Invincible Iron Man #1
Posted: Tuesday, May 6, 2008
By: Keith Dallas
Matt Fraction
Salvador Larroca, Frank D'Armata & Stephane Peru (colors)
Marvel Comics
"The Five Nightmares: Part 1: Armageddon Days"
Paul Brian McCoy: 3.5 Bullets
Christopher Power: 4 Bullets
Kevin Powers: 4 Bullets
Paul Brian McCoy: 3.5 BulletsInvincible Iron Man is the second Iron Man series (third, if you count the Marvel Adventures version) to hit the stands. The first series was also called Invincible Iron Man, but is now being called Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., I think. Something like that. I'm kind of simple sometimes and the names confused me when I first heard about this.
Anyway, with the Iron Man film in theaters as I type this (GO SEE IT! IT IS GREAT!), Marvel seems to think that the comics market can support two titles, when the first series hasn't been selling like gangbusters to begin with. We'll have to wait and see, I guess. While the other series begins crossing over with Secret Invasion, hot talents Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca have been tasked with the job of steering away from the high-tech espionage stories and telling big, shiny, superhero action adventure stories.
Art first. Larroca likes to do his photo referencing from movie stars. It was distracting on newuniversal, and it's just as distracting here. Mainly, it bugs me because it isn't consistent. Most of the images of Stark don't seem to be referenced from anyone in particular, which is good. Then suddenly there's Matt Dillon (or is it Kevin Dillon?) adjusting his tie as Tony Stark. Then later, Pepper Potts enters the scene played by Nicole Kidman.
No sir. I don't like it.
If you're going to photo reference movie stars, why not use the actors who are STARRING IN THE BLOCKBUSTER FILM IN THEATERS RIGHT NOW, which this comic is capitalizing on to begin with? That just seems like an opportunity wasted. Anyway, aside from this annoyance, I don't have many other complaints about the art.
The issue is dedicated to the late Stephane Peru, as it should be. He was a very talented color artist, and I loved everything of his that I saw. D'Armata is no slouch either, and, like many other comics these days, the colorists are doing a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to textures, shading, and providing a sense of depth and dimension. When combined with Larroca's layouts and action, this becomes a very pretty book that does a good job telling the story. And we see a couple of design details that are straight from THE EXCITING NEW FILM, along with a couple of shots of Iron Man that are directly referenced from said EXCITING NEW FILM.
And the story is interesting, although I really don't see how this isn't high-tech espionage. Anyway, Fraction picks up on a character he introduced in the now criminally defunct, The Order: Ezekiel Stane, son of classic Stark competitor, Obadiah Stane (a name some might recognize from the FANTASTIC FILM IN THEATERS NOW!). Over in The Order we found out that Zeke has a mad on for Tony Stark, and his main motivation is to prove that he's better, smarter, and all around superior to Stark.
While we don't get much of a glimpse into his motivations here, he is presented as a character with interesting and vaguely complex motives, who has made a startling technological breakthrough involving what I guess has to be called "Iron Man 2.0." I won't spoil it, but if you see the preview pages, you should be able to figure out what he's done. It's effectively creepy and should make for an exciting storyline and an effectively challenging new antagonist(s).
So the plot is interesting and a fairly fresh take on the technology race. I can't really say the same for some of the dialogue. I can't decide if the hip slang that Zeke uses is just out of touch with how young people actually talk, or if it's supposed to be ironic usages of expressions like "Rad." Without an actual speaker to allow us to hear the inflection, it's hard to say, so it ends up reading awkwardly. Stane's "Let's make out and whip up more plans for mass slaughter" also doesn't really play well here. It would actually sound right at home in Fraction's Casanova where the narrative is fast and free. Here, in a narrative that tends to be more realistic, it just sounds out of place.
To wrap up, this isn't the worst beginning, but it could have been stronger. There are a few missed opportunities with the art that could have tied it more directly into the promotional surge for THE BEST SUPERHERO FILM EVER MADE and possibly helped bring in new readers. Maybe. From what we saw in The Order, Stane is a credible threat, but we don't really see it here. We also don't really get any insight into just what the point of all this is. Granted, it's just the first issue, but I don't know if there's anything here that would grab a reader and make them want to come back for more, if they weren't planning to already. It's good, but it's not that good, especially considering how complex and well crafted the first series has been since its relaunch and people still aren't buying it.
