Official Iron Man thread

[NightBeetle]

Disassembling Iron Man

IGN Comics: Towards the beginning of your run, we got to see Tony interact with Thor a little bit, and it was made pretty clear that Thor isn't happy with how Tony has been doing business lately. How would you compare Thor's viewpoint to Dr. Donald Blake's? Is he a little more sympathetic to Tony's plight?


Matt Fraction: Yeah, Dr. Blake has taken the Hippocratic Oath, and he sees Tony as a patient, a man in need of help. And I think a lot has changed form when Thor and Iron Man last spoke. Tony has really gone out and walked it like he talked it. What Tony went through in "World's Most Wanted" – Thor might not be happy with Iron Man, but he can't deny that he made a warrior's run of it.


IGN Comics: Can you say whether we'll actually see Thor in this arc? He is on the first two variant covers.

Fraction: Undoubtedly. Unequivocally. You see him next issue, and he will be impossible to ignore.

IGN Comics: Over the last year or so you've really been playing up the romantic tension between Tony and Pepper, but in this issue Pepper had sort of an unexpected reaction to the idea of Tony coming back. Can you explain her thoughts on the matter and why the situation upsets her so much?

Fraction: We get to see and hear more from Pepper and what she's going through next issue and where that reaction came from. She's been through a lot. They've all been through a lot, and people's emotional reactions are never simple. It's a complicated time for everybody, and what Pepper is going through becomes crystal clear next issue – what and why she's going through. She needs to speak her mind. She's a hero she loves Tony. Of course she's going to help; that's not the question. What does she need to say? What does she need to get out? She needs to mourn this loss and deal with this flood of emotion she's gone through over "World's Most Wanted", and that's really what this is about. She's going to have a chance to take the stage next issue.

IGN Comics: Jon Favreau recently mentioned how he took some direct inspiration from your work on Invincible Iron Man for the second Iron Man movie. Did you have conversations with him about adapting that material?

Fraction: Yes. [laughs] Jon Favreau and Kevin Feige both were big fans of Invincible, and that was, I think, why I was called in, to talk about that stuff and work through it. They had the books, they had printouts of the issues that hadn't come out yet, they had copies of scripts that hadn't been drawn. They had been copiously annotated. These guys really do their homework and look at the comics hard and really want to honor and respect the material. I think that's going to resonate with every frame of Iron Man 2. It's going to be really, really great.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Looking forward to Thor. Nice to know the movies will continue to take cues from the comics, too.

 

[NightBeetle]

Best Shots Advanced: Invincible Iron Man #21

It's ironic that this issue is all about rebuilding a better Iron Man -- because in many ways, this is the most fractured and unpolished issue of Invincible Iron Man yet. While the ideas are there, the execution is a bit flawed, with continuity and characterization feeling shoved into the story rather than being organically grown.

What do I mean? Matt Fraction still moves along some of the subplots from last issue -- namely, Tony Stark fighting in his subconscious as he lies in a self-induced coma -- but certain elements of the plot feel tacked on. One of the more egregious examples is not entirely Fraction's fault: namely, two old friends of Tony's -- and I'm not talking about Bucky and Thor -- return to the fold, but have next to no set-up explaining why. But that said, weirdness in continuity and publishing schedules aside, it's too bad there isn't a bit more smoothness to these introductions -- as it stands, these scenes stand out like a sore thumb.

Yet there's a bigger problem here -- namely, this issue is mostly talk, with little action. For example, last issue I complained about Pepper Potts' sudden doubts about reviving Tony -- in this issue, Fraction gives a little bit more background to it, but uses the trite "I'm writing this down to say how I feel" method of telling us how she feels, rather than showing. In a lot of ways, that's endemic to the whole issue, and it flat-tires some of the more interesting moments, such as the various crazy steps to bringing Tony back online.

In terms of the art, Salvador Larocca and Frank D'Armata still produce the same standard of solid craftsmanship that they have every issue -- but in a lot of ways, they're also struggling with Fraction's script. There's a lot of talking, and hugging, and explaining... which doesn't give a lot of visual energy to the piece. Tony's hallucination scenes -- as well as his expressions on his pre-recorded message to his friends -- are certainly the highlight of the book, with D'Armata's colors and Larocca's expressions really popping. There are a few other nice touches as well -- namely, watching a friend of Tony's sitting on a couch, nonchalantly stripping the Rescue suit for spare parts -- but ultimately, there's not a lot of material to work with here.

