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Iron Man (2020)
Iron Man, Vol. 1: Big Iron
Tony Stark is looking to restart his engine. He's going back to basics, putting away his high-tech toys and high-profile image so he can get his hands dirty again. It's time to put on some old-fashioned metal - and fly! But can Tony really lay that Stark-sized ego down? Life just isn't that simple, something that old friends and frustrating foes are quick to point out. So Iron Man takes the fight back to basics, and back to the streets - facing down old-school villains like Arcade and the Absorbing Man. But what's really going on in Tony Stark's head? As old friends like Hellcat try to help him find peace of mind, lurking on the horizon is a threat that Tony - and the entire cosmos - hasn't seen in years. Prepare for the new saga of Korvac!
Iron Man (2020) 1-5
Iron Man (2020) 1-5
128 pages, Paperback
First published March 17, 2021
26 people are currently reading
170 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
May 16, 2021
Tony’s having a midlife crisis, or something, so he sells up his shares in Stark Unlimited, buys a buncha fancy cars and starts Fast and Furious-ing it up in the streets of New York! But an old Avengers foe, Korvac, is back with a new dastardly plan to steal the lightning and become a cyborg Jebus, or something. Big Iron? Big whoop.
Unfortunately Christopher Cantwell’s take on Iron Man doesn’t get off to a flying start and isn’t much better than Dan Slott’s dreary run was. I feel like there’s something good to be had here. Tony feeling fed up with the superhero game, the weird time jumps hinting at a possible neurological disorder, and questioning his purpose all seem like they could be developed into an interesting character study… but Cantwell doesn’t do anything of the sort here.
Instead he pairs Tony up with Patsy Walker/Hellcat (first Pepper, then MJ, now Patsy - Tony’s definitely got a type and that type is redheads!) so he has someone he can talk plot to which is: Korvac up to evil things ‘cos he’s an evil cyborg. Besides that we get to see how pitiful the Iron Man rogues’ gallery is as Tony punches nobodies called Unicorn, Cardiac and Melter. That’s probably why Cantwell drew from the Avengers’ rogues’ gallery for the big bad of this series - Tony’s got nothing.
I’m only guessing at the possible neurological condition because there’s no explanation for why the story jumps around like it does. Tony suddenly appears in a boxing ring fighting Crusher Creel and Arcade is somehow responsible; then he’s in a burger joint; then Rhodey’s kidnapped. Whu...huh…? And I don’t know why Korvac is obsessed with Christian imagery either. It’s an underwritten book even by first volume standards.
The Alex Ross covers are amazing and I loved his Iron Man suit design. Cafu’s art throughout is also fantastic. The occasional scene was amusing too, like when Tony shows up unannounced at a school and gets told by the teachers that he’s interrupting the children’s schedule, and then losing it when Melter does what he does to his car.
Overall though it’s an unimpressive beginning with a weak and silly team-up at the end that leaves the story on a cliffhanger that I’m not keen on following up on. Iron Man, Volume 1: Big Iron is one big whatever.
Unfortunately Christopher Cantwell’s take on Iron Man doesn’t get off to a flying start and isn’t much better than Dan Slott’s dreary run was. I feel like there’s something good to be had here. Tony feeling fed up with the superhero game, the weird time jumps hinting at a possible neurological disorder, and questioning his purpose all seem like they could be developed into an interesting character study… but Cantwell doesn’t do anything of the sort here.
Instead he pairs Tony up with Patsy Walker/Hellcat (first Pepper, then MJ, now Patsy - Tony’s definitely got a type and that type is redheads!) so he has someone he can talk plot to which is: Korvac up to evil things ‘cos he’s an evil cyborg. Besides that we get to see how pitiful the Iron Man rogues’ gallery is as Tony punches nobodies called Unicorn, Cardiac and Melter. That’s probably why Cantwell drew from the Avengers’ rogues’ gallery for the big bad of this series - Tony’s got nothing.
