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Marvel Cinematic Universe
Marvel's Iron Man 3 Prelude
Collects Marvel's Iron Man 2 Adaptation #1-2; Marvel's Iron Man 3 Prelude #1-2, Iron Man (2005) #1.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe returns! First, it's the comics adaptation of the blockbuster film Iron Man 2! Why is the U.S. government going after Iron Man? Plus, a mysterious figure from Tony's past returns - and he's got a vendetta. Featuring the first appearance and origin of War Machine! Then, it's an all-new story set between the events of Marvel's the Avengers and the upcoming Iron Man 3! What mysterious project has Tony Stark been developing since his alliance with SHIELD and his joining Earth's Mightiest Heroes? And how will it change the way he lives ... forever?
The Marvel Cinematic Universe returns! First, it's the comics adaptation of the blockbuster film Iron Man 2! Why is the U.S. government going after Iron Man? Plus, a mysterious figure from Tony's past returns - and he's got a vendetta. Featuring the first appearance and origin of War Machine! Then, it's an all-new story set between the events of Marvel's the Avengers and the upcoming Iron Man 3! What mysterious project has Tony Stark been developing since his alliance with SHIELD and his joining Earth's Mightiest Heroes? And how will it change the way he lives ... forever?
127 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 16, 2013
6 people are currently reading
168 people want to read
About the author
Christos Gage
1,535 books128 followersChris N. Gage is a writer for comic books and television.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
May 5, 2013
Somewhat disappointing, but I wasn't really expecting much of it. This volume contains a graphic novelisation of Iron Man 2, a short lead-up to Iron Man 3 which happily features plenty of Rhodey (and explains where he was during Avengers and why War Machine -- sorry, Iron Patriot -- wasn't fighting at Tony's side), and what I think is an excerpt from the Extremis storyline from 2005, not that the book makes it terribly clear. The art is mostly unremarkable, and most of the fun stuff is Rhodey kicking ass.
December 25, 2018
I didn't want to read this much about war machine, it should have more Tony.
March 8, 2021
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
January 20, 2019
My bar for these preludes is so low that I was really surprised by how interested I was, at least in the War Machine parts. He gets so little attention in the movies that it was nice to have a bit more characterization and background for him. There isn't a whole lot of substance, but it's pretty good as far as the preludes go. Just don't expect good art. My favorite awful panel was the one where Rhodes' eyes were just pure black holes in his face. I think they were trying to imply he was in shadow but...I don't know many people who go full zombie when a shadow is cast on them.
January 4, 2014
The 3rd and fourth issues were a new take. Interesting but odd. The first two were movie-verse and the first was pretty much Iron Man 2 in comic form. Though there was a bit that had rhodey's side mission during the battle of new york so that was cool.
December 7, 2016
This wasn't something that I ever planned to read because I've never really liked the character Iron Man. He's okay in the movies because he's played by Robert Downey Jr., but I've never liked him in the comics. He's one of my least favorite Marvel characters in general. My sister had this book and was about to trade it in at a used book store. I read this on the trip rom our house to the store. The first portion of the book is an adaptation of the movie Iron Man 2 that was 2 comic issues long. It should have been at least 4 issues long, but really needed to be 6 issues long. There was so much info missing, that if you have never seen the movie, you'd have a hard time following the book because there are so many gaps and plot holes. It looked pretty good though which surprised me and always does when I come across a Marvel title written in the last 15 years that actually has art I like.
The 2nd portion of this book is a bridge between the first Avengers movie and Iron Man 3. It explains some stuff I had been wondering about like where Rhodey was when the Avengers movie was going on and the Chitauri were invading. The writing in this was nothing extraordinary, but didn't feel quite as rushed and choppy as the Iron man 2 adaptation did. The art here also looks good.
The last portion of the book is the first issue in Warren Ellis' Extremis run. I love Ellis, but I'd never even thought about reading his run because of how much I hate Tony Stark/Iron Man. This one issue has changed my mind (not changed my mind in how I feel about Stark, but changed my mind about reading it because Ellis the shit). The art in this looked like real people. It reminded me of that movie A Scanner Darkly with Keanu Reeves and Robert Downey Jr because of the way the characters looked.