I don't like saying this about Invincible Iron Man. I've by and large dug everything that Fraction has done with the title thus far -- even if it occasionally felt a little stretched or a little slow. But this chapter not only spoils the conclusions of two other series, but the overall structure of the piece feels so jumpy and inorganic -- and ultimately, doesn't even give us an explanation of what where Tony Stark is at the end, whether good, bad, or indifferent -- that it's hard to recommend this particular issue. I know there's a lot of talent behind this book, so I'm going to write this issue off as a fluke -- but if next issue's seams are as visible as this chapter's, reassembling Tony Stark is going to be more difficult than anyone thought.

 

[Keyser Soze]

A more positive review from Comics Bulletin:

http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/126028608440704.htm

Editor's Note: Invincible Iron Man #21 arrives in stores tomorrow, December 9.

SPOILER WARNING: The following review extensively comments on plot developments of the issue.

I haven't read any of Matt Fraction's highly acclaimed run on Invincible Iron Man, so I thought I'd check out the latest issue to see how good it was. I loved Fraction's work on Casanova and Immortal Iron Fist, so this book seemed like a good and safe choice. Plus my fellow reviewer Danny Djeljosevic loved last month's issue. So it seemed a great time to jump on this bandwagon.

As you can tell from Danny's review, Fraction has built himself an interesting level of difficulty: this comic is built around a protagonist who's in a persistent vegetative state. Tony is in a coma, and much of the meat of this issue concerns a fascinating idea to get Tony out of his coma, a solution that builds beautifully on continuity to present a very satisfying resolution.

Ordinarily, I'm one of those rare people who doesn't care much about continuity, but there's a real power sometimes in maintaining a consistent world view. Only a reader with a heart of stone and no background in the Marvel Universe wouldn't smile at the idea of Pepper Potts, James Rhodes, Captain America and Thor all coming together to use their unique abilities to save their friend Tony Stark.

Despite the melodramatic soap opera of Civil War, the revived Cap knows he must be at the side of his longtime friend in his time of need, while Thor realizes he alone has the unique power to save Stark.

The most intriguing member of Tony's inner circle is Pepper, who reveals much of herself in a classic "letter never sent." We see Pepper sitting at a table writing a confessional letter, tears in the corners of her eyes, assessing all the good and bad that Tony has brought into her life. Pepper has always been loyal to Tony: "You ask me and I come running", as she says, but that loyalty has cost Pepper her husband, "the flaming wreckage that was my life," and her own independence. Pepper has even been implanted with a lifesaving electromagnetic device from Stark that once saved her life in a crisis.

But Pepper will live without the device and Tony will never wake up without it. So despite her tantrum and despair, Pepper knows she has no choice but to be loyal to the man who she's served for much of both their lives. Tony needs her and, inevitably, she's literally willing to give her own flesh to save him. Of course, for any longtime reader, Pepper's sacrifice is inevitable. We know she'll step up because she's always stepped up. That's who she is and what she does. When there's a crisis, Pepper will always be at Tony's side.

Just as Captain America and Thor would always step up to save Stark. The scheme to wake up Tony involves Thor's lightning and Cap's shield in some sort of harebrained hot wiring scheme that feels at the same time wonderfully clever, completely wacky, and true to all the characters. Larroca delivers the big moment in a spectacular scene that pulled me almost out of my seat. We'll see what the moment does for Tony, but the money shot was tremendously exciting.

Oh, but this being Marvel, there also have to be some arch-villains involved in the story. Who better to lead the conspiracy against Tony than Madame Masque, Stark's former lover who is now an agent for Norman Osborn? There's an interesting use of continuity there, too: a nod to Iron Man's classic past along with a nod to current Marvel continuity. It's very satisfying, and not at all awkward for a fan who's not following "Dark Reign."

Masque has enlisted a nasty guy named Ghost to invade the town in which Stark is being revived, which sets up a very interesting battle in future issues. I love how the final panel sets up the kind of horse's nose under the tent. Ghost seems outnumbered by heroes, but nobody is looking at him so who knows what kind of havoc he can create?