I’m only guessing at the possible neurological condition because there’s no explanation for why the story jumps around like it does. Tony suddenly appears in a boxing ring fighting Crusher Creel and Arcade is somehow responsible; then he’s in a burger joint; then Rhodey’s kidnapped. Whu...huh…? And I don’t know why Korvac is obsessed with Christian imagery either. It’s an underwritten book even by first volume standards.
The Alex Ross covers are amazing and I loved his Iron Man suit design. Cafu’s art throughout is also fantastic. The occasional scene was amusing too, like when Tony shows up unannounced at a school and gets told by the teachers that he’s interrupting the children’s schedule, and then losing it when Melter does what he does to his car.
Overall though it’s an unimpressive beginning with a weak and silly team-up at the end that leaves the story on a cliffhanger that I’m not keen on following up on. Iron Man, Volume 1: Big Iron is one big whatever.
April 14, 2021
While this is billed as a fresh start for Iron Man, Tony is still feeling the existential angst caused by his death and resurrection. He responds to this by building a less powerful suit of armour and focusing on street-level crime for a change. Seems like an odd decision to me but Christopher Cantwell makes it work... to an extent.
The artwork in this is really nice and Alex Ross' design for the new armour is really good, so there are no complaints from me on the visual side of things.
Story-wise, well, there's good and bad as far as I'm concerned. As much as I'm always very happy to see Hellcat, particularly in the hands of a writer who clearly knows her history, the three-panel ending of Tony and Jan's relationship seemed off and made Jan seem like she was dumping Tony because he didn't have as much money any more, which is out of character for her.
I am enjoying the writer's dealing with Tony's self-doubt and not just sweeping it under the carpet; it gives the book a sense of continuity with the previous run. I'm enjoying the choice of villains, although I'm slightly on the fence still about Caldwell's transformation of Korvac. I'm happy to give him the benefit of the doubt, though, and see where this goes in the next volume.
I was also happy to see two of my favourite characters making a return in this book, namely the Gargoyle and the fabulous Frog-Man. There was a bit of a continuity error with Misty Knight's current status, but I'm trying not to let it bother me too much.
Overall, I'd give the artwork 4 stars and the story 3, for an average score of 3.5 stars. I'm going to round up, though, because I'm feeling generous and am genuinely interested to see where this goes in volume 2.
My next book: Armageddon: The Musical
The artwork in this is really nice and Alex Ross' design for the new armour is really good, so there are no complaints from me on the visual side of things.
Story-wise, well, there's good and bad as far as I'm concerned. As much as I'm always very happy to see Hellcat, particularly in the hands of a writer who clearly knows her history, the three-panel ending of Tony and Jan's relationship seemed off and made Jan seem like she was dumping Tony because he didn't have as much money any more, which is out of character for her.
I am enjoying the writer's dealing with Tony's self-doubt and not just sweeping it under the carpet; it gives the book a sense of continuity with the previous run. I'm enjoying the choice of villains, although I'm slightly on the fence still about Caldwell's transformation of Korvac. I'm happy to give him the benefit of the doubt, though, and see where this goes in the next volume.
I was also happy to see two of my favourite characters making a return in this book, namely the Gargoyle and the fabulous Frog-Man. There was a bit of a continuity error with Misty Knight's current status, but I'm trying not to let it bother me too much.
Overall, I'd give the artwork 4 stars and the story 3, for an average score of 3.5 stars. I'm going to round up, though, because I'm feeling generous and am genuinely interested to see where this goes in volume 2.
My next book: Armageddon: The Musical
August 25, 2021
Nice art, though I'm starting to get worn out by "Tony in Crisis" story arcs, though I admit that's pretty much his defining characteristic these days.
Not sure if I'm all that interested in carrying on with vol. 2, to be honest.
Not sure if I'm all that interested in carrying on with vol. 2, to be honest.
March 14, 2023
Reread: 14/03/2023
I remember reading it a couple years ago when the first story arc just ended and you know after rereading it, its actually still holds up like how it goes back to the classics and then the face off with Korvac, slowly revealing who he is, his plans plus pitting Tony against a lot of his classic foes from bronze age which was fun and a new love interest in Hellcat, that was awesome and then a rag-tag group and how he will stop Korvac is the big story. Its one of my fav Iron man stories and I am excited to re-read it now that the whole run is over! As for the art its like one of the best and just gorgeous paneling throughout!
