Marvel Reveals New Looks at Iron Man 2's Deadly Hammer Drones

By Jennifer McDonough Posted:
Hammer drones, Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark

As Ivan Vanko said in 2010's Iron Man 2 , "Drone better." This quote was in response to smarmy weapons manufacturer Justin Hammer's request for Vanko to create a fleet of Iron Man copies for the U.S. military.

Vanko, who was the son of Howard Stark's former business partner Anton Vanko, was out for revenge on Tony Stark for what he saw as the crimes of his father.

The result was an attack on the Stark Industries Expo at the end of the film. Dozens of remotely piloted, robotic drones were hacked by Ivan Vanko and unleashed upon the Expo causing great destruction. Eventually , the chaos was put to a stop by the efforts of Iron Man and War Machine and Vanko died in the process.

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The Wakanda Files , a new MCU tie-in book by Troy Benjamin gives details on a ton of Marvel movie technology which includes the Hammer Industries' drones developed for the United States Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. These drones were intended to assist human soldiers on the battlefield and perhaps eventually replace them.

A memo from Justin Hammer notes that "unmanned and automated systems are the wave of the future" and that "One general can command his troops with the touch of a button from the safety of his house."

First off, there's the Army drone, boasting feet that are "capable of setting up reinforcement tripods to fire anti-aircraft flak." You can see several of them do just that in Iron Man 2 . Hammer also brags that these units can " withstand a barrage of BGM-71 missiles."

Source: The Wakanda Files. Publish: Epic Ink

Next up, the Air Force model which was constructed for "aerodynamics and speed" and is capable of hitting Mark 1 with the safeties on.

Source: The Wakanda Files

Following that are the units made for the Marines. They boast "brute strength" and "double-plated Chobham armor... finished off with a camouflage touch."

Source: The Wakanda Files

And finally, the Navy drones are quipped with shoulder mounted "Stinger Missile" torpedo cannons like those found on battleships.

Source: The Wakanda Files

Obviously, these drones were not immune to tampering or hacking, as we saw in the climactic battle from Iron Man 2 . In fact, on the very next page of The Wakanda Files is an official statement from Stark Industries' PR department pinning the entirety of the blame for the Stark Expo attack on Justin Hammer and Ivan Vanko.

We also know from the Marvel Studios "One-Shot" short film, Al Hail the King that this entire incident lands Justin Hammer behind bars.

- About The Author: Jennifer McDonough
Jennifer McDonough has been a writer at The Direct since its 2020 launch. She is responsible for the creation of news articles and features. She also has a particular affinity for action figures and merchandise, which she revels in discussing in the articles she writes, when the situation calls for it.