter Heavenly to the bathroom, McKay said. Another passenger assisted the flight attendant, who was not seriously hurt, she said.

On arrival in Cleveland, Howard was charged with assault and jailed overnight, but he was released when the local prosecutor said he lacked jurisdiction. The case was turned over to the FBI, which is currently investigating the incident.

In contrast Cheadle is big into humanitarian causes, particularly the holocaust in Darfur to which he has donated thousands of hours of his own time - even passing up movies to have time for his efforts and to write a book on it, and is one of the most liked and respected actors in Hollywood.

[Dr Mordrid]

Mickey Rourke as Whiplash