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This book was pretty good! It focuses on Tony as he questions his existence in this universe and going through what his purpose is when he has to face against different villains like Absorbing man, Cardiac, Melter and even Unicorn and he teams up with Patsy and even indulges in speed races when he is confronted by a man who is better Known as Korvac. Initially he comes as a Investee looking for Stark's investment in some lightning thing but then his real purpose becomes clear when he plans to absorb lightning powers in his android body and travel to Taa-II aka Galactus's ship to become God himself! This story starts off small and is becoming epic by the second, I like how the art compliments the writing as well and puts such a focus on Tony and his romance with Patsy is such a great change and serves to ground him and putting him against Korvac, one of the Avengers biggest bads is excellent and increases the odds of it becoming an event-like story! And the ending with where Tony, his newly formed ragtag-team and Patsy are is good! I loved the volume and the run looks super promising!
I remember reading it a couple years ago when the first story arc just ended and you know after rereading it, its actually still holds up like how it goes back to the classics and then the face off with Korvac, slowly revealing who he is, his plans plus pitting Tony against a lot of his classic foes from bronze age which was fun and a new love interest in Hellcat, that was awesome and then a rag-tag group and how he will stop Korvac is the big story. Its one of my fav Iron man stories and I am excited to re-read it now that the whole run is over! As for the art its like one of the best and just gorgeous paneling throughout!
_______________________________________________________________________________
This book was pretty good! It focuses on Tony as he questions his existence in this universe and going through what his purpose is when he has to face against different villains like Absorbing man, Cardiac, Melter and even Unicorn and he teams up with Patsy and even indulges in speed races when he is confronted by a man who is better Known as Korvac. Initially he comes as a Investee looking for Stark's investment in some lightning thing but then his real purpose becomes clear when he plans to absorb lightning powers in his android body and travel to Taa-II aka Galactus's ship to become God himself! This story starts off small and is becoming epic by the second, I like how the art compliments the writing as well and puts such a focus on Tony and his romance with Patsy is such a great change and serves to ground him and putting him against Korvac, one of the Avengers biggest bads is excellent and increases the odds of it becoming an event-like story! And the ending with where Tony, his newly formed ragtag-team and Patsy are is good! I loved the volume and the run looks super promising!
January 24, 2022
Tony is going through a midlife crisis. He's left Stark Unlimited and sold off most of his tech, starting over in a brownstone in NYC. I really like this new relationship with Patsy Walker where she repeatedly calls him out for all his shit. Korvac as the main villain has some potential. CAFU's artwork has gotten really good. Best work of their career type stuff. It seems like this whole run is going to be one long story and the book does end midstory.
March 12, 2021
After his latest business venture falls apart, Tony Stark goes back to basics. But the enigmatic Michael Korvac lurks in the shadows, and the new cult following he has gathered puts Tony at the centre of a conspiracy that reaches far beyond the stars!
After a bit of a shaky transition between creative teams (literally having the Wasp break up with Tony in one page), this new iteration of the character under Christopher Cantwell gets underway fairly quickly. The mystery of what Korvac's actually after is a fun one to uncover, and the foil of Patsy Walker for Tony really works well - Cantwell leans into her history of psychic manipulation to further the plot, and her biting snark counters Tony's general apathy for the rest of the world.
There are some Tony-defining moments in this run already, after only five issues. The sequence in which Tony battles supervillains with basically every bone in his body broken? Absolutely brilliant. And the ragtag group of heroes that Cantwell assembles around Tony to help out once Korvac's true plan comes to light should NOT work, but they're hilarious together.
The artwork is also fantastic - CAFU's work has been going from strength to strength, but the addition of colourist Frank D'Armata gives his visuals a completely new look. Everything feels denser, shinier, and perfect for Iron Man's world, even when he's out of the armor. The atmosphere of the book feels totally different to CAFU's earlier work, and in a good way. It just goes to show the effect that a colourist can have; they're the true unsung heroes of the comic world (after letterers, I think).
