That being said, how do things fare for our armored hero in the comic continuity? Pretty good if you ask me. Like Marvel pitched in the solicits, it's the perfect jumping in point for readers who are unfamiliar and have wanted to catch up on Iron Man's adventures. It's a new beginning for Tony Stark, and a new direction that will lead him to new adventures and challenges ahead. Before we get to that, however, I must explain what transpired before.. and what changed Tony Stark's life from better to worse to better once more. This won't be your average summary, but rather a recap of the events that transpired in Tony's life. I haven't reviewed the previous issues of IIM, so this is the next best thing. Take it away and read.
The Invincible Iron Man #25Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Salvador Larroca
Once at the top of the hill as director of S.H.I.E.L.D and The Initiative, Tony Stark was removed disgracefully after failing to anticipate and being compromised by the Skrull's Secret Invasion. After this, he went through a markedly difficult journey in World's Most Wanted that cost him his mind and almost his life. Making the ultimate sacrifice, Tony Stark became a shell of his former self when he expunged the most powerful weapon he ever had, his intellect, in order to prevent Norman Osborn from getting his hands on the superhero registration act database. With Stark's body shutdown, the only way to bring him back to former self was to undergo a very risky and absolutely untested contingency plan that required the help of his closest allies, namely Pepper Potts, Maria Hill, Captain America, Thor, and Dr. Strange.
Chronicled in "Stark: Disassembled", the process required embedding Tony's body with the same Repulsor Tech chest plate that he once gave to Pepper, allowing his body the means to function once more. His mind, however, was a different story, and everything that he once knew was totally erased, leaving him a vegetable. Here enters the mysterious hard drive he tasked Maria Hill to find and deliver to Captain America - which was a literal "back-up copy" Stark made of his own mind. Following the process and using the power of Thor and Captain America's shield as a conduit to resuscitate him, the heroes hoped Stark would revive right away... but his mind was still lost inside of him. Calling on the services of Dr. Strange, the former Sorcerer Supreme ventures into Stark's subconscious, hoping to lead the former brilliant industrialist back to life. Unfortunately, several obstacles block their path; On the real world, femme fatale villain Madame Masque contracts the wraith like saboteur known as "Ghost" to find and kill Tony, and his job is made easier when he finds that the man behind Iron Man is at a helpless state.
Meanwhile inside Stark's head, constructs form within his mind to setup a reality that constantly repeats itself, with machines attacking while he's searching for a mysterious artifact with his parents in tow. Strange is able to locate Tony and help him rediscover himself, successfully bringing the latter back to reality and thwart the Ghost's assassination attempt. Tony Stark is whole once more... but he's not the same man he once was. The reset point of the backup data he stored was just before the Civil War, and Tony Stark has no memory of what transpired during and after those events.
Back to the issue at hand, Tony Stark is a new man with fresh start. He's got a clean slate to work with, and he's decided to start by making a name for himself as a hero and inventor... again. This storyline is called "Resilient" for many reasons, both figuratively and literally. We touched on the fact that he's a new man on a mission, and like the way Robert Downey Jr. portrayed the character on the comics, Tony begins his change by reconciling with friends he betrayed and by being a "resilient figure" against weapons manufacturing. In other words, Stark has abandoned his former company and the former job he took to make weapons, using the opportunity instead to build a new company from the ground up, called "Stark Resilient", and use his ideas to create technology that benefits the people and the world we live in. Consequently, he'll have pressure from the Government for abandoning his "calling", and the legacy of an old adversary lives on with the arrival of a new threat adamant at taking Stark off the face of the earth. Yes, it's pretty much like the Iron Man movie plot itself, only set within the Earth-616 continuity and after the smoke that was the Dark Reign. Writer Matt Fraction's approach to create a Tony Stark that everyone can relate to has been successful. Even with the downtrodden path and sufferings the character had to endure for the past 18 or so issues, he comes out smelling like roses and has a new chance at life he can grasp and take advantage of. However, with a clean slate comes a clean bank account, and Tony has empty pockets to show for it.
With all of his equipment and finances taken away from him, Stark has nothing but his restored intellect to rely on, and that's the only asset he needs to get his groove back on. This issue primarily deals with Tony learning to cope and make the most out of his situation despite the gap in his memory. Despite that, he's still the flamboyant playboy and risk-taking inventor we all know and remember, and he's got a lot of ideas going inside his super brain that's ready to explode and become a reality. Of course, I'm talking about the new Iron Man armor... and this issue marks its long awaited debut after getting teased for months now since appearing as an exclusive image on Marvel.com. The new suit has been referred to by many nicknames, from "disco armor" to the more humorous "EVA plugsuit armor". But now we can officially call it the "Bleeding Edge" armor, and there's a reason why its called that in the first place.
What many people should remember, after all, is that Tony's body was super-enhanced by a fictional virus called "Extremis", and that gave birth to the armor that's arguably the most recognized suit by fans of Iron Man in the 21st century. However, that armor was unceremoniously made obsolete thanks to the Skrulls tampering, and as a result, Tony's Extremis powers went in remission, forcing him to don older versions of his armor, especially due to the fact that his intelligence was diminishing while he was escaping from Osborn's clutches. Now that he's back and given a new lease on life, Tony Stark went on to create a new armor based on an improved Extremis concept, and this issue tackles how he goes about doing so with the help of the Fantastic Four's leader and resident genius, Reed Richards. Tony creates his new "costume", and only goes to display it at the end of the issue. It still comes out as an undersheath suit from the bones in his body, but the twist is that unlike the Extremis, the suit actually "materializes" and forms around Tony, similar to the symbiote suit Spider-Man wore ages ago. It could be a new form of nanotechnology enhanced with Repulsor and Extremis powers, but the end result looks awesome. It may puzzle some to see that the Iron Man armor is back to the circular chest look since it made the transition to the "V" shaped look with the Mark VI in Iron Man 2, but that's hardly something to worry about other than for cosmetic purposes. Bottomline, I'm liking the look of this suit, and I can't wait to see it in action.
With all the hype going on for Iron Man 2, I'm still glad I can look back and read the comic stories even after the movie's time has come and passed. Amazing writing by Matt Fraction has only been one part of the entertaining package I get from this book. The rest comes from the enjoyable artwork delivered by Salvador Larroca, who has stuck with Fraction since this title relaunched back in July 2008! Larroca's art just brings the dynamic storytelling and smooth transitions to life in an A-Class way, and there's no other artist I know who can make a dramatic and epic scene involving Iron Man feel so exciting the first time you see it, like the aforementioned debut of the Bleeding Edge armor in the one page shot it takes off from the helipad.
Capping this review off, the one question everyone will ask: "Is Invincible Iron Man worth reading"? ABSOLUTELY. If you enjoy seeing tech, smarts, action, and witty dialogue altogether, this is the book for you. For longtime Iron Man fans like myself, it's a new direction that's not only meant to bring Tony Stark new fortunes on the other side, but for us readers as well who need a refreshing take on the armored avenger himself. Despite the powers the suit grants him, Tony is as flawed as the rest of humanity, and that's what makes the character endearing to most of us. We sit back and enjoy his adventures, because through the trials, obstacles, and lessons he learns through the course of his career, he has proven time and again that "He is Iron Man", inside and outside of the suit.
Rating - 10/10
No comments:
Post a Comment