The Invincible Iron Man

**The Invincible Iron Man** is the second episode of the first season of NBC's *Iron Man*. It premiered on October 3, 2011. It was directed by Roxann Dawson and written by Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen. It was also the second episode of *Iron Man* overall.

## Synopsis

Tony tries to find the mysterious man who has gotten the better suit of armor. Pepper and Happy try to find a place to live in together. Rhodey investigates the Iron Man. Olivia realizes something is going on with her brother. In flashbacks, Tony meets Ho Yinsen.

## Plot

### Flashbacks

Tony lies barely holding consciousness on the floor of the prison Raza and his organization is keeping him in. Fellow prisoner, Ho Yinsen, looks over him and tries to help him. However, Tony falls unconscious. Raza tortures Yinsen for helping Stark, with his screams awakening Tony. Tony tries to save his new friend but is shot just near the heart. Raza kills the insurgent that nearly killed Tony, who survives due to Yinsen's medical training. However, Yinsen discovers the shrapnel that exploded from Raza's attack closing in on Tony's heart, which could mean life or death.

### Present Day

Tony has been going around as Iron Man for a week now. However, suddenly he discovers a man in a better, more improved version of his Iron Man suit. The two iron men fight and Tony is defeated. He goes to a hospital and lies to the doctors there that he was in a motorcycle crash. Rhodey tries to meet with the Iron Man but can never get a chance. He decides to get the help of reporter Christine Everhart to investigate the Iron Man. The two work together and almost get an interview with the superhero but he is forced to save an elderly woman and flies off. Pepper and Happy try to find a place to live in together, but neither can agree on a place. Finally, the two decide to stay seperately for now, until Happy surprises Pepper by moving all his things into her place. However, this secretly angers Pepper, who wanted space. Olivia worries about Tony in the hospital and begins to realize something is going on with him that he isn't telling her. Olivia goes to Jarvis for help, but Tony refuses to tell either of them. Christine digs into Iron Man's known appearances and realizes Tony is the Iron Man. However, just as she goes to confront him, the man in the other suit appears and kills her, saying no one can know Tony's secret yet. Iron Man fights the man in the other suit but is beaten repeatedly and Tony is left, bloodied, in his suit. Tony takes a risky move and calls Rhodey for help.

## Cast

### Starring

* Rupert Friend as Tony Stark/Iron Man
* Kate McKinnon as Pepper Potts
* Edi Gathegi as James Rhodes
* Sarah Hyland as Olivia Stark
* Maxwell Caulfield as Edwin Jarvis
* Dave Legeno as Obadiah Stane

### Guest Starring

* Jason Ritter as Happy Hogan
* Naveen Andrews as Ho Yinsen
* Oded Fehr as Raza Pike
* Anna Kendrick as Christine Everhart

## Trivia

* This episode takes place on January 29 and 30 and October 3.
* This episode achieved 14.00 million U.S. live viewers.
* The episode received generally good reviews. It scored 69% on Rotten Tomatoes, a 77 out of 100 on Metacritic, and an 8/10 on IGN.
* This episode is rated TV-14 for V.