Comic-Con Gets Iron Manned

The first "Iron Man" film began its rise to fame at Comic-Con, so it's only fitting that the sequel, Iron Man 2, begin its march towards next summer's box office at this year's Comic-Con.

To the fans' delight, director Jon Favreau debuted new footage from the film that introduced new characters, including Nick Fury, Black Widow, Justin Hammer, Ivan Vanko and War Machine, Mercury News reports.

According to EW.com, the stars of the film, Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Sam Rockwell (Justin Hammer), Don Cheadle (Jim Rhodes) and Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), joined Favreau onstage to discuss the upcoming film with the fans.

Mercury News reports that the stars told the audience that Johansson trained in martial arts in order to perform her own stunts and that Mickey Rourke, who plays Ivan Vanko, spent time in a Russian prison to prepare for his role. This information caused Downey Jr. to remark: "I thought I was eccentric. He's something else."

Iron Man 2 is due in theatres in May 2010.