The S2 theme (as well as the entire season itself) was a huge improvement after S1, which was a bit too goth and depressing. And you have to admit, that had one of the stupidest superhero change sequences ever. At first, I thought cutting out the majority of the characters would be a mistake, but it actually improved the Iron Man storyline since it focused on the I-Man himself. He was never really much of a team player to begin with. If this was Marvel's version of the SuperFriends, it was pretty much a weak effort. While the other heroes of the former Iron Team did appear, it was only for about an episode or two. And it was nice to see a guest appearance by the Hulk. Most of the S1 villains were removed as well which wasn't a bad move either considering most of the episodes had scenes that focused on Mandarin getting his rings back after losing them in the season premiere as he tries to reclaim his lost power, eventually becoming a threat to Iron Man again in the final episodes. This series and '90s Fantastic Four were much better series in their second seasons after big disappointing first seasons.