If not for the single issue that Ellis wrote, the writing score would probably be 2 stars, but as is, the writing gets 3 stars. The art gets 4 stars. That score is definitely outside the norm for what I usually give Marvel books. This ended up being a 3.5 star overall book. I wouldn't rush out to buy it at full price, but it is well worth reading if you can find a cheap copy on Amazon.
The 2nd portion of this book is a bridge between the first Avengers movie and Iron Man 3. It explains some stuff I had been wondering about like where Rhodey was when the Avengers movie was going on and the Chitauri were invading. The writing in this was nothing extraordinary, but didn't feel quite as rushed and choppy as the Iron man 2 adaptation did. The art here also looks good.
The last portion of the book is the first issue in Warren Ellis' Extremis run. I love Ellis, but I'd never even thought about reading his run because of how much I hate Tony Stark/Iron Man. This one issue has changed my mind (not changed my mind in how I feel about Stark, but changed my mind about reading it because Ellis the shit). The art in this looked like real people. It reminded me of that movie A Scanner Darkly with Keanu Reeves and Robert Downey Jr because of the way the characters looked.
If not for the single issue that Ellis wrote, the writing score would probably be 2 stars, but as is, the writing gets 3 stars. The art gets 4 stars. That score is definitely outside the norm for what I usually give Marvel books. This ended up being a 3.5 star overall book. I wouldn't rush out to buy it at full price, but it is well worth reading if you can find a cheap copy on Amazon.
December 7, 2016
There are a couple of writers on this and several artists, to which I don't feel like breaking down.
The adaptation of "Iron-Man 2" was quite short. I'm pretty sure if you haven't seen the movie that the comic was jumbled and confusing. I realize there is too much movie to cram into a comic for it to be faithful but a few added panels could have helped this. As for the "Iron-Man 3" prelude, it is nothing more than filler material centered around War Machine. I can understand why this was on clearance at a big chain bookstore as it is not a good addition to the Iron-Man comics.
The art in all four issues was terrible. There is strong source material to pull from considering this is a media tie-in. That means, I expect Robert Downey Jr's face as Iron-Man, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and so on. The artwork was lazy and uninspired. The prelude has decent backgrounds at times, with some detailing, but again, the characters look nothing like the actors.
The best thing about this cash-cow is the look at "Iron-Man: Extremis" which looked amazing. After reading the excerpt, I am quite interesting in reading the entire graphic.
The adaptation of "Iron-Man 2" was quite short. I'm pretty sure if you haven't seen the movie that the comic was jumbled and confusing. I realize there is too much movie to cram into a comic for it to be faithful but a few added panels could have helped this. As for the "Iron-Man 3" prelude, it is nothing more than filler material centered around War Machine. I can understand why this was on clearance at a big chain bookstore as it is not a good addition to the Iron-Man comics.
The art in all four issues was terrible. There is strong source material to pull from considering this is a media tie-in. That means, I expect Robert Downey Jr's face as Iron-Man, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and so on. The artwork was lazy and uninspired. The prelude has decent backgrounds at times, with some detailing, but again, the characters look nothing like the actors.
The best thing about this cash-cow is the look at "Iron-Man: Extremis" which looked amazing. After reading the excerpt, I am quite interesting in reading the entire graphic.
April 7, 2020
I’m stuck in quarantine like everyone else so I thought I’d go through my comics and see if I can whittle them down some. This was next in my “maybe I’ll keep them, maybe I won’t” pile.
This was, I think, the last of the preludes that actually tried to tell a compelling, original story. After this one, they pretty much just stuck to telling comic versions of the previous MCU movie. In fact, this one has a watered down version of Iron Man 2 in it.
The saving grace for this collection is that the prelude story is about what Rhodey was doing in between Iron Man 2 and during The Avengers, thus explaining his absence in that movie. AND, it even takes the time to actually lead into Iron Man 3.
The story and art are ok but I give them credit for actually adding layers to the MCU in ways that most of the other prelude comics don’t.
This was, I think, the last of the preludes that actually tried to tell a compelling, original story. After this one, they pretty much just stuck to telling comic versions of the previous MCU movie. In fact, this one has a watered down version of Iron Man 2 in it.
