Sequels invariably inspire comparisons, weighing the merits of what’s flickering on the screen against the adventures that came before. This seems to be especially true for superhero sequels, maybe because there’s an echo of the comic reading experience, where every page-turning excursion into colorful, improbable feats of derring-do is completed with a silent mental debate over whether or not to follow the directive of those urgent “Next Issue” boxes and actively seek out more in around thirty days time. There’s a constant state of assessment in the process, considering all that’s come before against the promise of what’s ahead.

So why not get right to it? How does Iron Man 2 stack up against director Jon Favreau’s unlikely 2008 smash that brought the exploits of the armored avenger to the big screen?

Perhaps lacking the element of surprise, Robert Downey, Jr.’s performance as Tony Stark is slightly less effective, but the relationship between his character and Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts is smarter and zippier, actually capturing some of that screwball comedy verve that they were clearly striving for in the earlier film. The action sequences are clumsier the second time out. The seem rushed, confused, reliant on the distraction of a lot of onscreen clatter to obscure the fact that they’re not especially well thought out. In the first film there was a touch of awe when Iron Man rocketed through the air, as if Favreau was himself amazed that a man could fly. Now those scenes are just showing a means of transport. They’re about as thrilling as a subway train rushing by. The sly humor of Iron Man has been transformed into largely perfunctory comedy, necessary components for building a blockbuster. The earlier film felt like a lark, constantly reinforcing the notion that this sort of movie, above all else, is supposed to be fun. This time it’s all business. Too often that leads to it feeling overstuffed and clumsy as it bobbles several different pieces.

Following that circuit, Iron Man 2 continues narrative calisthenics to pull in other components and hint at other characters of the vast universe of Marvel’s original comics arm that will purportedly become more central in future features under their moviemaking banner. There’s a shield here and a hammer there (and a S.H.I.E.L.D. here and a Hammer there) and plenty of little presents for the true believers in the audience. It’s in keeping with the strategy that lifted Marvel from an upstart nearly fifty years ago to the dominant force in the field. It’s an interesting choice, trying to craft a backstory that cuts across multiple films featuring a variety of characters, but that may be too ambitious considering that the creative forces behind these films haven’t yet mastered making a single movie satisfyingly cohesive. That may be a better place to start with this particular round of universe building.