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The Invincible Iron Man (2008) (Collected Editions)
The Invincible Iron Man, Volume 11: The Future
Tony Stark: prisoner of Mandarin City! Can Rescue, Iron Man 2.0 and War Machine team up - and not kill one another - while Tony Stark...builds the Mandarin's ultimate weapon?! What is the stunning truth behind the Mandarin's mission? How can our heroes stop the Mandarin's plans? And what insane invention is Zeke Stane willing to unleash? The true villain is revealed as Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, uncovers a monster threat to humanity. It's Tony vs. Stane vs. the Mandarin for the ultimate stakes, while Rescue and IM2.0 take on Hammer! Who wins and loses? Who lives and dies? But more important: What's next for Tony Stark and Iron Man? You won't believe it until you read it!
Collecting: Invincible Iron Man 521-527
Collecting: Invincible Iron Man 521-527
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 8, 2013
5 people are currently reading
264 people want to read
About the author
Matt Fraction
1,225 books1,874 followers"How he got started in comics: In 1983, when Fraction was 7 years old and growing up in Kansas City, Mo., he became fascinated by the U.S. invasion of Grenada and created his own newspaper to explain the event. "I've always been story-driven, telling stories with pictures and words," he said.
Education and first job: Fraction never graduated from college. He stopped half a semester short of an art degree at Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri in 1998 to take a job as a Web designer and managing editor of a magazine about Internet culture.
"My mother was not happy about that," he said.
But that gig led Fraction and his co-workers to split off and launch MK12, a boutique graphic design and production firm in Kansas City that created the opening credits for the James Bond film "Quantum of Solace."
Big break: While writing and directing live-action shoots at MK12, Fraction spent his spare time writing comics and pitching his books each year to publishers at Comic-Con. Two books sold: "The Last of the Independents," published in 2003 by AiT/Planet Lar, and "Casanova," published in 2006 by Image Comics.
Fraction traveled extensively on commercial shoots. Then his wife got pregnant. So Fraction did what any rational man in his position would do -- he quit his job at MK12 to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time comic book writer.
Say what? "It was terrifying," said Fraction, who now lives in Portland, Ore. "I was married. We had a house. We had a baby coming. And I just quit my job."
Marvel hired Fraction in June 2006, thanks largely to the success of his other two comics. "I got very lucky," he half-joked. "If it hadn't worked out, I would have had to move back in with my parents.
- 2009. Alex Pham. Los Angeles Times.
Education and first job: Fraction never graduated from college. He stopped half a semester short of an art degree at Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri in 1998 to take a job as a Web designer and managing editor of a magazine about Internet culture.
"My mother was not happy about that," he said.
But that gig led Fraction and his co-workers to split off and launch MK12, a boutique graphic design and production firm in Kansas City that created the opening credits for the James Bond film "Quantum of Solace."
Big break: While writing and directing live-action shoots at MK12, Fraction spent his spare time writing comics and pitching his books each year to publishers at Comic-Con. Two books sold: "The Last of the Independents," published in 2003 by AiT/Planet Lar, and "Casanova," published in 2006 by Image Comics.
Fraction traveled extensively on commercial shoots. Then his wife got pregnant. So Fraction did what any rational man in his position would do -- he quit his job at MK12 to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time comic book writer.
Say what? "It was terrifying," said Fraction, who now lives in Portland, Ore. "I was married. We had a house. We had a baby coming. And I just quit my job."
Marvel hired Fraction in June 2006, thanks largely to the success of his other two comics. "I got very lucky," he half-joked. "If it hadn't worked out, I would have had to move back in with my parents.
- 2009. Alex Pham. Los Angeles Times.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
July 1, 2014
So here we are at the end of Matt Fraction’s run of Iron Man. Or at least I think it’s the end of his run. It’s the end of the series as Invincible Iron Man at least which was, of course, cause for another #1 book as they re-launched the series yet again with a new writer. Was that part of Marvel NOW? Sweet jebus who can keep up with this stuff? I need a nap….
Anyhow this is a very solid conclusion to the storylines that had been going for some time with Tony being held hostage and forced to help the Mandarin, but you can’t keep a good Iron Man down so there’s the inevitable giant battle with Tony getting some help from unlikely sources.
I particularly liked the final issue of this which shows a depressed Tony being burned out and tired of the superhero life and all the crap that comes with it and coming up with a typically bold and outrageous way of reinvigorating himself.
