Tony Stark: Iron Man, Vol. 3: The War of the Realms

Tony Stark: Iron Man (Collected Editions)

by Dan Slott, Gail Simone, Jim Zub

Iron Man joins the War of the Realms! A war needs weapons — and Tony Stark once vowed he’d never build weapons again! So why is he hunkered down with Screwbeard the Dwarf in Avengers Mountain? And what is he making? Struggling against ancient mystical forces, Tony battles an ancient winged calamity with the lives of everyone at Stark Unlimited hanging in the balance! Plus: When Tony tells Carol Danvers he can’t be her AA sponsor because he may or may not have fallen off the wagon, Captain Marvel doesn’t take it well. What is Iron Man’s new high-tech solution for sobriety? It might be his worst idea yet! Featuring the villainy of the all-new Spymaster! And Jocasta goes all in for “the ultimate upgrade!”

COLLECTING: Tony Stark: Iron Man (2018) #12-14, Iron Man (1998) #25

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Science Fiction

112 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2019

About the author

Dan Slott is an American comic book writer, the current writer on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, and is best known for his work on books such as Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, She-Hulk, Silver Surfer, The Superior Spider-Man, and Ren & Stimpy.

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, I was hoping for the Tony Stark and the drunken dwarves back story. Instead I got Ironman vs. Pete’s Dragon…



…with some new magical armor issues…



This volume was padded out with Carol Danvers and Tony Stark trying to stay on the wagon and something about drinking in a virtual world as some sort of boozy way of keeping one’s abstinence.



And Spymaster gets punched in the face.

So, the kids don’t feel cheated, Iron Man #25 from the ‘90’s was included because it also deals with the superhero team-up of Captain Marvel and Iron Man and coping with alcohol addiction.





Thanks for sharing!

Bottom Line : So far, this book ranks at the bottom of the War of the Realms tie in books. That said, it wasn’t horrible, it’s just that plotting was laborious and the stories, goofy and eminently forgettable. Barely three stars.



It’s Iron Man in his old-assed-scare-the-crap-out-of-little-kids analog armor.

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad at all but after two great volumes this was essentially a skippable tie-in one to the usual yearly scheduled Marvel event/crossover, something like watching your favourite movie/show/[insert sport of choice] match and get it interrupted by annoying commercials.



Kudos to artists and to guest author Gail Simone for the scene with Tony beating bare-handed the dragon after going full "Black Sabbath" Iron Man, sadly the Iron Man (1998) #25 page-filler reprinted here aged not much well at all.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dan Slott’s stint on Iron Man is well on its way to becoming one of my favourite IM runs; the themes he’s tackling are interesting and he’s brought in a bunch of my all-time favourite characters as supporting cast.

I can’t give this specific volume more than three stars, though, as (a) the artwork seemed a bit rushed in places and (b) there’s only three issues of original material collected here, which seems a bit stingy.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Malekith convinces a dragon that Tony Stark is a knight with a castle full of gold in the War of the Realms tie in. Then Captain Marvel and Tony discuss their alcoholism.

Marvel only included 3 new issues in this for $16. Your better off buying the single issues than paying for another random issue from 1998 that has already been collected from Kurt Busiek's run.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s event season once again, and that means Marvel have some weirdly crafted trades to put out. Case in point, Tony Stark’s War Of The Realms tie-in.

Guest writer Gail Simone (yes, that one) takes the reins of the series for the two issue tie-in alongside guest artist Paolo Villanelli as Tony fights a literal dragon. Tony Stark Vs. Magic is a great match-up, and Simone leans into that nicely with some clever twists and turns as well as at least one big ‘oh no she didn’t – yes, yes she did’ type moment. Simone also manages to reference a lot of the ongoing Tony Stark: Iron Man plot points and using them to inform her plot, even if she can’t actually progress them since that’s series writer Dan Slott’s job.

Then there’s a one-off issue pairing Tony and Captain Marvel which is great fun, especially since Slott and co-writer Jim Zub don’t shy away from their Civil War II history and instead try and get past it. Series artist Valerio Schiti pencils the hell out of this, as he always does, but it is kind of just a buffer issue between War Of The Realms and the series finale Ultron Agenda that’ll take place next volume.

And then there’s a random issue of the 90s Iron Man series that pairs Tony and Carol against Ultimo, because Marvel can’t put out a three issue trade, and couldn’t wait for the Ultron Agenda to finish and do a seven issue trade instead. Sigh. Whatever, my gripes about Marvel’s trade department should be well known at this point.

There are better War Of The Realms tie-ins, but this one’s definitely up there just for the pure fun that Simone packs into it. The Captain Marvel team-up issue is nice, and I could take or leave the classic, but this isn’t a bad volume overall, just a victim of Marvel’s stupid collection decisions.

[Sans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say life would be better if Gail Simone wrote everything ever.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume was not great.

I'm glad I signed it out from the library as opposed to paying my own coin for it, all it has is one fairly silly mini story arc dealing with an actual dragon attacking the NYSE and Tony ludicrously trying to erase his (kind of?) falling off the wagon in the virtual eScape reality.



As for the late '90s Iron Man reproduced here because it gets into how Tony became Carol Danvers' AA Sponsor...the less said the better. All you really need to see is right here:

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

The war of the realms tie ins were decent. Malekith sends a dragon after Tony since he has the weakness against iron. There were some cool “fish out of water” moments with the dragon as he goes after Tony and his gold and heads to Wall Street for his 30 trillion dollars. Dragons and their gold right? Some nice action as Iron Man and this dragon do battle. Then the issue with Captain marvel was also ok as Tony went to remove some of his recent memories of drinking in the eScape. Of course someone finds out about this and goes after those memories that have been out on a hard drive. All in all, an Ok volume.

[Aleksiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it quite boring overall. The first story where Tony fights a dragon was the best one, the others didn't manage to hold my interest.
This is part of the reboot of Iron Man where Tony Stark is not truly a Stark (already established in previous issues, so not really a spoiler at this point). I can't say it works well, I don't get why they went so extra on his background and made him even more super-duper special. One of the things I enjoyed about Tony was that he was more grounded than other super heroes.
He's also a lot less of a womanizing asshole, but there isn't another flaw to take the place of this one, so he's overall a far more decent person and I have mixed feelings about that, too. I liked it better when Iron Man was his main redeeming quality, but now Tony doesn't need much redeeming and to me it devalues his Iron Man role.

[Alex Sarll]

As with the Venom tie-in, this keeps regular series numbering even though it has a guest writer, and sees the conflicted hero getting a mystical version of their usual suit. Which in Stark's case might feel more novel if two of his last three series hadn't also seen him tangling with magic. Yes, the greed of a dragon makes for an interesting antagonist who mirrors Tony's own worst tendencies, but the rules on magic and iron are applied inconsistently, which is a bit of a problem when they both open and close the story. Plus, two issues, one current and one old one to pad out a slim collection, which involve altogether too much AA guff.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Collects Tony Stark: Iron Man (2018) issues #12-14 and Iron Man (1998) issue #25

I'm only reading this series because I like Dan Slott, but he only wrote one of the four issues in this collection (and I don't think his work on "Iron Man" has been his best work). Gail Simone wrote the first two issues in this collection, and the final issue in this collection is from about 20 years ago (and focuses on Carol Danvers).

[Ondra Král · Rating 2 out of 5]

Paperback, ve kterým jsou jen 3 sešity hlavní řady? Nečestné a nesportovní - kupovat to, tak jsem nakrklej.

K obsahu - 2 sešity píše Gail Simone a jde o tie-in k Válce říší. Iron Man bojuje proti severskýmu drakovi, fajn fíler (i když místy nedává smysl).

U posledního sešitu se vrací Slott, pokračuje v zápletce kolem Arna/robotů a celé je to děsně překombinované a nebaví mě to.