Larroca shows his versatility and confidence with a wonderful performance on the art. He's asked to draw many scenes, from invasion of giant robots to quiet moments of extreme stillness, from a bizarre operating theatre to a high-rise penthouse. Larroca delivers all the scenes with a confidence and energy that perfectly fits this book. His biggest moment is the scene in which Pepper first sees the revived Captain America. The very solid, all-American look of Cap is really very stirring even for a reader. No wonder Pepper seems to jump out of her seat.

I really enjoyed my first look at Matt Fraction's Iron Man. This book presented a story that I found extremely satisfying on several levels. Stark's comatose state was far from a problem; rather, it was an intriguing hook to add depth and complexity to the characters and their stories. Both my inner geek and my critical adult sides were delighted by this book. Based on this issue, I'll be around for a lot more of Fraction's Invincible Iron Man.

****1/2 / *****

 

[runawayboulder]

Looking forward to Thor. Nice to know the movies will continue to take cues from the comics, too.

Totally agree. It should be that way instead of the other way around.

 

[runawayboulder]

IIM #21 sounds great, looking forward to it.

Even though that's now appearance no. 2 by Steve Rogers and CA Reborn still has 2 issues to go.

I know it doesn't bother many, but it bugs the hell out of me.

 

[Keyser Soze]

IIM #21 sounds great, looking forward to it.

Even though that's now appearance no. 2 by Steve Rogers and CA Reborn still has 2 issues to go.

I know it doesn't bother many, but it bugs the hell out of me.

Yeah, I can sympathise, though I guess you can't really blame the other books if Captain America: Reborn has been delayed. It's not Fraction and Larroca's fault that Invincible Iron Man has managed to stick right on schedule.

 

[Raiden]

Yeah, I can sympathise, though I guess you can't really blame the other books if Captain America: Reborn has been delayed. It's not Fraction and Larroca's fault that Invincible Iron Man has managed to stick right on schedule.

This just shows a lack of deadline control over at Marvel, but then again they've always rather lax on these issues (hence the reason they allowed The Ultimates to have delays throughout its run).

 

[NightBeetle]

Fred Van Lente's Iron Man Legacy'

Naturally, we had plenty of questions about the new series, so we got Van Lente on the phone to find out what he has planned for Tony Stark. The most obvious question is whether the series will follow a similar path to Mike Carey's X-Men Legacy. In addition, we asked about potential movie ties and whether Legacy can function if Stark doesn't make it out of "Stark Disassembled" alive. In addition, we had Van Lente update us on his other future projects, including his contributions to "The Gauntlet" in Amazing Spider-Man and "Assault on New Olympus" in Incredible Hercules. And did someone mention Deadpool Legacy? Read on to find out more.


IGN Comics: My first question after hearing the title of the series is whether you're taking a similar approach to what Mike Carey has done with X-Men Legacy?

Fred Van Lente: Well, in the sense that Charles Xavier dons the Iron Man armor... wait, no no, don't print that!

Basically, Iron Man Legacy is an ongoing that explores different aspects of Iron Man and his past in self-contained story arcs. We feel that Iron Man is an important enough character and a broad enough character that we can explore different aspects of his history and tell exciting stories that way.

IGN Comics: With everyone wondering if Tony is going to make it out of "World's Most Wanted" and "Stark Disassembled" alive, could this series function regardless of whether Tony survives in 2010?

Van Lente: Oh yeah. Without a doubt.

IGN Comics: Do you have any idea when the series is coming out? I assume it'll be in fairly close proximity to the movie?

Van Lente: Yeah, they told me April.


IGN Comics: Fraction's Invincible Iron Man has been as much about Pepper Potts and Maria Hill as it has about Tony. Would you say this series is much more focused on Iron Man himself?

Van Lente: Very much so. Our first arc is called "War of the Iron Men", and it involves a war torn country, Transia, in Marvel Europe. A paramilitary organization has gotten a hold of some Iron Man armor and is using it in ethnic cleansing. This is really Tony's worst nightmare. He wanted the armor to be the weapon to end all weapons, and now his fears have come true in the sense that someone is using this technology to start wars and continue wars. For various reasons, the US government can't get involved, so he flouts international law by intervening personally as Iron Man. This in itself causes a serious international brouhaha that calls in the villains and heroes of several different countries, namely Russia and China, who have their own stake in the Transian situation. The whole thing just kind of escalates from there. The phrase "War of the Iron Men" is very literal.

