With the world now knowing of his double life as the armoured Iron Man, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is being pressured by the US Government, the media and the public to give up the suits technology to the military. He also faces a new threat in Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), a brilliant Russian criminal who adapts the Iron Man technology to become Whiplash. With rival weapons manufacturer Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) also creating problems, Stark is in need of all the help he can get, forcing him to consider the persistent recruitment attempts from S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and his once reluctant best friend, Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle), to join forces and become Iron Man’s partner: War Machine. Also starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson.