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)
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)
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 Tony first wakes up after being knocked out by Crimson Dynamo, you can tell by the angle of the light on the ceiling and Crimson Dynamo and the clone of his father leaning over him that he is lying down. When the shot changes, he is shackled in an upright position. A couple of shots later, he is lying down again. (00:18:09)
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)
Factual error: When Iron Man and Rhodey first begin defending Stark Enterprises from A.I.M, the moon in the night sky is far too large. (00:15:34)
Continuity mistake: When Iron Man says "Stealth One out," Nick Fury has a toothpick in his mouth. When the shot changes, the toothpick is gone. (00:01:20)
Continuity mistake: When Walter Stark is first shown in the hospital bed, his pillow is brown, and looks to be made from a hard material, judging from the light reflection coming off it. When the shot changes, the pillow is beige and looks soft like a pillow should. (00:07:19)
Revealing mistake: When Tony Stark is approaching his father Walter in the hospital bed, what looks to be a hair on the animation cel appears to the left (viewer's right) of Walter's head, beginning on the pillow and extending off the bed, and then disappears after a few frames, just before Tony steps into the shot. (00:07:32)
Continuity mistake: When Howard Stark is saying he doesn't remember how he ended up being a captive of A.I.M., his head and pillow are closer to the top of the bed than they were in all previous and subsequent shots. (00:07:19 - 00:08:01)
Continuity mistake: When Tony walks in on his father talking to H.O.M.E.R, his father has a gold clip on his tie. When the shot changes, the clip is gone. (00:10:19)
Continuity mistake: When Crimson Dynamo is tossing Tony around, Tony opens up his armory by placing his hand on a biometric scanner on the right of the door. The scanner is then missing for the rest of the scene. (00:19:23)
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 ★