Fraction took on a tough chore with this series since it started as Tony was one of the most reviled people in the Marvel world because of his actions during and immediately after the Civil War. This was around the time that the first movie hit and turned Iron Man into the cornerstone of the Marvel film universe so they needed to get Tony back to being a ‘good guy’ without ret-conning all the recent history.
Fraction did a great job of coming with stories that swung Tony back from the dark side, but left enough of the fall-out in place to give Stark a new sense of purpose. This was also a series that did a great job of making Tony an interesting character as a brilliant guy who wanted to do the right thing, but whose ego often made him his own worst enemy.
Anyhow this is a very solid conclusion to the storylines that had been going for some time with Tony being held hostage and forced to help the Mandarin, but you can’t keep a good Iron Man down so there’s the inevitable giant battle with Tony getting some help from unlikely sources.
I particularly liked the final issue of this which shows a depressed Tony being burned out and tired of the superhero life and all the crap that comes with it and coming up with a typically bold and outrageous way of reinvigorating himself.
Fraction took on a tough chore with this series since it started as Tony was one of the most reviled people in the Marvel world because of his actions during and immediately after the Civil War. This was around the time that the first movie hit and turned Iron Man into the cornerstone of the Marvel film universe so they needed to get Tony back to being a ‘good guy’ without ret-conning all the recent history.
Fraction did a great job of coming with stories that swung Tony back from the dark side, but left enough of the fall-out in place to give Stark a new sense of purpose. This was also a series that did a great job of making Tony an interesting character as a brilliant guy who wanted to do the right thing, but whose ego often made him his own worst enemy.
November 9, 2022
This ended fantastically!
So we have Tony whose the prisoner of Mandarin and months go by and we see Zeke and hi working together and maybe come with a plan to get out of here along with some other villains but her everyone wants to get rid of the big bad right?!
Meanwhile Pepper is having some stuff going on with JARVIS which was weird but then she finds out about Rhodey and him being the new Iron man and all which was awesome and then the...
The Big story as Iron man and his rebel-gang fight against Mandarin and whatever insane thing he had them building and its an epic ending and the fight well surprising twist but cool ending and just brings it full circle between Tony and Zeke and its such a great contrast and Fraction uses last issue to wrap up some plots and its really well done!
So yeah overall a good read with predictable stuff and an ending which while surprising is still okay and a brilliant run on the character, easily my favorite on Tony! The art by Larroca was brilliant throughout and it was a pleasure to read! Thanks for this run Matt!
So we have Tony whose the prisoner of Mandarin and months go by and we see Zeke and hi working together and maybe come with a plan to get out of here along with some other villains but her everyone wants to get rid of the big bad right?!
Meanwhile Pepper is having some stuff going on with JARVIS which was weird but then she finds out about Rhodey and him being the new Iron man and all which was awesome and then the...
The Big story as Iron man and his rebel-gang fight against Mandarin and whatever insane thing he had them building and its an epic ending and the fight well surprising twist but cool ending and just brings it full circle between Tony and Zeke and its such a great contrast and Fraction uses last issue to wrap up some plots and its really well done!
So yeah overall a good read with predictable stuff and an ending which while surprising is still okay and a brilliant run on the character, easily my favorite on Tony! The art by Larroca was brilliant throughout and it was a pleasure to read! Thanks for this run Matt!
March 13, 2014
4.5 stars
I've been burned by the last few Marvel books I've read, so it's nice to finally be able to write a positive review for one of their titles.
This was outstanding!
Especially considering I came into this at the end of a story arc, and basically had no idea what had been previously happening to the characters.
Luckily, the recap inside the jacket did a decent job giving cliff notes for the past stories...
I'm sure I missed some of the finer points, but I'm ok with that.
First, I've gotta say that I was super-impressed with the facial expressions for Tony. I mean, you almost don't even need for him to have an inner monologue.
Come to think of it, I don't think he did...
I'm not very good at waxing poetic about those sort of things, so I'll just go with Really Good Job Drawing Stuff, Mr. Artist Guy!, and leave it at that.
Alright, even without having been able to keep up with Fraction's Iron Man, I was totally engaged in the story. Unlike the movie version, this Mandarin is actually a force to be reckoned with. He's brilliant, powerful, and absolutely unhinged. He's also managed to get inside Tony's programming and ultimately inside of his head.
