The Invincible Iron Man, Volume 6: Stark Resilient, Book 2

The Invincible Iron Man (2008) (Collected Editions)

by Matt Fraction, Salvador Larroca (Illustrator)

When you think of the greatest mechanized hero of the modern era, only two words come to mind: DETROIT STEEL. You wanted the best? You got the best. But the best comes at a price. Meanwhile Pepper Potts is on the road to recovery, but nothing is free from complication in Tony Stark's world -- and this one's a doozy, even if it means the debut of an all-new RESCUE. The Pentagon keep shutting War Machine out, and the new offices of Stark Resilient let everyone in for a big coming-out party...with special guests Justine and Sasha Hammer.

Collecting: Invincible Iron Man 29-33

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

136 pages, Hardcover

First published February 23, 2011

About the author

"How he got started in comics: In 1983, when Fraction was 7 years old and growing up in Kansas City, Mo., he became fascinated by the U.S. invasion of Grenada and created his own newspaper to explain the event. "I've always been story-driven, telling stories with pictures and words," he said.

Education and first job: Fraction never graduated from college. He stopped half a semester short of an art degree at Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri in 1998 to take a job as a Web designer and managing editor of a magazine about Internet culture.

"My mother was not happy about that," he said.

But that gig led Fraction and his co-workers to split off and launch MK12, a boutique graphic design and production firm in Kansas City that created the opening credits for the James Bond film "Quantum of Solace."

Big break: While writing and directing live-action shoots at MK12, Fraction spent his spare time writing comics and pitching his books each year to publishers at Comic-Con. Two books sold: "The Last of the Independents," published in 2003 by AiT/Planet Lar, and "Casanova," published in 2006 by Image Comics.

Fraction traveled extensively on commercial shoots. Then his wife got pregnant. So Fraction did what any rational man in his position would do -- he quit his job at MK12 to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time comic book writer.

Say what? "It was terrifying," said Fraction, who now lives in Portland, Ore. "I was married. We had a house. We had a baby coming. And I just quit my job."

Marvel hired Fraction in June 2006, thanks largely to the success of his other two comics. "I got very lucky," he half-joked. "If it hadn't worked out, I would have had to move back in with my parents.

- 2009. Alex Pham. Los Angeles Times.

Reviews

[Kemper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tony Stark’s new company is on the verge of rolling out the prototype for a car that requires no fossil fuels, but powerful enemies are doing everything they can to screw up the public debut including sending an all out attack by airborne drones. There hasn’t been a product launch go this badly since Windows 7.

Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca have done a nice job of giving these books a bit of the Robert Downey Jr. movie flavor of Iron Man while also delivering some pure Marvel comic goodness. They balance action with equally entertaining storylines about Stark as a eccentric celebrity genius and deliver all of it with just the right amount of smart ass humor.

I especially like how Stark’s on-going fusion of man and machine is evolving so that he’s now got a lot of computer like abilities, and this has let them add in some sci-fi stuff that makes Tony a lot more than just a guy with some really fancy body armor.

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was so good omg!

So we basically have Tony going on a date with Sasha hammer and confirming who she really is and well the battle between them is fun and Resilient gets a challenge from Hammer industries when their car launch is corporate saboteur-ed by enemies and well its a fun battle in the F1 circuit when some drones are after Iron man and also Detroit steel and it makes for fun drama and story and the battle and what an ending which brings this run full circle and I love it!!

Its one of those runs which maintains its consistency and its even better than you can expect it to be. The drama, the thrill, the pace is astonishing and I also love hoe his supporting cast also get their own moments and stories!!

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great volume from Fraction/Larroca, this one providing the action-packed payoff from Part One's set-uppery

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Damn, this started so damn good and then...meh.

So this is the second part of Stark Resilient arc and it begins really good. Tony is not doing good. The villains are pushing him to the limit. Publicly he is becoming a joke and also his work on his new car (technology) isn't doing well. Then, when it comes to showing it off, the villains decide to step up and Hammer is gonna take what is theirs. This ends with a big chase, a little bit of robot on robot action, and maybe a new plotline for our Iron Man?

Overall, this started off pretty good. I liked the villains weren't just mindless bad guys and they both try their best to outsmart Tony. Also, the start of Tony losing it and getting frustrated at things is pretty damn interesting. The ending chase is long and boring and the final moments of the volume fail to build up something interesting.

This would be a 4 if it kept it's stride up but as is, can't give higher than a 3.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

After all the build up in Stark Resilient book 1, this part does a good job at delivering the pay offs in my revisit of the Invincible Iron series.

Tony is still building his new company of Stark Resilient and rebuilding his reputation after the events in the series so far. Like in the film series, Tony’s plan is to stop production of weapons and deliver clean energy. His first steps involve the production of a electric repulsor powered super car.