IGN Comics: From what I can tell about the second movie, it seems to be drawing in some elements from the "Armor Wars" storyline. Are you tackling some similar themes in this story?

Van Lente: Yeah, exactly. A lot of what we're doing is also sort of integrating more of the movie stuff into the Iron Man comic continuity like the arc reactor and the JARVIS computer, things like that.

IGN Comics: That integration is something Fraction has done really well so far. Are you basically trying to bring in what worked and make things more cohesive overall?

Van Lente: Exactly. In many ways, the whole purpose of the series is to bring in folks who were interested in Iron Man from the movies, and we can just jump into a standalone, self-contained adventure. So a lot of the stuff will perhaps seem more familiar to them than the people who are following current Marvel continuity.

IGN Comics: How would you describe this version of Tony Stark in relation to the one we're seeing now? How far back in Marvel continuity is this set?

Van Lente: Not that far back. It's set in a specific period of iron Man's history. I think I'm going to leave that as an Easter egg for fans to figure out. There are certainly enough clues in the first issue as to what period of Iron Man's history it's set in.

In many ways I'm vastly more interested in Tony Stark than Iron Man. I love exploring the technology of Iron Man and giving him new features to his armor. I'm adding an entirely new armor, which you're going to get in Iron Man Legacy #1. But I just love the idea of Tony Stark as this man who's really just larger than life. He's a handsome, billionaire genius. He's the sort of person that you and I may not be able to relate to very well. One of the challenges I have as a writer is to make Tony relatable to the reader, and I think one of the ways we're doing it in Legacy is basically backing him into a corner and forcing him to face his own demons from when he was a weapons manufacturer and see how he battles his way out. He decides to personally put an end to that, but in doing that he jeopardizes his country, jeopardizes his friends, and jeopardizes his life.

IGN Comics: You've also written a couple Deadpool stories lately with Deadpool Team-Up and Deadpool #900. By my calculations I figure there should be at least six or seven new ongoing Deadpool books by this time next year.

Van Lente: [laughs] Yes. Deadpool Legacy.

IGN Comics: Any chance you'll be writing one of them?

Van Lente: I don't know about an ongoing, but I'm did a very fun and twisted Christmas story a few weeks back that will be coming to Marvel's Digital Comics Unlimited in the next couple weeks. Look out North Pole – here comes Deadpool. Santa-Pool. That's another one of the ongoings, by the way.

IGN Comics: Santa-Pool?

Van Lente: Santa-Pool. Then comes Dark Deadpool, which is kind of an oxymoron. Dark Deadpool is actually much lighter than Deadpool. That's the twist.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Interesting. I may switch over to Iron Man Legacy when it's out. I love Van Lente's writing and, while I'm sure Fraction's Invincible Iron Man can be good, he seems to cover a lot of stuff I really don't care about, like Pepper and Maria and such.

 

[LouFerignoDemon]

Interesting. I may switch over to Iron Man Legacy when it's out. I love Van Lente's writing and, while I'm sure Fraction's Invincible Iron Man can be good, he seems to cover a lot of stuff I really don't care about, like Pepper and Maria and such.

Traitor!

Actually, I'm not too thrilled with their stuff myself. Well, at least Maria. I don't mind Pep, but Maria is like.... "Go find yourself in the Secret Warriors book".

I wanted more movement on Tony himself.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It all depends on how the series is by then. I'm enjoying IIM right now, but it's got Blake/Thor in it and it's just decent so far, not mind-blowing. There's also the considerable hurdle of my disdain for Larocca's style. But if it really wows me over this arc, I may stick with it and just try out IML as well.

 

[LouFerignoDemon]

Legends I'll probably check out, since I'm an IM fangrrl.

Howevah, Larocca's not -too- bad, but it is sorta bleh.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Hmmm...... interesting. This may be another degree in the "Iron Man movie tie-in overkill" Dread has predicted, but minis and one-shots aside, we're still only standing at 2 ongoings, neither of which have any need to interfere with the other's continuity, seeing as this one will be set in the past. I like what I've read of Van Lente's writing, and of course I like the character of Iron Man, so I'll at least give this book a shot, I think.

