Continuity mistake: When Justin Hammer is telling Iron Man why he went after Tony Stark, he is standing in front of the hole in the wall. A couple of shots later, he is suddenly standing in front of a pristine wall with an intercom on it. (00:02:35)
Continuity mistake: When Tony is working on repairing the torso piece of his armor, it is only the chest. After H.O.M.E.R. tells him he is at risk of paralysis, the piece of armor has the back section attached to it as well. (00:03:26)
Continuity mistake: When Nick Fury is saying Tony is always up to something new, his toothpick is hanging out of the right side of his mouth. When the shot changes, it is hanging out of the left side. (00:04:53)
Continuity mistake: When Tony sits down after greeting Nick Fury, a glass of water is on the table next to him. When the shot changes, a file folder has instantly appeared next to the glass. (00:04:59)
Continuity mistake: When Nick Fury sits down on the table, the clip on the file folder is pointed towards Fury. When the shot changes, it is pointed away from him. (00:05:01)
Continuity mistake: When Nick Fury picks up the file folder, you can see both sides if the folder are blank. A couple of shots later, a label reading "Top Secret" has appeared on the side facing Fury. (00:05:07)
Continuity mistake: When Nick Fury picks up the file folder, the folder is brown and the "Top Secret" label is yellow, with the word "Top" being a in a solid black and bold font and aligned to the left so that the "T" in "Top" is directly above the "S" in "Secret." When Tony is telling Fury all the things Justin Hammer has done to him, the folder is now the same yellow color as the label, the word "Top" is written in block lettering, and it is centered above the word "Secret." (00:05:10)
Continuity mistake: When Tony is telling Nick Fury that Justin Hammer is gunning for him, he is directly facing Fury. When the shot changes, Tony has suddenly rotated in his chair 90° clockwise. (00:05:12)
Continuity mistake: When the four captains of industry are climbing the cliff and nearing the top, they are more or less the same distance apart from each other. When the shot changes to them reaching the top, the one on the far left in the previous shot is now suddenly several feet away from the man that was next to him. (00:06:32)
Continuity mistake: When the four captains of industry have reached the top of the cliff, they are standing next to each other. When the shot changes, two of them are suddenly standing in front of the other two. When the shot changes again to Fin Fang Foom's foot slamming down in front of them, they are once again standing next to each other. (00:06:36)
Continuity mistake: When Tony Stark is talking to the reporters before boarding his jet, the interior side of the door is gray. Once he boards the jet and seals the door shut, the interior is now red. (00:06:48)
Continuity mistake: When Tony is talking to the press before boarding his jet, the handle to seal the door shut is missing in the wide shot. (00:06:48)
Continuity mistake: When Tony Stark is departing in his private jet, you can see in the wide shot that most of the press is standing on the left side of the stairway, with only a couple on the ride side. When the shot changes, several reporters are now on the right side. (00:06:48)
Continuity mistake: When Tony is telling the reporter that he has personal business in China, none of the reporters are standing within an arm's reach of him. When the shot changes to Blizzard and Hypnotia watching the report on TV, he suddenly has four microphones in front of his face. (00:06:51)
Continuity mistake: When Tony is talking to reporters before boarding his jet, the handle of the door is at a horizontal angle. When the shot changes, the handle has rotated counter-clockwise roughly 45°. When he boards the jet and begins to rotate the handle, it is now back to being at almost the original horizontal angle, just tilted down on the right side slightly. The entire mechanism also moves closer to the window. (00:06:58)
Character mistake: When Tony Stark is boarding his private jet, one of the reporters calls him "Mr. Star." (00:07:04)
Other mistake: When Tony is sealing the door to his jet shut, he rotates the handle in a full circle, and Rhodey does the same thing, but in the opposite direction when he exits the jet. When Tony is sealing the door back shut after Rhodey leaves, he only rotates the handle about 45°. (00:07:07 - 00:08:00)
Continuity mistake: When Rhodey surprises Tony in his private jet after he seals the door shut, Tony is positioned perpendicular to the aisle and facing the opposite side of the jet. When the shot changes, Tony is suddenly standing directly in the aisle and facing the back of the jet. (00:07:08)
Continuity mistake: When Tony's jet sinks to the ocean floor, it is still intact. When War Machine is approaching it, it is suddenly completely split in half, with the front half positioned at a 90° angle respective to the back half. (00:09:23)
Continuity mistake: When War Machine is surveying the wreckage of Tony's jet, he finds one of Iron Man's gauntlets on the floor of the jet, with the palm facing up. When the shot changes, the gauntlet has rotated so that the outside of the thumb is facing up, and is also now on the ocean floor instead of the jet floor. (00:09:39)
Answer: Gleaned from the Internet: Some critics criticized the premise of so many one-off battles that were introduced and concluded within one or two episodes. Others felt the first-season plot lines were overly simplistic and never progressed or developed through the season. Also, the rivalry between Iron Man and the Mandarin also failed to capture viewer's attention.
raywest ★