War Machine Creator Describes His 'Iron Man 2' Set Visit And The Dispute He Settled While He Was There!

by Blair Marnell in Marvel, News

EDITOR'S NOTE: With "Iron Man 2" just a few months away from hitting theaters, MTV News contacted War Machine co-creator Bob Layton to discuss the character's upcoming debut on the big screen. The conversation covered a wide range of subjects that we're rolling out this week in a four-part series — continuing with today's tale of his "Iron Man 2" set visit and the disagreement he moderated while he was there.

Longtime “Iron Man” writer and artist Bob Layton is recognized as one of the most significant creators to chronicle Tony Stark’s adventures, so it's probably no surprise that he was called upon to help settle a creative disagreement between director Jon Favreau and star Robert Downey Jr. during his visit to the “Iron Man 2” set last summer.

“When I first got on the set, there was a dispute going on between Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. about [Jim Rhodes’] character,” Layton explained to MTV News. “That’s how I was introduced to them. It was like, ‘here’s the guy who helped created the character, why don’t we ask him?’"

"We got into this lively discussion in terms of how Jim Rhodes would react to a certain situation and we all came to some sort of agreement on that," he explained. "I basically acted as an arbitrator.”

“I can’t really tell you anything particular about the story,” continued Layton. “But there’s a point where Tony and Jim are in disagreement on something pretty major. They were trying to understand what Jim’s motivation would be in that situation. I was flattered that they asked me my opinion on it.”

Layton also revealed that he was present for the filming of Whiplash’s confrontation with Tony Stark on the Monte Carlo racetrack.

“At the time I was there, they were shooting the Monte Carlo scene where Mikey Rourke as Whiplash comes out on to the track and starts tearing up cars and basically Tony’s car gets destroyed,” said Layton. “It was pretty action-packed."

"We got to blow up some stuff that day and that was pretty fun, too," he added. "I got to go behind the scenes and meet the stunt people and they made me an honorary stunt man. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to do anything.”

Layton also received an exclusive look at some of the finished special effect shots for the forthcoming film.

“The guys from the special effects unit took me to their trailer and showed me some of the stuff that they were working on which just blew me away," he said. "I had lunch with the cast and crew and just had a really great time there.”

“Here’s the thing that really impressed me," he added. "I went there kind of slack-jawed and in awe of meeting Robert Downey Jr., Jon Favreau and Mickey Rourke. [But] Jon and Robert and the entire cast and crew seemed to be more fans of me than me of them.”

“They were so incredibly respectful and they had read all the comics and knew the stuff backwards and forwards. I was blown away by it," he laughed. "They treated me like I was visiting royalty. I had an absolutely tremendous time. They’ve been incredibly respectful and terrific as far as me and my contributions to the history of the character.”

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Thanks for bringing us War Machine character! =)  Conflicts give us stories!