The saving grace for this collection is that the prelude story is about what Rhodey was doing in between Iron Man 2 and during The Avengers, thus explaining his absence in that movie. AND, it even takes the time to actually lead into Iron Man 3.
The story and art are ok but I give them credit for actually adding layers to the MCU in ways that most of the other prelude comics don’t.
March 15, 2018
This volume in the Marvel Cinematic Universe set of "prelude" collections contains a faithful two-part adaptation of "Iron Man 2" and follows with the "Iron Man 3" two-issue prelude that includes a War Machine adventure that's a nice piece of character work for Colonel Rhodes "Rhodey" that takes place during the Battle of New York in the Avengers movie. The last story in this one is Part 1 of 6 from a 2005 Iron Man story (which like other preludes collected issues ends with "Continued in Iron Man Extremis" and which leaves the reader wanting to check out this tale--a great marketing ploy by Marvel).
February 28, 2024
Not a terrible lead up to Iron Man 3, I just expected a bit more. I had no idea it was going to include Iron Man 2 and then that Extremist arc at the end, with very little “prequel” stuff leading up to the third movie. However, I did enjoy seeing Rhodey get most of the spotlight as War Machine. He deserves more appearances.
May 29, 2018
mcu marathon
September 7, 2019
Good tie in with what happened between the Iron Man movies and where War Machine was when the New York incident occurred.
April 4, 2020
Me encantó porque obtuve información que no tenía antes de ver la película, interesante.
April 28, 2013
Komik Iron Man 3 Prelude ini merupakan missing link antara film Iron Man 2, The Avengers dan Iron Man 3, khususnya untuk menjelaskan pertanyaan "Di mana Rhodey saat New York diserang alien dari dimensi lain?"
Selepas Iron Man 2, Iron Man Mark II dikembalikan pada Tony Stark, yang langsung mempereteli senjata Hammer Tech, yang menganalogikannya dengan corat-coret anak TK di lukisan Monalisa. Tapi toh bukan berarti Tony tidak mau meminjamkan teknologinya pada DOD AS. Ia malah menciptakan armor War Machine baru untuk Rhodey, yang dilengkapi persenjataan Stark Tech tentunya. Armor inilah yang kelak bakal dicat ala Captain America dan dinamai Iron Patriot.
Sementara Tony sibuk dengan proyek barunya membangun Stark Tower yang akan menjadi gedung pencakar langit pertama yang menggunakan energi bersih, Rhodey dengan armor barunya sibuk menjalankan misi-misi pemerintah khususnya terkait sel teroris Ten Rings di seluruh penjuru dunia. Sayangnya, di mana-mana orang mengira dan memanggilnya Iron Man m(O.o)m. Memangnya enak, jadi pemeran pengganti?
Jadi, waktu "situation in New York" terjadi, Rhodey tak bisa memenuhi panggilan darurat Tony, secara sedang bertempur dengan teroris yang ingin melindasnya jadi segepeng pizza dengan tank. Andaipun bisa segera pergi, dengan kecepatan supersonik pun paling cepat ia sampai satu jam lagi.
Karena itu, Rhodey baru sampai New York setelah semuanya selesai, dan sistem pelacaknya membuatnya mendapati Tony sedang asyik menikmati shawarma bersama superfriends-nya dan menyuruhnya ikut makan.
Just like that.
Eh, by the way, di akhir komik Tony memamerkan persiapannya kepada Rhodes dalam menghadapi berbagai macam situasi yang bisa terjadi di masa yang akan datang.
"Let me guess. A new suit?" tebak Rhodey.
"You're thinking too small," tukas Tony. "J.A.R.V.I.S., open Project Wine Cellar."
Menurut Tony, Iron Man saja tidak cukup, meskipun diback-up dengan War Machine. Karenanya, ia membangun Iron Legion. Jadi jangan heran kalau di awal film Iron Man 3 tahu-tahu Tony sudah melahirkan dan mengujicoba prototipe Mark 42.
Tapi adegan Tony pamer koleksi armornya pada Rhodey di sini tidak nyambung dengan adegan final film Iron Man 3, sewaktu J.A.R.V.I.S. menjalankan House Party Protocol. Karena di film jelas-jelas Rhodey kelihatannya kaget melihat bala bantuan yang didatangkan Tony.
Tapi bagaimanapun, this is a nice reading.
Selepas Iron Man 2, Iron Man Mark II dikembalikan pada Tony Stark, yang langsung mempereteli senjata Hammer Tech, yang menganalogikannya dengan corat-coret anak TK di lukisan Monalisa. Tapi toh bukan berarti Tony tidak mau meminjamkan teknologinya pada DOD AS. Ia malah menciptakan armor War Machine baru untuk Rhodey, yang dilengkapi persenjataan Stark Tech tentunya. Armor inilah yang kelak bakal dicat ala Captain America dan dinamai Iron Patriot.
Sementara Tony sibuk dengan proyek barunya membangun Stark Tower yang akan menjadi gedung pencakar langit pertama yang menggunakan energi bersih, Rhodey dengan armor barunya sibuk menjalankan misi-misi pemerintah khususnya terkait sel teroris Ten Rings di seluruh penjuru dunia. Sayangnya, di mana-mana orang mengira dan memanggilnya Iron Man m(O.o)m. Memangnya enak, jadi pemeran pengganti?
Jadi, waktu "situation in New York" terjadi, Rhodey tak bisa memenuhi panggilan darurat Tony, secara sedang bertempur dengan teroris yang ingin melindasnya jadi segepeng pizza dengan tank. Andaipun bisa segera pergi, dengan kecepatan supersonik pun paling cepat ia sampai satu jam lagi.
Karena itu, Rhodey baru sampai New York setelah semuanya selesai, dan sistem pelacaknya membuatnya mendapati Tony sedang asyik menikmati shawarma bersama superfriends-nya dan menyuruhnya ikut makan.
Just like that.
Eh, by the way, di akhir komik Tony memamerkan persiapannya kepada Rhodes dalam menghadapi berbagai macam situasi yang bisa terjadi di masa yang akan datang.
"Let me guess. A new suit?" tebak Rhodey.
"You're thinking too small," tukas Tony. "J.A.R.V.I.S., open Project Wine Cellar."
Menurut Tony, Iron Man saja tidak cukup, meskipun diback-up dengan War Machine. Karenanya, ia membangun Iron Legion. Jadi jangan heran kalau di awal film Iron Man 3 tahu-tahu Tony sudah melahirkan dan mengujicoba prototipe Mark 42.
Tapi adegan Tony pamer koleksi armornya pada Rhodey di sini tidak nyambung dengan adegan final film Iron Man 3, sewaktu J.A.R.V.I.S. menjalankan House Party Protocol. Karena di film jelas-jelas Rhodey kelihatannya kaget melihat bala bantuan yang didatangkan Tony.
Tapi bagaimanapun, this is a nice reading.
October 21, 2019
Vamos a ir por partes.
La adaptación de Iron Man 2 puede que tuviera sentido cuando era más difícil volver a ver una película, pero hoy en día esta adaptación no añade gran cosa, sino una ligera explicación de por qué Rhodey sabía usar la armadura, pero a cambio perdemos el chiste final de la ex mujer.
La segunda historia es mucho más interesante, haciendo que sepamos más de Rhodey y lo que ocurría tras la batalla en Nueva York. Lo que me pregunto es si el guionista sabía la historia de Iron Man 3, pues los 10 anillos y el Mandarin al final parecen algo más similar a los cómics que lo que acabaríamos viendo en la película de Shane Black. Si trato de encajarlo con lo que sabemos, o todo era un plan muy elaborado de Killian o estos son los verdaderos 10 anillos que veremos en la película de Shan Chi.
Y el pequeño extracto de la historia de Extremis ha hecho que quiera volver a leer la historia completa.
La adaptación de Iron Man 2 puede que tuviera sentido cuando era más difícil volver a ver una película, pero hoy en día esta adaptación no añade gran cosa, sino una ligera explicación de por qué Rhodey sabía usar la armadura, pero a cambio perdemos el chiste final de la ex mujer.
La segunda historia es mucho más interesante, haciendo que sepamos más de Rhodey y lo que ocurría tras la batalla en Nueva York. Lo que me pregunto es si el guionista sabía la historia de Iron Man 3, pues los 10 anillos y el Mandarin al final parecen algo más similar a los cómics que lo que acabaríamos viendo en la película de Shane Black. Si trato de encajarlo con lo que sabemos, o todo era un plan muy elaborado de Killian o estos son los verdaderos 10 anillos que veremos en la película de Shan Chi.
Y el pequeño extracto de la historia de Extremis ha hecho que quiera volver a leer la historia completa.
April 14, 2013
I ordered this prelude because I'm excited for the upcoming Iron Man 3 film and the advertisements promised to explain where Rhodey was during the Battle of New York at the end of Avengers. And it does.
The book opens with the comic adaptation of the Iron Man 2 film. This is a very succinct recap of the film, but it did include a few scenes not in the film (such as Rhodey's 1st flight in a suit which occurs before he "steals" War Machine!) These little bits are definitely for the Marvel fans. The book then moves onto the actual prelude which overlaps the same time period as the Avengers film. There are a few panels that depict what happens during that film, but mostly it is all new scenes - predominantly of War Machine on his mission. As with the films, the comic manages to bring in some humor, such as everyone thinking Rhodey is Iron Man, but the critical point is that Rhodey has been hunting the funding source of the Ten Rings terrorist organization which is a lead-in to Mandarin, the villain for Iron Man 3. Rhodey arrives back in New York for a pivotal fan-favorite scene and some prologue scenes. The book closes with the first issue of Iron Man from 2005, which teases the Extremis virus and concludes with an ad for that new release. And it worked. I now want to read that story!
Overall, this is a tasty tease that doesn't offer anything substantive but was a fun read. Yes, it's overpriced for the amount of new material contained in it but is a worthwhile purchase for the fans - especially movie fans looking for a little more who don't want to get into comics. Highly recommended.
The book opens with the comic adaptation of the Iron Man 2 film. This is a very succinct recap of the film, but it did include a few scenes not in the film (such as Rhodey's 1st flight in a suit which occurs before he "steals" War Machine!) These little bits are definitely for the Marvel fans. The book then moves onto the actual prelude which overlaps the same time period as the Avengers film. There are a few panels that depict what happens during that film, but mostly it is all new scenes - predominantly of War Machine on his mission. As with the films, the comic manages to bring in some humor, such as everyone thinking Rhodey is Iron Man, but the critical point is that Rhodey has been hunting the funding source of the Ten Rings terrorist organization which is a lead-in to Mandarin, the villain for Iron Man 3. Rhodey arrives back in New York for a pivotal fan-favorite scene and some prologue scenes. The book closes with the first issue of Iron Man from 2005, which teases the Extremis virus and concludes with an ad for that new release. And it worked. I now want to read that story!
Overall, this is a tasty tease that doesn't offer anything substantive but was a fun read. Yes, it's overpriced for the amount of new material contained in it but is a worthwhile purchase for the fans - especially movie fans looking for a little more who don't want to get into comics. Highly recommended.
March 13, 2013
События комикса разворачиваются спустя некоторое время после событий, произошедших в фильме "Железный Человек 2". Иван Ванко погиб, Джастин Хаммер отправился за решетку, наконец-таки настало мирное время, когда ничего не угрожает миру или самому Железному Человеку. Тони Старк начинает строительство Башни Старка, а его друг Джеймс Роудс в это же время занимается поиском террористической группировки "Десять Колец", члены которой начали все чаще объявляться по всему миру.
Не ждите от данного комикса каких-то откровений в сюжете, диалогах или в рисунке. Это абсолютно стандартная работа, приуроченная к выходу нового фильма "Marvel", которая является связующим мостом между фильмами "Железный Человек 2" и "Железный Человек 3". Впрочем, это не означает что комикс плох, отнюдь нет. Он просто хороший, с просто нормальными диалогами, нормальным экшеном и с сюжетом, который тут не раскрыт по причине того, что целью комикса было дать только завязку, развязку же даст фильм. И все бы ничего, да вот только здешний рисунок может вызывать лишь недоумение. Недоумение, как вообще можно было допустить такую слабую, некрасивую и откровенно халтурную работу к публикации.
Неплохой комикс, который не пытается быть чем-то больше, чем всего лишь приложением к будущему фильму. Читать стоит, если интересно узнать прелюдию к картине "Железный Человек 3", но вряд ли пропуск этого комикса будет фатальным для понимания сюжета фильма.
Не ждите от данного комикса каких-то откровений в сюжете, диалогах или в рисунке. Это абсолютно стандартная работа, приуроченная к выходу нового фильма "Marvel", которая является связующим мостом между фильмами "Железный Человек 2" и "Железный Человек 3". Впрочем, это не означает что комикс плох, отнюдь нет. Он просто хороший, с просто нормальными диалогами, нормальным экшеном и с сюжетом, который тут не раскрыт по причине того, что целью комикса было дать только завязку, развязку же даст фильм. И все бы ничего, да вот только здешний рисунок может вызывать лишь недоумение. Недоумение, как вообще можно было допустить такую слабую, некрасивую и откровенно халтурную работу к публикации.
Неплохой комикс, который не пытается быть чем-то больше, чем всего лишь приложением к будущему фильму. Читать стоит, если интересно узнать прелюдию к картине "Железный Человек 3", но вряд ли пропуск этого комикса будет фатальным для понимания сюжета фильма.
July 12, 2016
Read this review and more on my blog.
Iron Man 3 The Movie Prelude collects Iron Man 2 Adaptation issue #1 - #2, Iron Man 3 Prelude issue #1 - #2 and Iron Man (2005) issue #1.
What a disappointment. I was expecting so much better than what I got. Since multiple stories are include in this, I will review them individually.
Iron Man 2 Adaptation
How did they manage to condense Iron Man 2 into a 2 issue comic book? I have no idea but to say that it sucked was an understatement. The second Iron Man movie was not the best I will admit, but this adaptation completely removed any of the enjoyment that I got from the movie. The art style did not manage to capture how Robert Downey Jr portrays Tony Stark and how the movie flows from one scene to another.
1/5
Iron Man 3 Prelude
The Iron Man 3 Prelude only gave context to how and why Tony Stark came up with the idea for the Iron Legion (it was after New York obviously). The surprising thing was that this prelude was focused on Rhodey and not Tony. Not to give too much away it sets up the events of Iron Man 3 almost too well and I wish that it had a better story than just a device to explain the events leading up to Iron Man 3.
3/5
Overall
Meh. The adaptation of Iron Man 2 sucked and the Iron Man 3 Prelude does not add much to the universe. You will not be missing much if you skip this.
2/5
Iron Man 3 The Movie Prelude collects Iron Man 2 Adaptation issue #1 - #2, Iron Man 3 Prelude issue #1 - #2 and Iron Man (2005) issue #1.
What a disappointment. I was expecting so much better than what I got. Since multiple stories are include in this, I will review them individually.
Iron Man 2 Adaptation
How did they manage to condense Iron Man 2 into a 2 issue comic book? I have no idea but to say that it sucked was an understatement. The second Iron Man movie was not the best I will admit, but this adaptation completely removed any of the enjoyment that I got from the movie. The art style did not manage to capture how Robert Downey Jr portrays Tony Stark and how the movie flows from one scene to another.
1/5
Iron Man 3 Prelude
The Iron Man 3 Prelude only gave context to how and why Tony Stark came up with the idea for the Iron Legion (it was after New York obviously). The surprising thing was that this prelude was focused on Rhodey and not Tony. Not to give too much away it sets up the events of Iron Man 3 almost too well and I wish that it had a better story than just a device to explain the events leading up to Iron Man 3.
3/5
Overall
Meh. The adaptation of Iron Man 2 sucked and the Iron Man 3 Prelude does not add much to the universe. You will not be missing much if you skip this.
2/5
April 5, 2017
I’ve read a couple of the other movie “prelude” books and liked them, and I enjoy Tony Stark/Iron Man stories; so I didn’t look too closely at this before I bought it.
About half of it is a graphic novel summary of the movie Iron Man 2. (It still bugs me that the Iron Man movies didn’t get good subtitles like other Marvel movies have.)
There’s also a Lt. Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine story. It covers some time after Iron Man 2, and part of it takes place at the same time as the battle of New York featured in The Avengers. Then it hints at a few things to come in Iron Man 3 and The Avengers: Age of Ultron. The Rhodey-focused story is quite good. It’s nice to see him in action in situations where he isn’t Tony’s sidekick or foil. And the references to The Avengers were amusing.
The art’s pretty good overall.
The last part of the book is the first part of Warren Ellis’ Iron Man (2005): Extremis, which I’ve already read and like a lot.
I paid about $3.75 for a used copy of this, so I can understand why someone who paid full price for a new copy might complain about not getting enough bang for their buck. But, in my case, I got the new-to-me Rhodey story for a little less than a single issue of a comic book, along with some extras; so that’s okay.
About half of it is a graphic novel summary of the movie Iron Man 2. (It still bugs me that the Iron Man movies didn’t get good subtitles like other Marvel movies have.)
There’s also a Lt. Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine story. It covers some time after Iron Man 2, and part of it takes place at the same time as the battle of New York featured in The Avengers. Then it hints at a few things to come in Iron Man 3 and The Avengers: Age of Ultron. The Rhodey-focused story is quite good. It’s nice to see him in action in situations where he isn’t Tony’s sidekick or foil. And the references to The Avengers were amusing.
The art’s pretty good overall.
The last part of the book is the first part of Warren Ellis’ Iron Man (2005): Extremis, which I’ve already read and like a lot.
I paid about $3.75 for a used copy of this, so I can understand why someone who paid full price for a new copy might complain about not getting enough bang for their buck. But, in my case, I got the new-to-me Rhodey story for a little less than a single issue of a comic book, along with some extras; so that’s okay.
May 16, 2013
the last few sets of comics i've read haven't confused me at all. i haven't had to get my roommate to explain a panel to me or reread the same scene five times or google "what the hell just happened" or ANYTHING. it has been AWESOME.
so i may have gotten a little cocky. OR, just possibly, this book was dumb. it claims to be MCU, but the last comic (which is iron man #1, which it appears IM3 was loosely based on?) is not MCU, at all. and since the whole thing is billed as an IM3 prelude, it is kind of confusing. it starts with a comic version of IM2 and then a coda for Avengers, and then goes right into a comic that has wildly different art, a tony with no arc reactor, in a universe where people don't know he's iron man (which, what?), and then things happen that don't make any sense if you've already seen IM3? and then you spend some time yelling on the internet about how dumb comics are.
i think i'm going to stick to comics like hawkguy because they don't make my brain hurt.
so i may have gotten a little cocky. OR, just possibly, this book was dumb. it claims to be MCU, but the last comic (which is iron man #1, which it appears IM3 was loosely based on?) is not MCU, at all. and since the whole thing is billed as an IM3 prelude, it is kind of confusing. it starts with a comic version of IM2 and then a coda for Avengers, and then goes right into a comic that has wildly different art, a tony with no arc reactor, in a universe where people don't know he's iron man (which, what?), and then things happen that don't make any sense if you've already seen IM3? and then you spend some time yelling on the internet about how dumb comics are.
i think i'm going to stick to comics like hawkguy because they don't make my brain hurt.
January 30, 2014
As is becoming a Cinematic Universe tradition, Marvel has released a prelude to their Iron Man 3 film. Previous preludes—especially the Avengers ones—have mostly served the purpose of tying the movies in the Cinematic Universe together. This prelude to Iron Man 3 is no different. Its mission: to build a bridge between the end of Iron Man 2 and the start of Iron Man 3. Spoilers: Rhodey's War Machine shows up late for the party in New York City and enjoys a nice meal of shawarma in the end.
In all fairness, the prelude to Iron Man 3 is really just War Machine 1, but it still does a pretty good job of tying events together. The numerous mentions of something happening in New York were a bit over-the-top, but as a fan of the movies, I can certainly appreciate it.
Marvel's Iron Man 3 The Movie Prelude is a nice, short, light-hearted little comic for fans of Marvel's Cinematic Universe.
In all fairness, the prelude to Iron Man 3 is really just War Machine 1, but it still does a pretty good job of tying events together. The numerous mentions of something happening in New York were a bit over-the-top, but as a fan of the movies, I can certainly appreciate it.
Marvel's Iron Man 3 The Movie Prelude is a nice, short, light-hearted little comic for fans of Marvel's Cinematic Universe.
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May 21, 2013Iron Man 3 Prelude, aka What Jim Rhodes Was Doing During The Avengers.