Again, not sure how all of that went down, due to my library not having ANY OF THE OTHER ISSUES! Grrr...
At this point in the storyline, Tony is Mandarin's prisoner, and is being forced to build robot things that will eventually house the spirits trapped inside of those damn rings.
I know, right?! Who knew those rings had evil dead warriors stuffed inside of them?
Stark isn't the only one trapped, though. Ezekiel Stane is also being held with him, and somehow they've formed a tentative friendship.
Again. No idea how that happened. Thank you, LC library!
There's lots of other cool stuff going on in this volume, including (but not limited to) J.A.R.V.I.S developing a cyber-crush.
Good stuff!
Highly recommended!
I've been burned by the last few Marvel books I've read, so it's nice to finally be able to write a positive review for one of their titles.
This was outstanding!
Especially considering I came into this at the end of a story arc, and basically had no idea what had been previously happening to the characters.
Luckily, the recap inside the jacket did a decent job giving cliff notes for the past stories...
I'm sure I missed some of the finer points, but I'm ok with that.
First, I've gotta say that I was super-impressed with the facial expressions for Tony. I mean, you almost don't even need for him to have an inner monologue.
Come to think of it, I don't think he did...
I'm not very good at waxing poetic about those sort of things, so I'll just go with Really Good Job Drawing Stuff, Mr. Artist Guy!, and leave it at that.
Alright, even without having been able to keep up with Fraction's Iron Man, I was totally engaged in the story. Unlike the movie version, this Mandarin is actually a force to be reckoned with. He's brilliant, powerful, and absolutely unhinged. He's also managed to get inside Tony's programming and ultimately inside of his head.
Again, not sure how all of that went down, due to my library not having ANY OF THE OTHER ISSUES! Grrr...
At this point in the storyline, Tony is Mandarin's prisoner, and is being forced to build robot things that will eventually house the spirits trapped inside of those damn rings.
I know, right?! Who knew those rings had evil dead warriors stuffed inside of them?
Stark isn't the only one trapped, though. Ezekiel Stane is also being held with him, and somehow they've formed a tentative friendship.
Again. No idea how that happened. Thank you, LC library!
There's lots of other cool stuff going on in this volume, including (but not limited to) J.A.R.V.I.S developing a cyber-crush.
Good stuff!
Highly recommended!
January 16, 2024
I FINALLY finished Fractions generally excellent time on IIM. Not much more to say, but pretty much the definitive modern Iron Man run for my money. Definitely recommend starting it from Vol. 1.
This ain't your gran-pappy's Mandarin (he crazy)
This ain't your gran-pappy's Mandarin (he crazy)
November 24, 2020
Invincible Iron Man volume 11: The Future closes out this 12 (when including the Fear Itself tie in) run on Iron Man by Matt Fraction. What an enjoyable revisit the whole series has been, especially this year as there have been no Marvel Cinematic Universe releases.
Iron Man/Tony Stark being one of my all time favourite Marvel characters, helped by the first Iron Man film, but this series solidified my love of the character. After the events of Endgame the graphic novel/comic is the best way to follow this character.
This is a great closing up of this run. It relates to plot threads from all the way back in volume 1 of this run. Plus it leaves us with plenty of resolutions and questions answered. Of course the character of Iron Man will continue past this, but this is great jumping off point of you don’t want to follow everything Iron Man.
Plot wise we are picking up where the previous volume left us. Tony Stark has been kidnapped and is now held captive by The Mandarin. Plus we have the new Iron Man running around in his awesome armour. There are also some unexpected moments and characters Tony teams up with whilst he is held captive.
There are still the character moments we have come to expect from this series, with focus on Pepper and team Resilient. But the focus here is more on Tony Stark.
This volume however delivers on plenty of action, be it the new Iron Man, Rescue, or the action packed finale with Tony. Again we have the consistent artwork from the previous volumes. So overall we have a consistent style across the whole series.
I highly recommend this run on Iron Man, as you’ll see from my other reviews, there is a dip in quality in the middle. Not to the point where it was bad, the storylines just weren’t as mind blowing the ones set up in the first few volumes. However the stellar start of the series, and this fitting conclusion more than make up for it.
If you have ever been intrigued about reading Iron Man, especially if you are a fan of the movies. This run on Iron Man is a great place to start.
Iron Man/Tony Stark being one of my all time favourite Marvel characters, helped by the first Iron Man film, but this series solidified my love of the character. After the events of Endgame the graphic novel/comic is the best way to follow this character.
