"Chapter 1: Father's Day"
Writer: Greg Pak
Artists: Pat Lee (p), Dream Engine (i, colors)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Plot: In the House of M reality, Tony Stark is king of the ring, a gladiator style contest where the contestants do battle in suits of battle armor. Tony remains a major player in the business community, but his perfect life has a major flaw in the form of his father who is still alive, and as such he's on hand to let Tony know he's a continual disappointment. Tony's position in the House of M reality is also endangered by one of his employees’ unauthorized experiment.
Comments: The whole battle armor arena fighting material felt like it was quickly inserted into the book in order to explain why Tony would be working on a version of his Iron Man armor in this altered reality. I found myself wishing that Greg Pak had done a better job of smoothing over the rough edges of this plot point, so that it didn't stand out quite so much. Then again, unlike many heroes whose heroic nature is rooted in a childhood tragedy, Tony Stark's decision to become a super-hero has always felt like he was in it for his personal enjoyment, and as such, it makes perfect sense that Tony would become involved in this high tech version of gladiator combat. Still, the abrupt transition from arena combatant to the head of a vast business empire was a bit awkward, and the final scene where Tony decided to use his latest version of the battle armor to investigate one of his employees felt a little too driven by the idea that the story needed to get a fully armored Tony into the midst of an exciting situation. The book never quite gets around to explaining why Tony had to head out in his full battle armor when he didn't know that Hank Pym had gone and joined the Sapien Resistance. Still given he only has three issue to tell his story, I can understand why Greg Pak employed some shortcuts in order to progress the story. I can also look past the fact that the character development was limited to quick little flashes of insight like the return of Tony's alcohol addiction which is nicely driven by his father who is clearly dead set on making Tony believe he's a continual disappointment. Greg Pak conveys a great deal of information in these little moments. There's also a nice moment where Tony is well aware of his position in this mutant first society, as the harsh reaction that he offers up when a desperate Hank Pym turns to him to defend his research made for a great little character moment. In the end, while I found this issue to be a little uneven, there are enough moments of interest to bring me back for the next issue.
Pat Lee's art is equal parts impressive and frustrating, as while there are visuals in this issue that leave me blown away by the level of detail that he's put on the page, there are also moments where I find myself disappointed that the material was delivered in a manner that invites confusion rather than excitement. There are some moments in this issue where Pat Lee looks to be the perfect artist for Iron Man, as he does a wonderful job delivering the high technology on display. However, the opening sequence where Tony is in the midst of heated combat had several moments where I found myself a little disappointed that the action wasn't presented in a clearer fashion, such as the big attack that brought the battle to an end as it never gives the reader a good look at what was used to defeat Tony. The same holds true for Tony's final page battle with the Sentinels, as there's some visual confusion regarding where Tony's father is in relation to the battle. Still, Iron Man fans are probably going to get a kick out of the new armor design, as it looks like it's stepped out of a Japanese anime.
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