Fanboy First Impressions Of Iron Man 2

Very mild spoilers below.

Where does Iron Man 2 rank among the other "Modern Marvel Movies" (defined as everything post-Bryan Singer’s first X-Men film)?  Is Iron Man 2 better than Spider-Man 2? Or is it on par with Man-Thing?

There is a direct correlation between films that pay tribute to the 616-Universe in the form of fan service and where I rank it among the pantheon of "Modern Marvel Movies".  The first Iron Man serviced this fan well.  I can easily imagine Faverau’s Tony Stark heading into outer space to fight the Kree-Skrull War or traveling back in time to battle Dr. Doom in King Arthur’s court.  When RDJ utters “I am Iron Man” to me he’s saying “I’m also an Avenger, a West Coast Avenger and founder of the Illuminati.” 

Iron Man 2 was carefully crafted to be accessible for folks whose only experience with the Armored Avenger is the first Iron Man movie. But the moments that elevate Iron Man 2 for me are the fanboy handjobs. Not to spoil anything, but...NICK FURY!  CAPTAIN AMERICA!  THOR!  QUINJETS!  EVEN THE HULK!

Is Iron Man 2 the best "Modern Marvel Movie"?  No.  But it is everything I needed it to be. The next few years are going to be dominated by Iron Man and his teamates, culminating with Joss Whedon’s Avengers movie. “Culminating” might not be the right word, because the first Avengers movie will be just the beginning. There are seventy five years of Marvel mythos to draw from, and as long as the "Modern Marvel Movies" honor the 616-Universe, we fans are in for the ride of our lives.

I’m still debating where Iron Man 2 fits in the list, though. Maybe you can help me decide?