We’re only three movies into the marvel cinematic universe (MCU) and we hit our first sequel. Iron Man 2 (2010). We’ve already painted Iron Man so we can’t repaint him. It would be an excellent opportunity to paint Warmachine if he had a miniature.
Lucky for us there’s another new character in this movie, Black Widow, who comes in the starter box so she doesn’t even cost any more money.
The Model
The sculpt for Black Widow is pretty good but not amazing. She’s just sort of standing there shooting her wrist gun. Since she’s such an acrobat I could have seen her jumping off of a wall or something like that. 
One the plus side this is the first time I really noticed the slightly larger scale of miniatures in Marvel Crisis Protocol. I’m used to 40k where you have 7 foot tall Space Marines who are the same size as a 5 foot tall Black Widow.
Since the scale is slightly larger that gives you much more area to paint and greater control over what you paint and how you paint it. Things like eyes, lips, and other details should be much easier to paint than games that use that slightly smaller scale.
Many years ago I painted up a Deathwatch space marine chapter and I tried extreme highlighting which works good for sharp corners. However in this case there aren’t a ton of sharp edges, and black is a notoriously challenging color to paint so I tried a subtle off black for her suit.
Before any of this I tried the Black Templar Contrast paint for the suit and didn’t love it. So I had to repaint the entire suit after I started highlighting. I’ve had a few misses with contrast paints so far. Hopefully I can find a mini that looks really good with contrast.
This model is almost entirely a black suit, a little skin, and her red hair. So get a black and red technique you like and you’ll be good to go.
Paint Scheme
Leather
Contrast Black Templar(realized I didn’t like this and mostly painted over it)- Base Abbadon Black
- 50/50 mix Kantor Blue / Eshin Grey
- 50/50 mix Altdorf Guard Blue / Eshin Grey
Hair
- Contrast Blood Angel’s Red
- Layer Wazdakka Red
- Layer Evil Sunz Scarlet
- Highlight Wildrider Red
Brown leather
- Contrast Gore-Grunta Fur (found out it was too light and too similar to the gold)
- Contrast Wyldwood
Paints for the base
- Base Dawnstone
- Wash Agrax Earthshade in the cracks
- Dry brush Administratum grey
The Movie
After painting the model I rewatched the movie and I was excited to do so… then I actually watched the movie. I started off pretty jazzed and got more and more disappointed as the movie went on.
Good Things in Iron Man 2
But let’s start with the good stuff. Iron Man gets cooler with each movie. In this movie we see “the football” 
which is supposed to be a bit like the nuclear football the president’s detail carries. Tony Stark also shows off his technical prowess by hacking the TV screens in a senate hearing.
He’s still classic Tony Stark by making fun of Justin Hammer – his rival. He’s played by Sam Rockwell who does a fantastic job. And I wish he was the main rival.
One of the best parts was introducing the audience to Black Widow. She fully epitomizes the femme fatale being both seductive and incredibly competent at spying.
Since Black Widow wasn’t a super well known character outside of comics she took many people by surprise. One minute you think she’s a lawsuit waiting to happen and the next she’s in head to toe leather flipping and twisting.
Bad Things in Iron Man 2
Right off the bat I was super unimpressed with the villain. Apparently he felt his dad was betrayed by Tony Stark’s dad and decided he wanted to exact revenge on Tony?
The villains get so much richer as the movies progress. But this was by far one of the least interesting villains.
The movie is 124 minutes long and it feels ~20-30 minutes too long. The story meanders and goes all over the place (Why are we in Monaco now? What is this Stark expo?). I understand they had to introduce two minor characters (Warmachine & Black Widow) so they may have added some minutes for these characters to make them make sense later in the series.
The story didn’t cover any new ground. Here’s a villain here’s a hero now watch them fight. Despite not covering new ground there was a lot going on. The US military wants his suits, he’s getting poisoned by his chest piece, and his company is in turmoil.
My Favorite MCU Movies (so far)
- Iron Man
- Iron Man 2
- The Hulk
Iron Man 2 is fine. But it’s just a generic action movie. The villain is super boring. Tony Stark is funny but his humor can’t make up for the rest of the movie. And it was too long for what it is. So far Iron Man 1 is my favorite.
The Comics
Since I was painting Black Widow I decided to read one of her comics. I read Black Widow SHIELDS Most Wanted.
This story went into her background being raised in the “Red Room” as a spy from childhood. It was pretty cool to see her doing her spy thing. Most MCU movies and comics are all about fighting the bad guy. And this felt a little like a Bourne movie.
This comic series was about her infiltrating the old Red Room and trying to prevent someone from blackmailing her. And we even get to meet someone who wants to be the new Black Widow.
Overall it was good but I didn’t love it. I think this will be a good series but it didn’t feel complete. If you do read this series make sure to get the sequels so you can see the story unfold.
Wrap Up
The movie is lacking. Honestly the best part is seeing Black Widow for the first time.
The comic was pretty good. It goes into her troubled past and shows off her spy skills in a way the movies don’t achieve.
And from what I can tell Black Widow in Marvel Crisis Protocol plays like she should. She’s an objective runner who has an ability called Stealth so you can’t see her from certain distances.
They did a good job introducing the character and I have to say I’m excited for the Black Widow movie (which is postponed until November of this year).
The post Iron Man 2 (2010) appeared first on Patricks 40k Hobby.