Iron Man #5 – Review

By: Kieron Gillen (story), Greg Land (pencils), Jay Leisten (inks), Guru EFX (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Tony hunts down the last batch of Extremis, but what happens when he discovers that it’s in the hands of someone who might actually be making good use of it?

The Review: I really wish that I could like this this title more than I do.  Part of that is due to my being a huge fan of Matt Fraction’s run just prior and the other part is that it’s clear that Kieron Gillen has a very good handle on Tony Stark’s voice and character.

Tony oozes charm and is very much…him.  Anyone with even a passing acquaintance with the character will recognize him.  He’s charismatic, likable, and intelligent under Gillen’s hand.  Moreover, Gillen does a great job of explaining Tony’s rationale for heading off into the final frontier of space.  It makes total sense for the character and allows Gillen to write some solid stuff relating to Tony’s constant concern about his legacy and his need to always be pushing boundaries.  It’s all very true to the character and it’s solid character-work overall.  Clearly that need to keep pushing higher and farther is pivotal to Gillen’s understanding of Tony Stark and I think that he’s definitely on the mark there.  I’ll also add that Tony’s new AI for his new away-from-home space armor was a very nice touch.

Invincible Iron Man #525 – Review

By: Matt Fraction (writer), Salvador Larroca (art), Frank D’Armata (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story:  The unlikely team of Tony Stark, Ezekiel Stane, Blizzard, Living Laser, and Whirlwind go to war against the Mandarin.

The Review:  The good guy/bad guy team-up in the face of a greater evil is one of those tropes that is always innately satisfying and I’ll admit that I’ve always been a sucker for it.  Given this, Invincible Iron Man #525 is a fun, engaging, and thoroughly satisfying read.  I just can’t deny the awesomeness of seeing Iron Man, Stane, Blizzard, Living Laser, and Whirlwind all working together to kick ass in Mandarin City.  Seeing Stark teaming up with former enemies and seeing so many different suits, with all different sorts of powers, working together triggers the fanboy glee in me.

Invincible Iron Man #524 – Review

By: Matt Fraction (writer), Salvador Larroca (art), Frank D’Armata (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story:  Tony rallies his very scant troops against the Mandarin, JARVIS goes nuts, and just where exactly is Justine Hammer?

The Review:  Fraction and Larroca’s Invincible Iron Man continues to rocket to it’s conclusion and I continue to enjoy the ride quite a bit.

Without a doubt, the Stark/Stane relationship has really begun to live up to its potential.  I love the dynamic of camaraderie between these two former bitter enemies and rivals.  It’s absolutely brilliant stuff by Fraction, as Stane essentially takes Tony back to working as he did in his youth, under the gun and in less than ideal circumstances.  There’s a fantastic scene in which Stane helps Stark get in touch with the rawer side of his art, the side that recalls his days working in caves to survive.  It’s also a sort of “welcome to my world” moment by Stane, showing Stark what it is to work outside the lab in the gritty, DIY fashion that he may have lost touch with.  It’s a great moment and a highlight of the issue.

The Invincible Iron Man #523 – Review

By: Matt Fraction (writer), Salvador Larroca (art), Frank D’Armata (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story:  Tony forges uneasy alliances, Pepper gets a clue regarding the identity of the new Iron Man, and Jarvis gets scary.

The Review:  I’ve been singing the praises of Invincible Iron Man quite a bit these days and let’s get this out of the way first: this is still a pretty good issue.  Unfortunately, it’s also on the slow side.  It feels weird, given that things certainly do happen this month.  Yet somehow, it still really felt like a “middle of the arc” issue and one that was mostly transitional.

The Invincible Iron Man #522 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Salvador Larroca (art), Frank D’Armata (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story:  Mandarin sends out the goons to collect Tony’s parts; Tony performs surgery on Stane; Iron Man vs. Detroit Steel Corps vs. Iron Man rogues in a triple threat mech battle.

The Review:  In dealing with this new status quo he’s set up for his cast, Matt Fraction puts a lot on our plates here and, hence, a lot to love.