Christopher Power: 4 Bullets"I went into science because of Iron Man."
This line, paraphrased from a good friend of mine, is the epitome as to why Iron Man has always had outstanding potential as a hero. Similar to Batman, Tony Stark is someone that anyone can aspire to be; he has used his smarts to make himself a hero, when he could use it for so many other reasons. Combine this with a flawed human character, who was kind of a jerk, and an incredible visual presence through the years and you have what is a powerful comic franchise.
It is interesting that despite all of this, I approached this book with a certain amount of trepidation. While I am not a massive Iron Man fan, I respected the heck out of the character and what writers had done with him over the years, until about two years ago. When the infamous Civil War broke out in the Marvel Universe, poor Tony got the short end of the writing stick. In the beginning he was written as a patriot of the planet, by the end (and in the aftermath) he has just been a jerk. Certainly not the well meaning jerk we had known, but a character bordering on diabolical narcissism.
What does this book bring to the table? It brings a positive spin on the character that has been sorely absent for the last couple of years. He is confident, bordering on arrogance, and he does some extremely questionable things, but his heart is in the right place. If Captain America is about sacrifice and duty, Iron Man is the quintessential Machiavelli style Prince. It brings back that spark that makes Stark interesting.
The story is ripe with relevance regarding the current state of the world and makes a number of very good commentaries about the availability of weapons, the current sad state of space exploration and about the disposable culture we have adopted. I am impressed that these were covered in clever, witty ways, sometimes with throw away comments, or in other cases laid out for the reader in Tony’s five greatest fears. In a world where I can find a title "Ex-soldier McNab tries out the Grenade Machine Gun," this book brought a lot of my current concerns about raising my son in it.
Outside of this commentary, there is a provocative story about how Iron Man style technology is developing everywhere in the world, with some being stolen from Tony, and new players on the block, one that is downright sinister but compelling. He isn't the mustache twisting villain one might expect. In fact, he is the type of misguided diabolical genius that Stark needs as a villain.
The art is gorgeous, with one of my favourite scenes in the book coming from the panels where Tony is monitoring all of the other technology based criminals in the world. It was an outstanding example of where virtual interfaces could go; mixed with enough sci-fi and real world human factors to make me believe it could exist.
There are a couple of small items that I could not get passed, however. First, it seemed that the writer was going to move Iron Man's secretary into the role of confidant, initially talking about her strength and how she is the only one who can run Stark Enterprises when Tony is out and about. However, this is all trashed by her talking about her underwear. The way it was done seemed very classy I’m sure, but for me it undid pretty much the previous two pages of character development. So much for "My girl Friday" as Tony calls her.
The other item I can't get by is this: when does this story take place? I know I shouldn't be thinking about that, but in the Marvel Universe there is a pretty big event going on, one where Dum Dum Dugan plays a pretty big role in the first few pages. Yet Tony is talking about him like he is his old pal.
These two items aside, this book is a positive start to a new Iron Man franchise, clearly influenced by the movie (note the name of the villain). Marvel has always done better at linking comics and movies, and this is the way to do it.
(A small note: I also entered science because of comics. All of my heroes were scientists. However, no one will fund me to develop an Iron Man suit or even components thereof, which seems like a rip-off.)
Kevin Powers: 4 BulletsIt was seemingly inevitable. With the release of the Iron Manmovie, and the fact that Tony Stark is in just about every Marvel book, it makes sense that he gets another monthly title. There are indeed a lot of stories to tell involving Iron Man, and the general public is going to be rabid for Iron Man material following the film. While the Knaufs have been telling a fairly long, intricate and compelling plot involving the Mandarin and the extremis armor, it would be kind of difficult for new readers and those looking for comics after the movie to jump onboard Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. With that in mind, Marvel re-launches Invincible Iron Man with the red hot writer Matt Fraction teaming with artist Salvador Larocca.
