O, frabjous day! A new Ironman 2 trailer has surfaced on Apple. Unfortunately, there is no youtube-ified version yet, so you'll have to be brave and follow the link away from FFWD. I know you can do it. I believe in you. 

Your firm resolve will be rewarded, too. There's footage of War Machine, Whiplash, Nick Fury and what appears to be Black Widow along with some clips of the action and Robert Downey Jr. obviously having a ball with the role (again). Yus. 

There were a couple things that penetrated my optimistic disposition, however: 

1) Racecar driving. I understand that Tony Stark is the kind of character who would (and could) race Formula 1 cars for fun, but that doesn't do much to allay my concerns of such a scene representing the bloated, "kitchen sink" approach that ruins so many blockbuster sequels. The first Ironman's strength was it's lean, efficient structure, and nothing ruins that faster than pointless, superfluous action. Fingers crossed.

2) Pepper and Tony are together. Again, I thought it was one of the first film's stronger choices teasing the romantic subplot rather than exploiting it. Not that I would want to see that ground retread, but having the two of them in a relationship suggests that either a) Tony's changed, which is no fun, b) Pepper isn't as strong a character as she was in the first film or c) the writers didn't realize what made the original relationship cool. I hope there's a "d)" I'm missing. 

3) Whiplash's (Mickey Rourke) wall of magazine covers and newspaper articles featuring Tony Stark. Sure, it's a nice visual shorthand for "obsession," but man, what a cliche.