A fair chunk of the issue is spent in a wild mech battle between Rhodey, Hammer, and Mandarin’s goons.  Larroca’s mechs look great, as always, and the action is solid.  What makes the scene really shine, however, is the continuing dynamic between Pepper and the disguised Rhodey.  It’s a lot of fun and the dialogue is a nice little wink-and-nudge game with the reader.  The battle itself was also interesting in that, unbeknownst to them, Rhodey and Pepper are in many ways working against Tony in preventing the goons from getting the materials he needs to complete the titanomech.  It’s nice, subtle layer to Tony’s working for the bad guys.

Fraction also puts his own twist on Mandarin’s origins this month, delving a bit into the nature of the rings.  It ends up being a pretty cool idea; it’s definitely too early to judge, but thus far, I like the suddenly cosmic, weird twist to a series that has largely been based on comics science.  It adds an entirely different element to a series that has been about repulsors and machinery and the result is a power, and a character, that feels even more ominous and alien.  Great ideas meet big, lingering questions.

Overall, however, I’ll admit that this issue does fall prey to “second issue” syndrome.  It’s clearly a transitional issue and, honestly, there isn’t a huge amount of plot progression.  By itself, as a standalone, it’s not the densest or most meaningful issue.  While it’s always fun hanging out with Fraction’s cast, and while it is a page-turner, the fact is that in itself, this issue doesn’t seem the most eventful.

The Invincible Iron Man #521 – Review

By: Matt Fraction (writer), Salvador Larroca (art), Frank D’Armata (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story:  Tony Stark is imprisoned as slave labour for the Mandarin; Rhodey continues his adventures as the mysterious new Iron Man; Resilient delivers a wicked Power Point presentation.

The Review:  First thing to get off my chest:  how does Salvador Larroca do it?  Seriously, the man has drawn every single issue of Fraction’s run on the book.  Now, with Marvel’s, in my opinion lamentable, double-shipping policy that has seen Invincible Iron Man basically become a bi-weekly title, Larroca somehow STILL manages to draw every single issue without any form of assistance or relief.  Not only that, but his work remains ridiculously consistent regardless.  I’m starting to wonder if “Salvador Larroca” is actually a pseudonym for an entire art studio.  For one man to pump out art of this quality and consistency with such speed is utter insanity.  Larroca must have decided, with the advent of double-shipping, to give up sleep in favour of 16 hour work days.

Invincible Iron Man #511 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Salvador Larroca (art), Frank D’Armata (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Tony Stark comes clean to his employees before finding himself in a fight for his life against the Living Laser.

The Review:  After the underwhelming Fear Itself, it seems that Matt Fraction is fast replacing Bendis as the new whipping boy for vocal internet comics fans.  What said readers seem to gloss over is that Invincible Iron Man is still a really strong comic and that Fraction has an incredible grasp of Tony Stark’s voice and personality.

While it has been a rather slow year for the book, what we get this month is a bit of everything that makes this series great.  For starters, the character work is superb.  As always, Fraction’s knack for Tony’s gift of understatement and wit really animates what otherwise could’ve been an extended scene of talking heads.

More impressive, however, is Fraction’s writing of the tense relationship between Potts and Cabe.  It’s quite nuanced and has a good amount of emotion and subtlety.  However, what will definitely grab the attention this month is the absolute BOMBSHELL that Cabe drops on Pepper.  It’s a big reveal that makes for a gripping conversation between the two and serves as a foundation for a very interesting dynamic between the two characters.  It also serves to humble Pepper a bit, while also showing her to not be quite so squeaky-clean herself.  It’s really great stuff.

One of the main areas of criticism that Fraction has had this year with respect to this series has been the relatively slower pace as far as narrative progression.  Not so this month, as a lot of stuff happened, certainly enough to make you feel you got your money’s worth.  Along with that big reveal and the character-work, there’s also a healthy amount of Iron Man action scenes.  Frankly, I love seeing Fraction use some older villains.  This month, we get the Living Laser and Spymaster to go along with Mandarin.