TRANS-SCRIBE: Marvel Studios’ The Infinity Saga – Iron Man 2: The Art of the Movie

'The 2nd of the 24 Marvel Cinematic Universe Infinity Saga film titles being published as a complete set. Behind every great Iron Man stands a dedicated group of artists – and now, their secrets are revealed. In The Art of Iron Man 2, you’ll find everything from preliminary sketches to fully rendered 3-D images; storyboards to intricate set designs; and all the heroes, villains and technology you’ve ever imagined! All of Iron Man’s new armors, all of Whiplash’s weapons, Tony Stark’s lab and more are profiled with art and commentary from creators (including comic book fan-favorite Adi Granov).'

Titan Books have been delving into the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the most ambitious film universe ever put to screen, going behind the scenes to look at the art of each of the twenty odd films of the firs three phases that make up the ‘Infinity Saga’. The series began with the first film to be released, Iron Man, but rather than moving onto the next film in the series, The Incredible Hulk, the next release in this stunning set of art books is Iron Man 2.

The book opens talking about the first film and the success that it brought with it. It makes a very good point that a lot of people who grew up watching the MCU, or gained their knowledge of Marvel Comics from the films, often forget: there was a time where no one knew who Iron Man was.

Yes, he’s been in comics since the 1960s, and was a founding member of The Avengers, but he was always something of a B-list hero at best. He was a character who did some cool stuff every now and then, but most comic fans didn’t think much of him. Iron Man changed that, it made the character a global icon, and the second film suddenly found itself in the spotlight, having to prove that the first movie wasn’t just a one off, but that the MCU and Iron Man could make a sequel actually work.

As with the film, the book opens on Stark’s latest armour, the Mark IV, and shows off the opening scene of the movie where he drops out of a plane into the middle of the Stark Expo in a stunt designed to showcase how cool the man inside the suit is. But no good Iron Man movie relies only on the one armour, and the first chapter quickly delves into the new looks for the movie, including the fantastically realised Briefcase Armour.

Just like in the first volume, the book features stunning design work that shows off the amazing talent behind the scenes of the film who spent hours crafting and adapting the comics to the big screen. A good portion of the first chapter is given over to this one design, one of the most complicated Iron Man ever wears, and seeing the various options the filmmakers had, and the inner workings that had to be figured out before it hit the screen is eye opening and informative.

One of the things that you notice about the new armour designs is that it stays true to what the first film established, and the wild designs of the first book aren’t really found here, at least not for Iron Man. The second chapter dives into the film’s newest hero, War Machine, and it’s clear that the design team had a lot of fun taking the existing Iron Man look and adding to it, especially in developing the various weapons and gadgets that the suit would contain. But, Rhodey isn’t the only new hero in the film, and we also get designs for the debut of Black Widow, including a belt that was made up that matched her iconic comic look that is so gorgeous I’m frankly angry it never made it into the film.

The best designs in the book have to go to the film’s enemies, however. Whiplash is interesting, but the amount of artwork for the other mech suits being made around the world, and the Hammer Drones are fantastic to look at, and will appeal to any mecha fans out there. The film featured a variety of drones, most of which end up flying around the screen pretty fast, so getting the chance to just sit and pore over the designs is a genuine delight, and ended up with me really wanting to go back and watch the film again.

As with the first volume, the book doesn’t just cover character designs, but goes into the sets and locations of the film. The most impressive here are the parts that deal with the Stark Expo and its creation, including model work and mock-ups for both versions set in the past and the modern day. There’s also a segment of the book that takes a look at the storyboard work for some of the action set pieces that film fans will enjoy.

Two volumes into the series it’s clear that this art book set is going to be amazing to read through, and whether the next volume continues its dive into the world of Iron Man, or takes a look at another corner of the MCU, it’s going to be a book that I eagerly await getting hold of.