Iron Man, Vol. 2: The Insurgent Iron Man

Iron Man (2024)

by Spencer Ackerman, Julius Ohta (Artist), Michael Dowling (Artist)

Continuing a back-to-basics new era for the Golden Avenger! After witnessing firsthand the devastation of war, Tony Stark famously divested his company from the weapons trade. Then Orchis and Feilong came along, and a furious Iron Man watched them dismantle his legacy. Now Stark Unlimited is going back to its roots as Tony publicly announces a full-scale return to weapons manufacturing! What?! Why is Iron Man meeting with rebels outside Latveria? Why is the Winter Guard after him (this time)? Why is Doctor Doom sending angry emissaries to Stark's door? What in all hell is Tony Stark doing?! While the Avengers fight the world's new emperor, Doom, on the public stage, Iron Man tries the insurgency route from inside Latveria. But can his former teammate, the Black Widow, trust his tactics? Collecting Iron Man (2024) #6-10.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Superheroes, Graphic Novels

112 pages, Paperback

Published December 9, 2025

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.6 stars

[Tyler Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was alright. Gotta a little hard to follow for me at the end. But that’s also because I go long periods of time without reading the series. So that could be my bad.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

3
I liked how this series started, but it tanked fast. It seemed like it didn't know what it wanted to be.

[Shivesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bold experiment with sharp ideas—but uneven results

I finally got around to reading The Insurgent Iron Man Vol. 2, and while it’s not without flaws, I admire Marvel’s willingness to hand the reins to a relative newcomer like Spencer Ackerman. Known more for his journalism than comics, Ackerman brings a fresh political lens to the Iron Man mythos, and this limited series is packed with ambitious ideas that deserve recognition.

The premise is compelling: Tony Stark, disillusioned with the global order and his own legacy, returns to weapons manufacturing and covert operations. Set against the backdrop of the “One World Under Doom” storyline, Stark infiltrates Latveria via rebels in the countryside, while the Avengers confront Doctor Doom head-on in the main arc. It’s a morally murky setup that could’ve offered rich commentary on power, rebellion, and corporate ethics.  But this doesn't hit the mark at all.

Unfortunately, the story falters midway—especially around issue #3. The integration of broader Marvel continuity feels forced, with plot devices from the overarching Doom narrative clashing awkwardly with Stark’s personal arc. The anti-capitalist themes are present but underdeveloped; Stark’s ideological pivot lacks the emotional and philosophical groundwork to feel earned. Had Ackerman spent more time exploring Stark’s motivations—his unionization efforts, his relationship to Stark Industries, and the roots of his discontent—the social critique might’ve landed with more weight.

That said, the art is consistently excellent. The technopunk Iron Man suit designs are sleek and inventive, and the panel flow evokes the pacing of a high-budget Netflix series. Action scenes are kinetic and cinematic, and the visual storytelling often outshines the script. Latverian characters, however, felt slightly mischaracterized, and oddly enough, more screen time for Victor Von Doom might’ve helped anchor the narrative.

In the end, I don’t fault Ackerman so much as the editorial constraints. Rumors suggest the series was cut short halfway through the run, and that shows in the riushed ending. The bones of a great story are here, but the limited format and continuity demands seem to have clipped its wings. Still, it’s a noble attempt—and I hope Marvel continues to take chances on new voices like this.

[Subham · Rating 2 out of 5]

This run as a whole is bad I feel and it took me forever to complete it. Here we see Iron man taking the battle to Dr Doom and then him arming LPF the resistance of Latveria and they are not good guys exactly and you see Iron man making compromises with his morality and being stopped by black widow too and then fighting against Winter Guard and all, the drama and battles there. Also we have the inclusion of May here aka the Cavalry which I forgot to mention in the review of my previous volume but seriously it had so much potential and the banter between Tony and her is fun!