This is a great closing up of this run. It relates to plot threads from all the way back in volume 1 of this run. Plus it leaves us with plenty of resolutions and questions answered. Of course the character of Iron Man will continue past this, but this is great jumping off point of you don’t want to follow everything Iron Man.
Plot wise we are picking up where the previous volume left us. Tony Stark has been kidnapped and is now held captive by The Mandarin. Plus we have the new Iron Man running around in his awesome armour. There are also some unexpected moments and characters Tony teams up with whilst he is held captive.
There are still the character moments we have come to expect from this series, with focus on Pepper and team Resilient. But the focus here is more on Tony Stark.
This volume however delivers on plenty of action, be it the new Iron Man, Rescue, or the action packed finale with Tony. Again we have the consistent artwork from the previous volumes. So overall we have a consistent style across the whole series.
I highly recommend this run on Iron Man, as you’ll see from my other reviews, there is a dip in quality in the middle. Not to the point where it was bad, the storylines just weren’t as mind blowing the ones set up in the first few volumes. However the stellar start of the series, and this fitting conclusion more than make up for it.
If you have ever been intrigued about reading Iron Man, especially if you are a fan of the movies. This run on Iron Man is a great place to start.
January 30, 2013
A fitting conclusion that ends Fraction and Larroca's Invincible Iron Man in the same way that the rest of the series has progressed; sometimes a little over-long and drawn out, but well worth it all in the end. This final volume sees everything come to a head as Tony finds himself a prisoner of the Mandarin, and only by working with his rogues gallery can he escape Mandarin City and save the planet from Mandarin's insanity. The throwaway subplots surrounding Pepper and Rhodey notwithstanding, this an explosive finale to the four year long run, and it delivers on almost every level. Even Larroca's art is less obviously traced, and his Sawyer!Stark isn't quite as irritating.
March 24, 2021
3.75 stars. Tony is being held against hill and being forced to build some wild contraption for the Mandarin. But of course Tony has a side hustle brewing. Building up to the finale, Tony has enlisted help from the last people you would think. But they end up working well together and get the job done. This was a pretty decent wrap to the story.
March 6, 2013
This is a very exciting climax to the four years that the creative team have been building this world for us. I found myself on the edge of my seat, seeing how tight the noose and dread had tightened around our hero's neck, to wonder how he could possibly pull off a victory here (without it seeming hollow or contrived).
Mandarin in Fraction's world isn't some cackling pseudo-warlock or an exaggerated vicious lunatic from a Bugs Bunny cartoon - he's a focused, determined control freak who tolerates only success and delivery. He's also a sociopath of course - which simply makes him a cipher for any modern western CEO (who just happens to possess a set of cosmic power rings to enforce his will).
After the nearly crushing defeats Stark has suffered lately, his trademark arrogance and desperation here are welcome, cheering sparks that make me root for the aggressively overreaching bastard as hard as ever. You don't exactly *feel* for him (like when you saw how crushed he was after his reboot and examination of the shit he did during Civil War), but I definitely want to get behind him and slipstream off his sheer momentum against such depressing ways that he's been subjugated here.
The excitement I felt during the climax was genuine - I was thrilled to see just how far Tony and the cast of characters were able to pull rabbits out of invisible hats - and how hard they had to battle. How does Fraction do that? Make it impossible for me to step away from the book.
This feels like a good, well-planned end/jumping-off point for the series that the creative team has worked on for so long - and amazingly, it felt like a natural outcome of seeds that were planted and cultivated all these years. Also nice to see Fraction leave a few threads for his follower to pick up.
Mandarin in Fraction's world isn't some cackling pseudo-warlock or an exaggerated vicious lunatic from a Bugs Bunny cartoon - he's a focused, determined control freak who tolerates only success and delivery. He's also a sociopath of course - which simply makes him a cipher for any modern western CEO (who just happens to possess a set of cosmic power rings to enforce his will).
After the nearly crushing defeats Stark has suffered lately, his trademark arrogance and desperation here are welcome, cheering sparks that make me root for the aggressively overreaching bastard as hard as ever. You don't exactly *feel* for him (like when you saw how crushed he was after his reboot and examination of the shit he did during Civil War), but I definitely want to get behind him and slipstream off his sheer momentum against such depressing ways that he's been subjugated here.
