First Look at Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow in ‘Iron Man 2’

Much has been said about Scarlett Johansson taking on the role of the temptress and killer Black Widow in the second installment in the “Iron Man” franchise, including that she did not have what it takes to make the part work for her. Whether that will be the case or not, only time can tell (and the May 2010 release) but, for now, fans can have a first look at Johansson in character, thanks to pre-Comic-Con issue of Entertainment Weekly.

As has already been noted on several other occasions, “Iron Man 2” means to take the beloved comic book hero to another dimension, beyond what was done in the first movie. There is also considerable pressure on producers, movie studio and all members of the cast since, unlike the case of the first “Iron Man” film, this is a much bigger project on which audiences have pinned greater expectations. With this in mind, it’s not hard to understand why many were skeptic when they first heard Johansson had been cast as the deadly Black Widow.

The first two photos released, though, seem to relieve some of that doubt. What’s more, EW has even got to speak with the cast on what fans should expect and, from what it’s saying, “Iron Man 2” will be big – that much is guaranteed. “Adding more flesh and blood to the new movie, Scarlett Johansson joined the cast as Stark’s mysterious new assistant, Natasha, who has an alter ego of her own, Black Widow. That introduction inevitably sparks romantic tension between Stark and former assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), who’s been promoted to CEO of Stark Industries. ‘The men want it to be, like, “Ooh, the girls are fighting over Tony,” but it’s not as standard as that,’ says Paltrow. There’s a weird male catfight fantasy. Downey agrees.” EW writes.

Fans must already know that, in the sequel, Stark is faced with not one, but two villains who join forces against him. One of them is Russian prisoner Vanko, who builds himself a suit just like Iron Man’s and turns into Whiplash, and who is played by “Wrestler” star Mickey Rourke. A first photo of Rourke as Whiplash was released a little over a month ago, while the actor had already spilled the beans on some details from the set, including the villain’s suit and certain plot elements.

Speaking of the expectations for “Iron Man 2,” main star Robert Downey Jr. is aware this project can only go either very well or very bad, with no middle way in between. “There are a lot more invisible eyes on us now. People are going to be more critical. That’s their prerogative… In a way, there’s no way to win, except to win. Big.” Downey Jr. says for the current issue of EW.