[Sebastian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Someone hacks Tony’s armor? Lame, just lame. :(

[William Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Damn, this is just... so bad. I read it but consider it unreadable.

Grade: F

[Jennalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's really hard to give this one a rating because it's a mix of "eh, it's okay" and "wow, that was really good."

I loved Gail Simone's issues. They offered some great introspective glimpses into Tony's mindset and some great action...with a dragon and the Mark 1 suit. So lots of cool stuff all around there there. It also seemed like these issues really got back to the core of who Tony is, which was great. And Janet Van Dyne is a treat as always.

The following issue from Slott feels rushed. It's trying to deal with Tony's alcoholism and his "quick fix" mentality and shoving Carol Danvers into the story in a way that just...doesn't quite work. From what I can tell, this volume is also the point where some IM fans jumped on the "we hate Dan Slott" train--largely due to his treatment of Tony's alcoholism in such a flippant and shallow manner...as if lifelong alcoholic Tony Stark needs Carol Danvers to school him on what it means to be an alcoholic and the inadequacy of "quick fixes." There were also some jokes thrown in about the Danvers-Stark conflict from CW II and...yeah, that felt flippant as well. If I wanted more of "the avenger of the week spends the episode making jokes at Tony's expense and treating him like an idiot" then I would just watch the MCU. But to be fair to Carol, Slott writes Tony like he's an idiot here, so... All in all, Slott was trying to get back to his stroylines after the War of the Realms side trip, and adding Carol and a villain-of-the-week made the whole issue too rushed and every element in it was under-developed.

And then the volume is padded with some Iron Man 1998 issues dealing with Carol's alcoholism, at least peripherally.

The art was gorgeous as always (it's literally the best thing about the Tony Stark: Iron Man run--it's so gorgeous!), Janet Van Dyne is a pure delight in every panel, the dragon and Mark 1 suit were awesome. But, as a whole, this volume could have been better.

[Iris Nevers · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Read in single issues]

I love everything War of the Realms

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quando li que Gail Simone ia escrever o Homem de Ferro, eu pensei: YEAH! Quando li que ela tinha tinha uma história guardada para ele há um tempo e a assunção da Guerra dos Reinos era o momento exato para pô-la em prática, eu pensei: YEAH! Quando ohei a linda capa do Homem de Ferro enfrentando um dragão eu pensei: YEAH! Mas aí caída cavalo bravamente quando fui ler o quadrinho. POF! A história não é nada original, é a de um dragão tornado homem que quer não apenas as armaduras do Homem de Ferro como também quer todo o tesouro americano 33 trilhões de dólares. Um plot legal, mas mal realizado. Em seguida neste encadernado, que no Brasil saiu nas revsitas 7 e 8 do Homem de Ferro vem os preparativos do confronto de Tony Stark com Ultron e o que isso tem a ver com o plot das Inteligências Artificiais que Dan Slott vinha traçando até aqui. Esse arco nos prepara para o próximo, que será o do Homem de Ferro de 2020, um arco bastante aguardado pelos fãs de longa data da mitologia do ferroso.

[Robert H Albertson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a Good Iron-Man Run

I don't want to bash on Gail Simone. I have liked some of her past writing and not liked other comics she has written. This run falls into the latter. The same dialogue is repeated over and over again. The characters lack depth and all have the same voice. The idea of magic infecting irony man's armor was good but poorly executed. The dragon villain had potential, but never developed into anything interesting. Parts of the dialogue are jarring as is their were panels rewritten, but not reviewed to make sure it flowed. I blame that on the editor who seemed to have not done their job well. The best part was the backup feature which is from old issues produced in the 90s. Not a recomend.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.
Yet another tie-in to "War of the Realms", and though I am familiar with Tony's main part in the battles from the main title, this Volume starts with Tony taking on Sadurang, a giant red dragon keen on taking all of Stark's wealth. More of the story deals with Tony's aftermath at finding out he's really just been uploaded into a new organic body clone, Spymaster stealing codes to some of the Iron Legion, and Jocasta turning to Arno for advice and upgrades. Seems like the showdown between Stark brothers is about to happen soon....
Overall ok... but definitely felt like a transition Volume.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

War of the Realms (#12-13). For some reason, Gail Simone comes in for a two-fer, but does a good job of playing in Dan Slott's sandbox. A dragon attacks Stark, who fights it. There's a lot of good focus on Stark's most recent alcoholism, and this isn't badly decompressed like the recent Slott issues [3/5].

Stolen Moments (#14). Another bit of nice transhumanism as Stark offloads bad memories and also really reflects on what the difference is between him, his parents' engrams, and robots. Nice theming, OK plot [3+/5].

(Glad I read this in the omnibus reprint, because three issues, with no regular team, and a reprint would have been quite disappointing.)

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a weak crossover book for the War of the Realms event and weak as an Iron Man story, especially after where things left off in Volume 2. Iron Man doesn't get involved in the main conflict in this collection - instead he has to deal with a dragon dispatched by Maleketh because the dragon is convinced that Tony Stark has treasure.

This felt like a weird place to go after the existential revelation of the last book, but I understand how the event's needs take priority. It's okay and I think Gail Simone did a great joh with it for what it was. But still, it just felt like the book lost a bit of momentum as it diverted to the event.

[Vilma Diaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting volume. The first few chapters are a continuation of the previous volume, kind of. There are plot points that are a direct result of what happened in the previous volume. But then there’s some stuff that kind of surprised me. Like I felt I’d missed a chapter.

The second half seems to be a story that came out in the 90’s. It was nice to see Pepper and Happy again, though they were not the characters I know from the MCU. That was kind of jarring. Still, seeing the older art style was cool. I’m looking forward to the next volume.

[Joey Nardinelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just really boring. Tony fights a dragon. He also has to chase down Spymaster to reclaim a few weeks of memories because reasons. And then there’s a reissue chapter going back to the feud between Iron Man and Captain Marvel. For being a part of the War of the Realms series, this had so immensely little to do with that plot that it was just confusing. My liking some of these characters just wasn’t enough to ferry me through this content.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tony's War Of The Realms tie-in was incredibly weak. Gail Simone delivers some fun dialogue and a terrible story. What could have been cool, a gold hungry Asgardian dragon, ends up being silly and made little sense. The fun supporting cast of the previous arcs has dwindled to next to nothing. Arno's machinations could be something. The art here was also below par. Overall, this felt like a bad 80s annual.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this third volume of the Tony Stark: Iron Man story is the best of the series thus far, it is still the insane amount of text and dialogue that completely slows down the momentum of this zany story. I am intrigued to where the story will go, especially after introducing Tony Stark's technology to the mystical realm of magic and to The Nine Worlds of Asgard. Good volume.

[Ellen Schoener · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay.
As with the other releases, War of the Realms just is not my cup of tea.
The story also tries to add a bit more hard sci-fi with robot rights and conscious AI, but it never gains any depth.
And there was just not enough character interaction, on a personal level.
Neither story nor characters ever grabbed me.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

I mean War of Realms crossovers are just tough to me.

I did enjoy that Gail Simone makes a ton of DC references. I just think that Slott started something and maybe he was the only one who could have really finished it.

[Sarospice · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. Dreck courtesy of Gail Simone. She names some of Tony's worker drones "The Smiths" and mentions Falkor twice in case you ignored her desperate attempt at cool points. The one star is for the reprint of Tony and Carol Danvers going to AA.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 1 out of 5]

Slott needs to pick up a book on how humans react with each other or at least second guess himself on every other scene with the question Would a real person say/do that? Unless of course we're completely throwing realism out the window, then ok.

Man, I miss the Superior Spidey days.

[Andres Pasten · Rating 2 out of 5]

Espero que el siguiente tpb valga la pena...