The excitement I felt during the climax was genuine - I was thrilled to see just how far Tony and the cast of characters were able to pull rabbits out of invisible hats - and how hard they had to battle. How does Fraction do that? Make it impossible for me to step away from the book.
This feels like a good, well-planned end/jumping-off point for the series that the creative team has worked on for so long - and amazingly, it felt like a natural outcome of seeds that were planted and cultivated all these years. Also nice to see Fraction leave a few threads for his follower to pick up.
September 21, 2021
Worse than the last season of Game of Thrones.
May 12, 2020
4.5 stars.
This is the conclusion of the 60+ issue run of Fraction and Larroca, and they've done a fantastic job in every way possible.
After last two volumes, Tony Stark is beaten by Mandarin. In every way possible. He is now imprisoned in Mandarin City. This volume focuses on his incredible journey to stop Mandarin, and turning some very bad men good along the way. Tony Strak was never an inspirational hero, but in this book, he really became one. His speech in somewhere in the middle was really inspiring, and it was good to see a hero I didn't really like made me care about him. The last showdown, which was a long time in the making was fantastic, and features some of the best artwork done by the artist. The armors of Iron Man, Ezekiel Stane and their villain-turned-heroes were so wonderfully drawn.
After 60 issues and almost 5 years, Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca ended their defining Iron Man run with a near-perfect end.
This is the conclusion of the 60+ issue run of Fraction and Larroca, and they've done a fantastic job in every way possible.
After last two volumes, Tony Stark is beaten by Mandarin. In every way possible. He is now imprisoned in Mandarin City. This volume focuses on his incredible journey to stop Mandarin, and turning some very bad men good along the way. Tony Strak was never an inspirational hero, but in this book, he really became one. His speech in somewhere in the middle was really inspiring, and it was good to see a hero I didn't really like made me care about him. The last showdown, which was a long time in the making was fantastic, and features some of the best artwork done by the artist. The armors of Iron Man, Ezekiel Stane and their villain-turned-heroes were so wonderfully drawn.
After 60 issues and almost 5 years, Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca ended their defining Iron Man run with a near-perfect end.
January 31, 2018
At least it's over.
January 15, 2022
So sad to reach the end of this series, I wish there were more volumes!
February 11, 2016
It sucks to think that, after all of Fraction's amazing work on Iron Man with this fairly long-running series, he kind of failed to stick the dismount. After a lull in storytelling that dragged for several volumes, he finally got back on track with the two volumes leading up to this, building a ton of momentum and tension that felt like it was finally going to pay off here.
And... it sort of did? I mean, it ends, and wraps up every loose end, and answers every lingering question. But, it just kind of does those things. It's too straightforward for someone like Fraction, who's great at nuance and invention in his storytelling. This is very much just Tony Stark finally beating the bad guy and learning his lesson in the process. There isn't much in the way of subtext, which can sometimes be fine, but Fraction has been building in a lot of mystery and chess-piece, Machiavellian maneuvers over the past two volumes, so seeing these not amount to much is disappointing.
This by no means cancels out this series for me, though. Fraction's first year on Iron Man is one of my favorites ever, and after that he continued to write interesting, character-driven stories, even if they weren't groundbreaking. I just wish he'd kept it up for a bit longer, or maybe quit while he was ahead.
And... it sort of did? I mean, it ends, and wraps up every loose end, and answers every lingering question. But, it just kind of does those things. It's too straightforward for someone like Fraction, who's great at nuance and invention in his storytelling. This is very much just Tony Stark finally beating the bad guy and learning his lesson in the process. There isn't much in the way of subtext, which can sometimes be fine, but Fraction has been building in a lot of mystery and chess-piece, Machiavellian maneuvers over the past two volumes, so seeing these not amount to much is disappointing.
This by no means cancels out this series for me, though. Fraction's first year on Iron Man is one of my favorites ever, and after that he continued to write interesting, character-driven stories, even if they weren't groundbreaking. I just wish he'd kept it up for a bit longer, or maybe quit while he was ahead.
July 7, 2016
Fractions finale pays off and wraps up his time on the series without feeling pat. While the artwork never clicked with me and while I perhaps didn't always like the series, I have appreciated what he attempted and it's a different tale for me. I have to say, there's very little interest in me picking up further Iron Man books though I am curious about what Bendis is up to right now.
What to read next? I think I'm going to finish Waid's DD run from the San Francisco starting point before maybe reading some more up to date/recent stories.