Iron Man's had a few status quo changes over the past 10 years or so, but this back to basics approach for Tony coupled with the out of this world Korvac as a villain works surprisingly well. Cantwell's grasp of the character is sound, and he clearly has a longterm plot in mind here. Plus it looks wonderful. A great start.
After a bit of a shaky transition between creative teams (literally having the Wasp break up with Tony in one page), this new iteration of the character under Christopher Cantwell gets underway fairly quickly. The mystery of what Korvac's actually after is a fun one to uncover, and the foil of Patsy Walker for Tony really works well - Cantwell leans into her history of psychic manipulation to further the plot, and her biting snark counters Tony's general apathy for the rest of the world.
There are some Tony-defining moments in this run already, after only five issues. The sequence in which Tony battles supervillains with basically every bone in his body broken? Absolutely brilliant. And the ragtag group of heroes that Cantwell assembles around Tony to help out once Korvac's true plan comes to light should NOT work, but they're hilarious together.
The artwork is also fantastic - CAFU's work has been going from strength to strength, but the addition of colourist Frank D'Armata gives his visuals a completely new look. Everything feels denser, shinier, and perfect for Iron Man's world, even when he's out of the armor. The atmosphere of the book feels totally different to CAFU's earlier work, and in a good way. It just goes to show the effect that a colourist can have; they're the true unsung heroes of the comic world (after letterers, I think).
Iron Man's had a few status quo changes over the past 10 years or so, but this back to basics approach for Tony coupled with the out of this world Korvac as a villain works surprisingly well. Cantwell's grasp of the character is sound, and he clearly has a longterm plot in mind here. Plus it looks wonderful. A great start.
March 11, 2021
Cantwell and Cafu are great. I'm surprised I enjoy and Iron Man book, but they do a great job!
March 11, 2021
Never been a huge fan of Iron Man but bought issue #1 because of how much I enjoyed Doctor Doom, also by Christopher Cantwell. I was hooked! This series is one of my favorites to pull right now. Alex Ross covers are the cherry on top
April 27, 2021
The most engaging Tony Stark has been in years, maybe even since the Fraction/Larroca run. As much as I normally loath the "back to basics" approach to writing superhero comics, Cantwell strips away lot of the baggage accumulated over Iron Man's recent comic forays to deliver a solid tale full of both old-school superheroics and deep character work.
January 10, 2021
I do not care about a single thing going on in Cantwell’s Iron Man. Not Hellcat, not Korvac, not the deaf racer guy with a locked heart rate, or his new ragtag team of crap crusaders. None of it. It reads like an old action movie that went straight to video, and I want nothing to do with it from here on out. Two stars for decent art.
May 16, 2021
Art is fantastic, including covers by Alex Ross. This vol. only tells half a story about a battle with Korac. Tony, who is now back from the dead, gives up his stake in Stark industries to focus on doing good. He teams up with some B (even D-list) help such as Frog Man in his fight. Interesting concept, but who knows maybe the 2nd half will be better.
May 10, 2021
Esta interesante, por un lado Tony Stark no puede dejar atrás su reputación por mucho que lo intente, por otro lado llega un villano que él sabe que es mejor que él. Este primer arco de 5 números al final es un prólogo para lo que vendrá después, que de momento tiene buena pinta.
February 17, 2021
As long as Cantwell keeps writing about sociopathic jerks, I'll keep reading.
April 21, 2021
Surprisingly good. Normally, I despise Iron Man. Especially back in Civil War, Marvel did a great job of convincing me that he was the Republican superhero, and the embodiment of all the worst aspects of corporate culture + military industrial complex.
Still, this volume has a nice focus on obscure side characters I infinitely prefer. I started reading this book solely for Hellcat and Scarlet Spider, and I even like having Gargoyle and this obscure mutant "Halcyon" around. Scarlet Spider is actually one of my top 15 of all-time favorite characters, and the more I learn about Hellcat, the more I like.
Also helps that Patsy keeps calling Iron Man out on all his shit. This was probably the best way for modern woke culture to handle the billionaire-asshat that is Tony Stark-- call out his privilege. Constantly.