We see them fight it out against Winter guard and them making plans to arm LPF and then come Black widow and Winter Soldier and the three way fight that ensues, VICTORIOUS aka right hand of Doom from Slotts FF also here and its a fun battle but ends too abruptly as I feel like the series was cancelled and so the writer had to wrap it up.

But you also see the creation of a new Iron monger in Vishte Taru and he had potential yes but his backstory and motivation felt confusing but in a way you see him admiring Iron man and sort of in his twisted way he killed so many people and wanting to take out Doom to stop Tony from having done it and in a way when he is condemned to hell, you see him hate Tony even more and like maybe he will return in future but maybe he will be a cool villain down the line again.

But yeah like I keep on saying this is a run with potential and some good moments here and there but never lived upto it and is like a laborious read. I wasn't a fan of this run maybe someone will like it more.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this was...bad, actually?

Like, I get what Ackerman was going for. The justifications he gives for the stuff that Tony does in these five issues are solid, but they just don't ring true to who I feel like Tony is. Maybe that's a 'me' problem, I dunno. There's also a lot of dialogue that doesn't really say much, double and triple crosses that get hard to keep track of, and the final conclusion, while it ties the run off in a neat bow by looping back to stuff from the first arc, just felt kind of unsatisfying.

Props for using Melinda May though - she needs to be in more places in comics.

The art's also kind of flat. Julius Ohta returns from the first volume, but when Michael Dowling and Guiu Villanova show up for the last two issues, the difference is stark, and they kind of show him up in terms of both framing and substance.

I'm kind of glad this run is over - which isn't something I say often these days, when everything is 10 issues (if we're lucky) and cancelled.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

An overly convoluted story tying into One World Under Doom. Tony's forced into selling weapons to Latveria, but he's also supporting 2 rebel groups there. The Winter Guard is involved and the Black Widow is trying to stop him. I could barely keep any of this straight and there's so much exposition that it's difficult to maintain interest. Three different artists on 5 issues is also a problem. Anyway, this continues the trend of Marvel cancelling a ton of books at 10 issues and reading this, you can certainly see why.

[Sam Bakos · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was actually pretty good until Vishte turned evil. I'm so sick and tired of the 'oppressed minority now decides to be evil' trope like fuck off, the kid gets shown as being more evil then the racist who wants to kill him at the beginning. Just tired of this, especially in the current political climate.

The art is excellent still, and while I like the anti-capitalist message because I agree with it the execution is incredibly lacking.

[Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not horrible, but not great...
Still with the mid/low tier 'evil doers' like Belasco and Doctor Druid...
Tony Stark hasn't looked good during this whole series. Gaunt? Ill?

===================
Bonus: Seriously?! The acronym heavy, union busting, ex-SHIELD group is named S.T.R.I.K.E. B.R.E.A.K.E.R.S.?

"STark Reconnaissance, Intelligence and Kinetic-Evasion BRigade for Electronic AttacK, Espionage n' Ruggedized Solutions"

GTFO of here.'
Seriously.

[Michael Sanchez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really didn't care for it. Not a fault, per se, of the writer or the artist(s), I've never really cared for Iron Man regardless. During the Emperor Doom storyline, plus weirdo old characters like Dr. Druid, plus weirdo new characters like May (from the TV show?) equals an unenjoyable time. Happy to have tried, but it wasn't for me.

[Bret Althauser · Rating 1 out of 5]

The one world under doom event kinda sucks and the whole event feels like a tie in to the doomsday movie. Also introducing a villain in less than 2 issues and getting rid of him is not very compelling. Hopefully the next run is better.

[Jorge Lopez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as single issues.

This run started with some interesting concepts, but it loses the impulse after the first arc.

[Brian]

I haven't read where Doom takes over the world yet, so this was a tad confusing.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

A smidge better than the first volume.

Makes you wonder what morals you would bend to defeat evil.

[Blair Conrad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably would've been a 2, but I'm never sorry to see May.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars