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)
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 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 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)
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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)
The Armor Wars: Part 2 - S2-E9
Continuity mistake: When Nick Fury is overseeing the cleanup of Iron Man's attack on Firepower, the patch on his right shoulder is purple. When he is admonishing the soldier for playing around with Iron Man's helmet, the patch is now brown. A couple of shots later, the patch is now blue. (00:10:37)
The Armor Wars: Part 2 - S2-E9
Continuity mistake: When the Mandarin is in the jewelry store at the end, he is shown as having only retrieved six of his ten power rings, with the ring in the jewelry store to be his seventh. In addition to previous episodes showing him to having already retrieved all ten rings, when he walks out of the jewelry store and places the ring he just stole on his left hand middle finger, you can see that he now has nine rings, with the thumb of his right hand being the only digit not adorned with a ring. (00:20:59)
Hands of the Mandarin: Part 1 - S2-E12
Continuity mistake: When Iron Man hits MODOK with a repulsor blast, MODOK goes somersaulting backwards. When the shot changes, MODOK is still somersaulting, but his body has flipped 180°. (00:17:56)
Hulk Buster - S2-E11
Continuity mistake: When Leader is saying "It is I who shall acquire the power of the Hulk," his mustache briefly disappears from his face. (00:18:13)
Hulk Buster - S2-E11
Continuity mistake: When Hulk is saying "No save Banner," Iron Man is wearing the left arm section if his armor, even though Hulk tore it off moments earlier and was holding it. (00:15:48)
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 ★