Still, this volume has a nice focus on obscure side characters I infinitely prefer. I started reading this book solely for Hellcat and Scarlet Spider, and I even like having Gargoyle and this obscure mutant "Halcyon" around. Scarlet Spider is actually one of my top 15 of all-time favorite characters, and the more I learn about Hellcat, the more I like.
Also helps that Patsy keeps calling Iron Man out on all his shit. This was probably the best way for modern woke culture to handle the billionaire-asshat that is Tony Stark-- call out his privilege. Constantly.
May 8, 2021
Tony Stark is having a midlife crisis and decides to go retro with one of his old suit, he needs an outlet and Patsy Walker (Hellcat) comes along to be a shoulder to cry on. She doesn't do a great job, when he confides in her. She corrects him telling him that he cannot refer to himself as a man as it's not gender neutral. Then on another occasion where he's feeling the pressure, she tells him that he deserves it because he's a rich white guy. He tries to rebuttal by saying that he's paid his dues being Iron Man and helping people but she just throws it back at him saying, what he meant to say is that he has given himself more power than any man should wield and that he deservers everything that's come to him.
I don't know what on earth they where trying to say in this but there was just so much hate towards being white and being a guy in this, I just found it unbearable. I know there are a lot of movements going on in the world in the moment and people are very passionate about rights. But do we really need it shoved down our throats in the comics? They're supposed to be an outlet where we can gaze at our heroes taking out evil, instead of screaming at us about the colour of our skin or the situation we were born in. These are fictional characters a the end of the and trying to hold them accountable just seems silly, Iron Man's been around since 1963. Society was different then, he never asked to be white or rich, both where inherited by his father so whey slate him for it?
I'm all for deconstructing characters but there is a way to do it, you can't slate the audience and expect them to agree with you. It doesn't help when they've been doing the same thing with Iron Man since Superior Iron Man, Volume 1: Infamous, they just don't know what to do with him. This is the third midlife crisis story we've had, Bendis did it, Slott did it and now Cantwell is doing it but the other two at least brought interesting ideas to the table. Like what if Tony Stark was a teenage black girl or what does it mean to be human, this just screams at you and just belittles a character, that a lot of us love.
There is such animosity in this volume at points in can be hard to read, when something bad happened to Hellcat I actually liked it because she had been treating Tony like Trash. The villains that drop in occasionally aren't developed, aside from the main guy having a god complex but the art is gorgeous.
I don't know what on earth they where trying to say in this but there was just so much hate towards being white and being a guy in this, I just found it unbearable. I know there are a lot of movements going on in the world in the moment and people are very passionate about rights. But do we really need it shoved down our throats in the comics? They're supposed to be an outlet where we can gaze at our heroes taking out evil, instead of screaming at us about the colour of our skin or the situation we were born in. These are fictional characters a the end of the and trying to hold them accountable just seems silly, Iron Man's been around since 1963. Society was different then, he never asked to be white or rich, both where inherited by his father so whey slate him for it?
I'm all for deconstructing characters but there is a way to do it, you can't slate the audience and expect them to agree with you. It doesn't help when they've been doing the same thing with Iron Man since Superior Iron Man, Volume 1: Infamous, they just don't know what to do with him. This is the third midlife crisis story we've had, Bendis did it, Slott did it and now Cantwell is doing it but the other two at least brought interesting ideas to the table. Like what if Tony Stark was a teenage black girl or what does it mean to be human, this just screams at you and just belittles a character, that a lot of us love.
There is such animosity in this volume at points in can be hard to read, when something bad happened to Hellcat I actually liked it because she had been treating Tony like Trash. The villains that drop in occasionally aren't developed, aside from the main guy having a god complex but the art is gorgeous.
June 27, 2021
4
This started of really strong. The characterization is particularly good. The Pantsy-Tony relationship works. I didn't expect that. The main plot drags a bit. Not as interesting as the characterization. But I'm liking the book well enough so far.
This started of really strong. The characterization is particularly good. The Pantsy-Tony relationship works. I didn't expect that. The main plot drags a bit. Not as interesting as the characterization. But I'm liking the book well enough so far.
February 20, 2023
when will reading about my favourite character stop feeling like an exercise in masochism
May 20, 2021
A great start for this new run on Iron Man!
Highlights:
- Tony is getting back to his roots. After all the crises he's gone through recently (death, Arno, new body, ?AI?) he feels as if he needs to refocus. Part of all that involves selling his shares of Stark International, stepping away from the board, and getting back to just his place and Iron Man. He even takes the suit a bit retro looking.
- Patsy Walker (Hellcat) gets involved and sort of acts like a spiritual guide for Tony. Teaching him meditation, and helping take on a few small criminals. They also eventually hook up and appear as if they may start a relationship.
- The main baddie of the Volume is Korvac. No longer a cosmically powered being (see old Avengers stuff), he still is a threat, being both a high-powered cyborg, and having a huge amount of money that he got from Tony while in disguise. His henchmen? Unicorn, Blizzard and Controller. His plan? powerup to the point that he can make it to Taa II, Galactus' ship, presumably to take it for his own and become a "God".
- Tony recruits Gargoyle, Scarlet Spider, Misty Knight, Frog Man, and Halcyon to help, but they appear to be blown up in a decoy ship. The anger causes Tony to give out a full out, last ditch shot against Korvac, but it doesn't stop him, and leaves him broken and defeated in his Iron Man suit.
Kind of a bleak ending, but definitely something that makes me to find out what happens next.
Recommend. ...and though it covers a lot of "previously on...", this is a good place to start, if you aren't reading the title.
Highlights:
- Tony is getting back to his roots. After all the crises he's gone through recently (death, Arno, new body, ?AI?) he feels as if he needs to refocus. Part of all that involves selling his shares of Stark International, stepping away from the board, and getting back to just his place and Iron Man. He even takes the suit a bit retro looking.
- Patsy Walker (Hellcat) gets involved and sort of acts like a spiritual guide for Tony. Teaching him meditation, and helping take on a few small criminals. They also eventually hook up and appear as if they may start a relationship.
- The main baddie of the Volume is Korvac. No longer a cosmically powered being (see old Avengers stuff), he still is a threat, being both a high-powered cyborg, and having a huge amount of money that he got from Tony while in disguise. His henchmen? Unicorn, Blizzard and Controller. His plan? powerup to the point that he can make it to Taa II, Galactus' ship, presumably to take it for his own and become a "God".
- Tony recruits Gargoyle, Scarlet Spider, Misty Knight, Frog Man, and Halcyon to help, but they appear to be blown up in a decoy ship. The anger causes Tony to give out a full out, last ditch shot against Korvac, but it doesn't stop him, and leaves him broken and defeated in his Iron Man suit.
Kind of a bleak ending, but definitely something that makes me to find out what happens next.
Recommend. ...and though it covers a lot of "previously on...", this is a good place to start, if you aren't reading the title.
November 29, 2022
Tony Stark is "going back to basics" which, for some reason, means being on the Marvel Universe equivalent of Twitter way too much for someone who has the resources to actually change the world (the relevancy does not allude me). Iron Man's going through some soul searching and all he has to show for it is a new ride and the donning of an old suit. But an old foe comes out of the woodwork and Tony is the only one who has a chance of stopping him.
Maybe it's because I've had my fill of tech billionaires going through a toxic, all around destructive mid-life crisis irl or I have ceased to have patience for truly terrible plot but this was just bad. I came into this with no background on Korvac and Cantwell didn't particularly do a good job setting up the plot or giving any relevant background on him. There was no foundation for me to care or see the man as a viable threat to the cosmos and because of that, I wasn't particularly engaged with the story as it centered around Korvac as much as did Tony.
Maybe it's because I've had my fill of tech billionaires going through a toxic, all around destructive mid-life crisis irl or I have ceased to have patience for truly terrible plot but this was just bad. I came into this with no background on Korvac and Cantwell didn't particularly do a good job setting up the plot or giving any relevant background on him. There was no foundation for me to care or see the man as a viable threat to the cosmos and because of that, I wasn't particularly engaged with the story as it centered around Korvac as much as did Tony.
January 12, 2023
I know most of the cast by name only, not even that for some. For example I have no idea as to who the hell is Korvac! Pairing Iron Man and a C-list character like Hellcat sounds somehow ridiculous but not as much as the Scooby gang Stark manages to gather at the end.
And still I found this first volume quite good actually. Stark’s own questionning of him being a super hero and his perception of people’s ungratefulness when he seems on the verge of being burnt-out is credible and well done. Patsy Walker is clearly developped as a strong character and not a mere female sidekick. Judgement reserved as far as the Scooby gang is concerned though. As for Korvac, he makes up for a credible threat.
There’s even humour, too.
Art is great. I didn’t know Cafu until now but he does a great job, enhanced by d’Armata’s subdued colours.
And still I found this first volume quite good actually. Stark’s own questionning of him being a super hero and his perception of people’s ungratefulness when he seems on the verge of being burnt-out is credible and well done. Patsy Walker is clearly developped as a strong character and not a mere female sidekick. Judgement reserved as far as the Scooby gang is concerned though. As for Korvac, he makes up for a credible threat.
There’s even humour, too.
Art is great. I didn’t know Cafu until now but he does a great job, enhanced by d’Armata’s subdued colours.
September 16, 2022
A good new volume of Iron Man, even if I do tire of each new writer entirely rebooting every Marvel series. But Patsy is a great co-star, Tony is portrayed well, and Korvac is an entirely interesting villain. I could do without regular Iron Man villains like Pegasus and the Controller being used as goon-drones, but the cliffhanger definitely has me interested in continuing on with the next volume.
September 10, 2021
They lost me on page 9 when Jan dumped Tony. I like Jan. I'd rather follow her than Lazarus Savant Croesus' umpteenth midlife crisis. For that matter, Patsy deserves better, too. Get back to screwing up Pepper's life, Stark.
May 10, 2021
A bit flakey in parts but the overall story arc is pretty good.
November 16, 2022
Not too impressed as the plot drives the story while the characters are dragged along. Characters are solid but I get the sense Cantwell just really wanted to tell a Hellcat story and has to tell it in an Iron Man book. Intrigued enough to see the next volume at least
April 29, 2021
I’m really enjoying this reboot. I hope it lasts awhile. I like the addition of Patsy Walker as a recurring character- she grounds Tony in the real world despite the fact they are staring down a galaxy level threat.
June 28, 2021
The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine. - Nikola Tesla
Would a great intellect actually know what is best for mankind? Do they still understand what it means to be human?
Would a great intellect actually know what is best for mankind? Do they still understand what it means to be human?
August 20, 2021
I have yet to read an Iron Man comic that's truly captured my attention - perhaps RDJ's movie Iron Man has too firm a hold on my imagination. In any case, Big Iron didn't break Iron Man's decent-but-not-great streak, though it was an improvement on, say, Iron Man Vol 1: Self-Made Man.
Here we have Tony Stark post-death (missed that one!), feeling a bit adrift (often the case for Tony!), and generally wanting to change his ways (again, not a surprise). The first few issues are actually pretty great: they really effectively capture what it's like to be Tony Stark: Professional Asshole after he's given up on that role. In other words, everyone hates you no matter what. Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos can relate, I'm sure.
Then Korvac arrives on the scene to harness lightning energy and D-list bad guys anddd... I lost interest. Tony has a fling with Hellcat; Hellcat suffers a mental breakdown. The volume ends with an intense cliffhanger, though, so I'll definitely be seeking out the next volume.
Here we have Tony Stark post-death (missed that one!), feeling a bit adrift (often the case for Tony!), and generally wanting to change his ways (again, not a surprise). The first few issues are actually pretty great: they really effectively capture what it's like to be Tony Stark: Professional Asshole after he's given up on that role. In other words, everyone hates you no matter what. Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos can relate, I'm sure.
Then Korvac arrives on the scene to harness lightning energy and D-list bad guys anddd... I lost interest. Tony has a fling with Hellcat; Hellcat suffers a mental breakdown. The volume ends with an intense cliffhanger, though, so I'll definitely be seeking out the next volume.