I wasn't totally sure how this series was going to play out. With Tony everywhere in the Marvel Universe and his other series heavily entrenched in the current mythology of the character, I wondered if this title would focus more on Tony's personal side than on his role as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. (or the Iron Fascist, as one of my colleagues likes to call him). However, this title does indeed take a more personal look at Tony Stark, while still keeping him in his role as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. It's an interesting way to go about this series and my only concern would be that new readers find themselves lost with no explanation as to why Tony Stark is the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. I know that would kind of regurgitate a major Marvel plot point for many regular readers, but with the success of the movie, I'm expecting a lot of new faces in the store when they hear a new Iron Man #1 is coming out.
Regardless, this title does open up with a fairly loud bang. It opens in Africa where a woman carries a Stark Mobile phone, and it would seem as though things were somewhat normal, but the tone of Matt Fraction's narration suggests something else. Three young men appear, and they rip their shirts off to reveal a very familiar chest-piece as well as repulsor like devices in their palms. It's actually quite eerie what happens to them. They turn into "glowing zombies," if you will, and explode. Matt Fraction does not beat around the bush, he makes it clear that this is a high-tech suicide bombing. I mean, it's pretty obvious that this is a bombing involving Stark technology.
What's interesting about Tony's role in this issue and the way Fraction portrays him is that Tony is actually trying to maintain a somewhat normal life. He's trying to play hero, be the womanizer we all know, and protect his inventions, all while being constantly interrupted by S.H.I.E.L.D. matters. He investigates the suicide bombing in Africa, which gets his attention because of nuclear yield, and he shows that he wants to be on the frontlines. He wants to be a superhero. It's here that you can get a better sense of how this title will play out in relation to Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. This title is more than likely going to be more action oriented, more "Iron Man the superhero" than "Iron Man the politician who happens to be a superhero."
The new villain is also re-introduced. Anyone who had been reading Matt Fraction's now defunct The Order will know how dangerous the new villain is. Of course, I am talking about Ezekiel Stane, son of the late Obadiah. I really have to give Marvel credit here. I half expected Obadiah Stane to rise from the dead, but creating Ezekiel brings a world of character depth, motivation and father issues. The scene with Ezekiel and the corporate board members is probably the best of this issue. It's kind of insane actually, as Ezekiel explains how evil he thinks the men are and how they disgust him. It's strange to see something like that from a super-villain, but Fraction also creates a weird sense of reader respect towards Ezekiel because you might agree with what he says. Fraction throws in a number of political quips throughout the book, including a few commentaries about the media. They work because they are subtle and actually fit with the overall tone of the story. Of course, Ezekiel has taken the Iron Man tech and upgraded it, linking him to the suicide bombers and also planting the seeds for a new, high tech Iron Monger.
While Fraction explores Tony's thought process and explains the things Tony fears and the way in which he tries to protect himself, he also brings Rhodes and Pepper back into their true roles in Tony's life. The Rhodes/Stark relationship portrayed in this issue is classic. Their banter is fun, the way the characters play off of one another is also well done albeit a little short and perhaps obligatory. The scene with Pepper also puts her into a more classic role. She's one of the few people who truly understand Tony and everything he does. She knows him, his armor and everything he thinks either before or at the same time he does. The two have always been a great non-romantic pairing, and Fraction does a great job re-establishing the modern yet classic take on the relationship between the two.
I've always been a fan of Salvador Larocca. His artwork continues to evolve since his days on X-Men, and he brings a level of realism to these pages. There are some inconsistencies in the characters' faces, but for the most part Larocca does an excellent job. Personally, I just enjoy the level of detail and the level of realism he manages to provide.
Overall, I enjoyed this issue. It moves a bit slowly and definitely allows for reader jump-on, but there will be a number of questions for new Iron Man readers to find the answers. The extremis is explained decently, but Iron Man as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., not so much. Granted, the majority of new readers will more than likely be those who are familiar with the current Marvel Universe, but there are still others who could be roped in. However, Ezekiel Stane should prove to be a formidable new villain, and I am excited to see where Fraction goes with this. I also thought it was refreshing to see the "superhero Tony Stark" once more. Fraction writes him as very self-aware and somewhat vulnerable. This title does a decent job making Tony somewhat likeable again after he essentially became a villain following Civil War.
What did you think of this book?
Have your say at the Line of Fire Forum!