What to read next? I think I'm going to finish Waid's DD run from the San Francisco starting point before maybe reading some more up to date/recent stories.
January 7, 2013
A fitting end to a superb series. It is impressive when you think that the seeds for this grand epic were sewn nearly 4 years ago and still everything made sense and was consistent. I loved Matt Fraction writing Iron Man and hope he continues to bring new fresh sci-fi epics into the lives of Tony Stark.
October 18, 2014
I loved that this run included super-hero teams in other parts of the world, and ESPECIALLY that they were part of the plot. I liked that Tony was determined to be merciful. I was sad that mental problems could all be cured by surgery.
June 13, 2018
Well we finally reach the end of the road.
With this volume, we finally see the culmination of Fraction's run on Iron man as he wraps up all the loose ends that he has left open for the past two volumes.
The Mandarin moves for checkmate as he has Tony and Zeke under his control and has them making his "mega mechs" or whatever they are called, each of which will contain one of the Mandarin's ten rings - which are actually space entity's trying to find a vessel to "live again". Phew.
In my experience, when a plot that so grandiose and out there is mixed with smaller subplots, it usually falls apart or doesn't hold up when written by a lesser writer. You really have to give it up to Fraction not only for this volume but the entire run. He's not only crafted a new, modern take on Tony - and Iron man- but also managed to stick the landing.
A lot of what I liked about this volume was the resolution of subplots. From Jarvis going rouge, to the (quick) revelation of who the new Iron Man is/was (was there any doubt?) to the demise of the leader of Hammer.
Shout out to Salvador Larroca for the art. I know he has his critics, but for the most part, the dude can draw his ass off.
The only criticism I have is that the final act is a bit rushed, but I understand as the setup was so long, you kinda have to go for it and not stretch it out to not let the book drag.
Definitely check this out if you like Iron Man and that goes double if you have been reading Fraction's run until now.
With this volume, we finally see the culmination of Fraction's run on Iron man as he wraps up all the loose ends that he has left open for the past two volumes.
The Mandarin moves for checkmate as he has Tony and Zeke under his control and has them making his "mega mechs" or whatever they are called, each of which will contain one of the Mandarin's ten rings - which are actually space entity's trying to find a vessel to "live again". Phew.
In my experience, when a plot that so grandiose and out there is mixed with smaller subplots, it usually falls apart or doesn't hold up when written by a lesser writer. You really have to give it up to Fraction not only for this volume but the entire run. He's not only crafted a new, modern take on Tony - and Iron man- but also managed to stick the landing.
A lot of what I liked about this volume was the resolution of subplots. From Jarvis going rouge, to the (quick) revelation of who the new Iron Man is/was (was there any doubt?) to the demise of the leader of Hammer.
Shout out to Salvador Larroca for the art. I know he has his critics, but for the most part, the dude can draw his ass off.
The only criticism I have is that the final act is a bit rushed, but I understand as the setup was so long, you kinda have to go for it and not stretch it out to not let the book drag.
Definitely check this out if you like Iron Man and that goes double if you have been reading Fraction's run until now.
February 10, 2019
The final chapter! I have to say I'm really sad it's over. When I started reading the Fraction run in October I wasn't sure what I would get into. I've never read any Marvel comics, but really wanted to give the Iron Man comics a try. Boy was I in for a surprise! Such an amazing read, I really loved all of it. I will try out other paperbacks from now on, I hope I will like them as much as what Matt Fraction wrote.
The Future was a really good ending for the overall story arc. Of course I wished it had gone on longer, but what can you do. I think the Mandarin is an excellent foe, my favorite so far. Another thing I really liked about the whole story-run, but again very much in this episode is, that other characters got really good storylines too. I'm a huge Pepper fan and I always squee when she's in the Rescue suit!
The Future was a really good ending for the overall story arc. Of course I wished it had gone on longer, but what can you do. I think the Mandarin is an excellent foe, my favorite so far. Another thing I really liked about the whole story-run, but again very much in this episode is, that other characters got really good storylines too. I'm a huge Pepper fan and I always squee when she's in the Rescue suit!
May 17, 2021
A fitting finale.
Finally, the plan Tony has set in motion is revealed.
The Mandarin got overconfident, sure in the belief he had Tony beaten.
And he certainly had not studied Iron Man's origin story well enough... because Tony tries to pull that one again. Just this time, more epic.
