Ultimate Iron Man, Vol. 2 by Orson Scott Card

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


After being disappointed in Ultimate Iron Man, Vol. 1, I was not sure what to expect from this volume and was prepared for the worst. I was pleasantly surprised instead.

The events of the first book have Howard Stark in prison for the murder of former business rival Zedekiah Stane and Tony who has the ability to regrow vital organs and has survived a deadly explosion as Iron Man. What develops in this book is actually a pretty thrilling story. There's plenty of action, and the series has the feel of a good mystery as our heroes try to unravel he death of Zedekiah Stane and follow clues to a surprising conclusion. The character of young Obadiah Stane is definitely a scene-stealer and a pivotal character.

That's not to say the book isn't without problems. The rendering of the Iron Man armor is weak. Card continue to reference alcoholism without fully developing it. Perhaps most significantly while the end is well-written, it also mirrors the worst of modern superhero comic writing which seems to revel in perversity. It really is a creepy ending. Heroism was AWOL from this story.

So, overall, the effort was good, not great, but an improvement on the disaster that was the disjointed volume 1.



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