Also, do we think that cover image is a peek at the rumored new armor Tony's getting, or is it supposed to be a retro design from this particular flashback story?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Maybe the new one. It doesn't look like any armor I recall him having before. But it could be a retconned old armor, too.

 

[LouFerignoDemon]

It'll most likely be an "improved version" of an older armor.

 

[NightBeetle]

Iron Man: Legacy Takes Flight in April

"As the name implies, IRON MAN: LEGACY is a far-reaching series bringing you sprawling, epic arcs set across multiple periods of Iron Man's history that will allow us to explore the many different facets of Tony Stark's character," relates Van Lente.
Looking at Iron Man's history, Van Lente has a few favorite periods he most looks forward to revisiting.


"In the first issue alone you see Pepper, Rhodey, Nick Fury, Henry Peter Gyrich, Foggy Nelson-whose presence may give away when this first arc is set-as well as some new characters who will have a profound effect on Tony Stark's life for years to come," hints Van Lente.
The writer also wanted to draw special attention to his collaborator on this series, whose work will leave fans wanting more:
"The artwork is by ULTIMATE COMICS ARMOR WARS artist Steve Kurth, and he's already blowing me away with the pages as they come in! I hope people check it out, it will be spectacular."


"Well, the [era by the creative team of David] Michelinie [and Bob] Layton, of course-one of the most beloved parts of their run is heavily featured in our first arc, 'War of the Iron Men,'" teases the writer. "I'm also fond of the [writer Dennis] O'Neil era, when Tony was down and out and had to rebuild his empire from scratch. We'll be doing an arc set during that time period, bringing Tony face-to-face with some street-level heroes-and street-level armor-you might not usually expect him to tangle with. And I also look forward doing a story from his earliest days, which tells the story of the great technocrat Tony Stark's first encounter with the world of magic."
Throughout the years, Tony has worn many different armors and Van Lente couldn't pick just one as his favorite.


"I just love the fact Tony has so many different kinds of armor," he notes. "And while we'll see him in a classic suit that will let you know when in Iron Man history this [first story] is set, we will also see him in two-count 'em, two!-brand new sets of armor, with all-new power sets, during the course of this arc. Enjoy!"
As for the structure of the series, Van Lente promises, "each story arc will be a graphic novel unto itself, five issues long or so."

 

[NightBeetle]

Spoiler

Madame Masque talks with Ghost about killing Tony Stark and gives him some type of invention to gain the ability to travel through phone-connections/lines. In the Sooner Inn in Oklahoma,Pepper spends her time writing her feelings down at the moment.

Basically writing that she was ''never the star of the movie'', and everything is always driven by what Tony wants and does. While writing to herself, Cap.Rogers shows up along with Rhodes and the doctor who fixed Pepper up in the past. While trying to get Tony running again,they take Pepper's power battery and transferring to Stark. Later on in the issue, they move Tony to the roof of the Sooner Inn and try to channel Blake/Thor's lightning strikes to restart Stark's power battery.

 

[NightBeetle]

From Issue #21

Spoiler

 

[kguillou]

Human Rhodey's back! Hoooraay. I'm glad Marvel came to their senses. The whole robocop thing they were doing with him was completely stupid.

 

[storyteller]

Wow just wow........they can't even wait for the comics to finish first.

 

[Anubis]

Not their fault mofo's taking their sweet ass time. We got to move these refrigerators.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Invincible Iron Man #21 was a great read. It was pretty straightforward storytelling - "here's what you need to do to bring me back", Tony says, and they all do it. But the joy was in the execution. And given that they're needing to bring in Dr. Strange next issue, I imagine that there'll be a spanner in the works.

 

[Raiden]

Not their fault mofo's taking their sweet ass time. We got to move these refrigerators.

I agree, but I also think Marvel badly handled Cap's return. DC did a much better job with Superman, though.

 

[louiebling$]

Yea I agree.... Caps Return wasn't Exciting at all..... its very Meh... its sucks cuz when he died they delivered but his return is very Meh.