Continuity mistake: When Tony is shackled to the platform, the distance between the top of his head and the top of the platform, and his feet from the floor vary throughout the scene. (00:18:19 - 00:18:52)
Continuity mistake: When Tony is asking his father if he remembers anything about Nick Fury, he leans up against a control panel, there is a large monitor behind him, and he is standing with his left profile to his father. When the shot changes, it is now a bare wall behind Tony, and he is directly facing his father. A couple of shots later, Tony is suddenly standing several feet away from his father, nowhere near the control panel. (00:10:41)
Continuity mistake: When the reporter is talking about Walter Stark being rushed to the hospital, the emergency vehicle behind her changes in appearance when the shot changes. (00:08:09)
Cell of Iron - S2-E3
Revealing mistake: When Iron Man is flying towards Star Well as it is hurtling towards Earth after clearing out Sunturion, you can see the animators didn't depict it actually moving towards Earth, it is motionless. (00:19:09)
Cell of Iron - S2-E3
Factual error: When Iron Man is floating away from the asteroid after his thrusters and repulsors have malfunctioned, he somehow comes to a dead stop in the vacuum of space. (00:07:27)
Cell of Iron - S2-E3
Continuity mistake: When Dum Dum Dugan is holding up the documents for Iron Man to see, his right hand is grasping them by the top-center. When the shot changes to the documents reflected in Iron Man's helmet, Dugan's hand is missing from the reflection. The words on the document are also gibberish. (00:03:12)
Continuity mistake: When Rhodey is saying that A.I.M. has dispatched four choppers after them, Nick Fury is standing directly next to him. When the shot changes, Fury has moved away several feet. (00:02:11)
Cell of Iron - S2-E3
Factual error: When Mandarin is in the Himalayas looking for one of his missing rings in a bird's nest, he ends up getting attacked by a bald eagle. There are no bald eagles in the Himalayas or anywhere in Asia for that matter. They are only found in North America.
Cell of Iron - S2-E3
Other mistake: When Iron Man enters the spaceship through the airlock, he lands in front of the airlock door. When the airlock closes, it somehow does so in front of him, even though it should be behind him. (00:09:00)
Cell of Iron - S2-E3
Continuity mistake: When Mandarin's hands first appear at the top of the cliff, he's not wearing any rings. A few shots later, he is suddenly wearing a ring on his right-hand ring finger. The ring then alternates between being on his finger and off for the remainder of the scene. (00:20:35)
Cell of Iron - S2-E3
Factual error: When Iron Man is talking about what Arthur Dearborn's gift to mankind was, the Statue of Liberty is incorrectly depicted with its left arm holding the tablet at nearly shoulder level. In real life, the tablet is held at a lower angle. (00:20:17)
Cell of Iron - S2-E3
Factual error: When Iron Man lands near Liberty Island, you can see the Statue of Liberty has its back towards the Manhattan skyline, including the Twin Towers. In real life, the Manhattan skyline is more to the statue's left, and New Jersey is behind the statue. (00:20:10)
Cell of Iron - S2-E3
Factual error: When Iron Man is asking H.O.M.E.R. to calculate where on Earth Star Well will crash, H.O.M.E.R. says it will be 25°60'00"N 80°12'00"W, which Iron Man's computer indicates to be New York City. Those coordinates are actually for Hollywood, Florida, just north of Miami. (00:18:31)
Cell of Iron - S2-E3
Continuity mistake: When Iron Man picks up Arthur Dearborn by his collar, the left side of Dearborn's head is just outside the spotlight. When the shot changes, his entire head is in the spotlight. (00:10:54)
Cell of Iron - S2-E3
Continuity mistake: When Dum Dum Dugan is about to stand up and get in Iron Man's face, the control panel in front of him goes all the way up to his chest, whereas it only went as high as the middle of his stomach in all previous shots. (00:05:13 - 00:05:55)
Cell of Iron - S2-E3
Continuity mistake: When Dum Dum Dugan is showing Iron Man the footage of the school being set on fire, he sets his mug of coffee down on the control panel. A couple of shots later, the mug has disappeared. (00:05:14)
Continuity mistake: When Tony is standing over an unconscious Rhodey, his shirt has no pocket. After he sits down, a pocket has appeared on his shirt. (00:05:09)
Continuity mistake: When Rhodey knocks Tony down, Rhodey's belt buckle is circular. When Rhodey is picking Tony back up, his belt buckle is now square-shaped. (00:19:29)
Continuity mistake: When Rhodey knocks Tony to the floor for faking his death, the top of Rhodey's pants are visible above his belt. When he leans over, the top of his pants disappear. (00:19:29)
Revealing mistake: When MODOK is fleeing after the dragons have been defeated, the edge of an animation cel is visible on the right side of the screen. (00:19:13)
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 ★