This is another great entry into this series that not only brings Tony Stark back to reality but also ushers in the return of Iron Man in all his glory. The story is still centered on Tony Stark though as he tries to build a new business empire to rival the defunct Stark Industries. This part of the story is handled well as Stark starts to put together a team of engineers and computer geeks to realize his vision but the new company, named Stark Resilient, has a different vision than the company his father had built. Now Tony Stark has gone green and intends to use his repulsor tech to power the Earth, starting with automobiles. This is the same tech that powers his various Iron Man suits vis the glowing disc on his chest. In previous story arcs Stark has always been very protective of this technology fearing that, if the wrong people got their hands on it, they would use it for nefarious means. This issue isn't really addressed in this book - the fact that Stark is now willing to put this tech in the public domain - and I do feel that the writer may have dropped the ball on that one. This has been a major story plot for Iron Man ever since he became anti-war and someone should have asked the question, 'Are you sure you want to do this, Tony?' But no-one does.
Other than that minor gripe the writer is excellent once again. All the characters have a reason to be there and the dialogue sharp and fits each character perfectly. The story also moves along at a well designed pace. Whereas vol.4 used tension to keep the pages turning this book is more character driven as the story unfolds always leaving enough room to keep the reader wondering where Stark will go to next and if he'll succeed when he gets there.
Unfortunately, the artwork is still a problem for me and brings the quality of the book down a notch. The expressions on the characters faces still don't work well with the words being spoken and the there are some weird posturing in this book. Also there is a question of consistency with the character renderings. During one sequence Stark visits Reed Richards who, for some reason, looks just like Brad Pitt. That's fine but turn the page and now the same character looks nothing like Mr. Pitt the same can be said of Pepper Potts who begins the book looking like Pepper but ends the book being a double for Nicole Kidman. If names weren't mentioned I'd have trouble figuring out who is who. Also the bland backgrounds in this book full of blank walls and neutral colors do nothing for the eye. The drawings are good enough but seem to suffer from lack of inspiration and effort. It really brings the book down, IMO.