There is also a mostly pointless comics retelling of IM2; only "mostly" because it is nice to see Tony customizing War Machine for Rhodey and Rhodey's first flight, which are major plot holes in the movie. There is also a lot less Vanko and Hammer, but counterbalancing it is a lot less RDJ.
Also includes the first issue of Iron Man: Extremis, which I assume is massively confusing for people not already familiar with the comicsverse. Not that you can't read Extremis cold, but one chapter included in a book focused on the Cinematic Universe, without any prior indication that this is from a different continuity, is not the best way to go about it.
There is also a mostly pointless comics retelling of IM2; only "mostly" because it is nice to see Tony customizing War Machine for Rhodey and Rhodey's first flight, which are major plot holes in the movie. There is also a lot less Vanko and Hammer, but counterbalancing it is a lot less RDJ.
Also includes the first issue of Iron Man: Extremis, which I assume is massively confusing for people not already familiar with the comicsverse. Not that you can't read Extremis cold, but one chapter included in a book focused on the Cinematic Universe, without any prior indication that this is from a different continuity, is not the best way to go about it.
January 11, 2016
The first half of this volume is the comic book adaptation of Iron Man 2, which is fairly faithful. I had recently watched the film, and it did a good job of following the plot, but making it fit into the allotted pages. The story then proceeds to events that take place between Iron Man 2 and Iron Man 3, some of which occur during the events of the Avengers. I appreciated the story addressing why War Machine was not available during the events of that film, and nicely ties together threads from all three Iron Man films while presenting an exciting and engaging story. It was maybe not quite as deep as other comics that I tend to read, but it did expand the world of the films nicely, without going too far afield.
April 14, 2014
There are five issues collected here. The first two issues cover Iron Man 2 well, with a small addition. I wish that there was more material, but this was well done. The next two issues take place after that movie and lead up to The Avengers. This mostly covers Rhodey, and I enjoyed this as well. Lastly, there is the first issue of Extremis - which makes a good deal of sense in its inclusion, but only scratches the surface of that story and leaves you with questions.
Over all, I really enjoyed this book.
Over all, I really enjoyed this book.
April 21, 2013
Pretty nice movie tie in. the comic version of Iron Man 2 has a few extra scenes in it not in the movie that made it worth the read, and the actual prelude to Iron Man 3 does a good job of explaining what Rhodey was up to during Avengers. I think the tease of the extremis story at the end was a great edition and did it's job well, as I proceeded to order it so I could find out what happened in it.
August 11, 2015
I’m gonna admit, I went a little nuts on buying up all the movie prequels ;P This one was really good though! We get to find out where in all the realms freaking WAR MACHINE (aka James “Rhodey” Rhodes) even was while New York was crumbling down around everyone’s ears (spoiler alert! He was out being a badass ;P) and we see the humble beginnings of the Iron Legion. All in all, it was a great read, I enjoyed the heck out of it!
October 28, 2013
So this had a basic run-down of IM2 and the first chapter of Extremis. The first was boring, the second I had read already (and love).
But it also had a thing explaining what War Machine was doing during the NY incident in the Avengers. And that was awesome. Rhodey is so fantastic, and I really loved what they did with him here.
But it also had a thing explaining what War Machine was doing during the NY incident in the Avengers. And that was awesome. Rhodey is so fantastic, and I really loved what they did with him here.
September 20, 2013
I really enjoyed the book and you should read this it tells the main story Line. Tony has to battle a massive terriost with a little help from iron patriot and all of the iron man suites. With this action packed book. You will get trapped in the book your self. You will think you are there with tony if you read the book now.
May 27, 2016
It was a fast reading and it was ok, but it didn't apport anything else to the characters that what it was shown on the movie. Though it was interesting to see what happened between Iron Man 2 and Iron Man 3 with Rodhey.
The art wasn't remarkable but this is one of the first comics about Marvel superheroes that I've read so I don't have a lot to compare with.
The art wasn't remarkable but this is one of the first comics about Marvel superheroes that I've read so I don't have a lot to compare with.
April 16, 2013
Cheap cash in of a hugely popular movie series. Marvel put out better Iron Man comics than this garbage so avoid this crap. Full review here!
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