January 25, 2021
They continue to shit on Tony Stark. In the last 2 years the stories with Iron Man were awful. Please stop. Please hire decent writers.
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June 24, 2022Patsy Walker rules, great seeing her again for the first time since the 2015 Hellcat series.
Cafu killing it on art in every book I buy with his name on it.
Cafu killing it on art in every book I buy with his name on it.
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August 23, 2021RDJ is so likeable that you can easily overlook it in the films, but even more than with most Marvel heroes, it's built into the premise that Tony Stark is a dick. Arms dealer; alcoholic; billionaire CEO – these are none of them non-dick callings are they? And this latest relaunch is trying to lean into that, but not for the first time, it also tries to have its cake and eat it, because of the complication that Stark still sort of has to be the hero if there's a comic called Iron Man and he's not dead (again (yet)). So he's clearly having some sort of mid-life crisis when he thinks he's going to connect with real life by flying coach, or leaving his company and just being a private billionaire, or getting into illegal street racing because that's more 'iron' and less 'tech'. And whenever he talks about getting back to his roots, I suspect the creators are as aware as we are that his roots were in business, that he was an inventor and tycoon before he was an armoured Avenger, and that this is a ludicrous pose. Yet they still give him his armour in a suitcase again, which never made sense unless it was dimensionally transcendent (and that's more Pym's department). More than that, the whole thing feels like it should be either funnier or meaner or maybe both, and thinking that reminds me of Superior Iron Man, probably the last time an Iron Man series actually worked for me – the problem being, that was set during the period when a really stupid crossover had turned Stark evil, and part of the joke was that he wasn't actually that different. Whereas here Stark's dumb gestures and iffy driving nearly kill a journalist who signposts the book's big question by wanting to find out "What's myth, what's real, and what's...you know...problematic" about him, but to some extent we're still being expected to sympathise with the pillock. Partly this is achieved by showing what he gets online, as when Twitter is giving him grief because he fucked up a satellite, and thus some people's internet, while saving the world from Terrax. And that's cheating, really, isn't it? I think I could sympathise with almost anybody for at least a moment if you showed me the hellsite having a go at them. And then we also get Patsy Walker popping up as a sort of sidekick/conscience, giving Stark shit and pointing out that even his current acting out is just ego in another form (self-disgust is self-obsession, honey). Except that - SPOILER - she still falls into bed with him! And seems to think it a wizard wheeze when he invites a load of other tech dicks to a party before setting off an EMP to fry all their devices. Which apart from being an insufferable hippy prick move in its own right – what if any of them have a pacemaker? You know, like Tony Stark himself? Sometimes, anyway – I'm buggered if I can remember his current cardiac status quo. Speaking of Cardiac, the medical vigilante of that name pops up here, engaged in a plan which is a long way from his normal MO; I can totally see him plotting to asphyxiate a bunch of higher-ups from the USA's obscene healthcare system, but rank and file Stark employees seems uncharacteristically supervillain, as the dialogue notes. I guess this might subsequently be revealed as something to do with the presence of the Controller, but mainly he just had me thinking, is the Controller really such a classic villain that two consecutive Iron Man runs need to lean on him this heavily within the space of a couple of years? Still, I guess at least he isn't called Fuller Tielhard [sic], a name so DO YOU SEE? that even Ales Kot would wince, and that aside from the numerous Buckminster F epigraphs scattered about the issues. Yeah, it turns out to be an alias, but even so, and what's with the transposed vowels? Similarly, where's Frog-Man's hyphen, and more to the point, how do you have a whole issue with Frog-Man where, beyond the initial 'Oh look, it's Frog-Man, LOL!' he isn't funny once? I had high hopes for this, because I liked what Cantwell did on the Doctor Doom solo book and his own She Could Fly, and because there have been too few decent Iron Man comics for a very long time. But as well as containing several car crashes, this is one. Still, it does have very pretty art from Cafu and Frank d'Armata (even if I struggle with seeing Patsy Walker in this more realistic mode after the Squirrel Girl-esque stylings with which Brittney Williams so perfectly rendered her in her too short-lived mid-2010s solo series).
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