And we do get a suitable and satisfying end battle- I loved the new international hero teams coming to the rescue.
I absolutely loved this run of stories.
What a ride.
Finally, the plan Tony has set in motion is revealed.
The Mandarin got overconfident, sure in the belief he had Tony beaten.
And he certainly had not studied Iron Man's origin story well enough... because Tony tries to pull that one again. Just this time, more epic.
And we do get a suitable and satisfying end battle- I loved the new international hero teams coming to the rescue.
I absolutely loved this run of stories.
What a ride.
July 30, 2024
In the near FUTURE, Robert Downey Jr., who once played Iron Man in the MCU, will be playing Marvel villain Doctor Doom. This was the closest collection I could find to check out from my local library that matched that fact. But this was muddled, satisfactory-at-best artwork, with a clunky storyline. I hope RDJ performs better as a FF character than how this one went down.
July 19, 2018
Solid story. I love Potts and Rhodes in this story most of all. Fraction and Larroca consistently prove their skills with handling the Iron Man universe. Awesome.
July 30, 2018
This series started out so strong but by the end of it I was just ready to move onto my next Iron Man series. Fraction's run on Haweye was way tighter and more visually appealing thanks to David Aja
August 14, 2018
Final book in this series. Overall it was OK, the earlier ones being better then the later ones.
November 16, 2020
A fitting end to Fraction and Larroca's run.
October 20, 2021
Pretty anticlimactic, honestly. Don't know much of what else to say. It was alright.
January 20, 2023
Una maravilla de desenlace de historia y visualmente sublime también. Una técnica en la gráfica muy magestuosa.
August 15, 2025
77/100
October 14, 2025
Brutal surveillance. Inevitable outcome to an insane scheme. Rebuilding from scratch.
March 16, 2017
Too many characters, too many words, not enough classic Iron Man.
June 27, 2013
Well, I appreciate and respect what the creator's accomplished on this series because they were in it for the long haul, which one doesn't see very often especially in mainstream comics. At the end of the book I noticed that I missed an Iron Man book as the "Fear Itself" tie in was not considered part of its legacy at least in collected form. The Fear Itself tie in should have been volume 9.
I think Fraction did a wonderful job maintaining a tone throughout the series and every bit of dialogue by Tony Stark sounded like Robert Downey Jr. could have spoken it even though he wasn't drawn with the actor's likeness. I think this title was probably the best company book to ever properly fit in with its movie universe counterpart. That is, I think any movie goer that hadn't read Iron Man before--but liked the movies--could easily read Fraction's Iron Man and enjoy the ride. I don't think the same could be said of X-Men movies and X-Men comic books or even Batman movies and the various Bat-verse comic books due to complicated continuity.
I was a bit let down by the plot of how Iron Man defeats the Mandarin by working on a project in secret while double crossing the bad guy because I'd already witnessed such a thing in the first Iron Man movie. But still, the creative team played with the corporate toys in the sand box, caused havoc and chaos for 12 volumes and then they put everything back to together again, neatly.
Onward and upward for the next creative team, I wish them the best. I probably won't support future books of Iron Man for no other reason as I don't buy Iron Man books out of habit and I could afford to drop a couple titles to help with my wallet, but I will definitely read further adventures if the public library carries the next volume of tales.
I think Fraction did a wonderful job maintaining a tone throughout the series and every bit of dialogue by Tony Stark sounded like Robert Downey Jr. could have spoken it even though he wasn't drawn with the actor's likeness. I think this title was probably the best company book to ever properly fit in with its movie universe counterpart. That is, I think any movie goer that hadn't read Iron Man before--but liked the movies--could easily read Fraction's Iron Man and enjoy the ride. I don't think the same could be said of X-Men movies and X-Men comic books or even Batman movies and the various Bat-verse comic books due to complicated continuity.
I was a bit let down by the plot of how Iron Man defeats the Mandarin by working on a project in secret while double crossing the bad guy because I'd already witnessed such a thing in the first Iron Man movie. But still, the creative team played with the corporate toys in the sand box, caused havoc and chaos for 12 volumes and then they put everything back to together again, neatly.
Onward and upward for the next creative team, I wish them the best. I probably won't support future books of Iron Man for no other reason as I don't buy Iron Man books out of habit and I could afford to drop a couple titles to help with my wallet, but I will definitely read further adventures if the public library carries the next volume of tales.
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