Where the last book was very character focused, this one delivers a bit more action and gets Tony back in the armour. He is also joined by Rhodey as War Machine and Pepper gets more development with the Rescue armour. It is cool to actually see team Iron Man in action!

Villain wise we still have the Hammer girls, planning to get revenge on Stark with the help of their own armoured character: Detroit Steel. This leads to some good action sequences and a crazy car chase.

The artwork is still consistent from the previous volumes, so no complaints there.

Overall the Stark Resilient storyline isn’t the best so far of the Invincible Iron Man, but it is still enjoyable. By this point you really need to have read at least the prior volumes of this series, due to the amount of references and progressions of previous events.

[Jessy · Rating 5 out of 5]

99/100

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing on this continues to be clever, suspenseful and fast-paced. I could *not* put this book down, and that's a testament to Fraction's writing talent (and a big testament, considering how brutal Larocca's art continues to be). -1 for the art, sorry - I just can't take it anymore. Can we fire an artist in the middle of a successful run?

Loving the characters - Pepper is awesome as a new superhero, the Hammer girls are great as off-their-nut genius villains, and Tony is as always cool under pressure and has better ion than anyone else in the room. It's really great to see he's still as stubborn, egotistical and flawed as ever - wouldn't be half as fun without that Tony in the story.

[zxvasdf · Rating 5 out of 5]

More intrigue in this book, in which both sides of the corporate conflict go as far as to be friendly friendly together in public. Pepper gets her armor back, and this time she gets to kick butt alongside Tony Stark. This read is arresting. I finished it in one sitting, and am really looking forward to seeing Fraction take it to a whole new level.

[Pturingan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's entire issues without a fight scene but the story does just enough to keep you hooked.

On another matter: I'm beginning to feel that Iron Man doesn't really have that big of a rogues gallery as most heroes do.

[Sineala · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gosh, I really wanted to see Tony chase a bad guy in an armored suit with a repulsor-powered sports car. Wait, no.

On the plus side... uh, Bambi Arbogast is back? I think that was really the only thing I liked.

[Jedhua · Rating 3 out of 5]

ABSOLUTE RATING: {3+/5 stars}

STANDARDIZED RATING: <3/5 stars>

[Yvonne Alf · Rating 5 out of 5]

While book one had a bit of a slow start developing the story, book two was a real page turner with some very memorable moments. The whole part with the car drive after the party was so full of suspense.

I have to say I really enjoy this style of story-telling. I'm new to reading Marvel comics and before starting I expected to have lots of Iron Man fighting villains and the typical crash/boom/bang - you know - the usual preconceived opinion. So I'm very pleased that it is all but not that. Complex storytelling, suspense, plot-twists, more like an industrial thriller. All the characters and developments feel real and believable (as much as comics can be of course). Wouldn't it be so cool if a car like they develop really existed?

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tony tries to put his life together after the Secret Invasion and Civil War, which lead to a memory wipe which made him forget that him and Pepper finally got it on. This time around he's trying to not sell weapons and save the world in a different way. He's made some enemies along the way though and they're out to make sure he fails.

Not bad, it's kinda strange seeing this somewhat humbled Tony Stark, but I'm curious where it's going.

[Ellen Schoener · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is worth it for the banter alone.
Banter between Tony and his team, banter between Tony and the villains...
And we get to see some great action sequences of Tony and his side-kicks War Machine and Rescue saving the day.
Plus, Tony gets to be both really clever and pretty stupid at the same time, which really emphasizes that although be has been enhanced so much, he still is a human being.
And the art is great, too.
Really cannot fault this series.
I have really come to love Tony.

[Yuiko · Rating 2 out of 5]

To much talking not enough superhero stuff.to much about his company and making things

[Gülnur · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't want Ezekiel to return, this only means more drama and no thanks.
also I've never seen Tony this poor before someone give this man some money please.

[Carlex · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars.

[Aldo Verde · Rating 3 out of 5]

La storia è un po’ noiosa ma questa roba di Iron Man cyberpunk che si impianta la tecnologia negli organi mi gasa.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, I'm going to review Resilient part 1 and 2 here, since it really is one story arc.

The good: The characters and relationships. Tony Stark having to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of Dark Reign and Siege is probably the most interesting thing about this arc. The dialogue is (for the most part) well written and entertaining. I like that Tony comes off as kind of an asshole, but we can still root for him. I like even more that Pepper gets to be awesome again.

The meh: The artwork. It's not that bad, it's just not very appealing. Overall it just doesn't have a style to it it just looks kind of generic and uninteresting. The new Iron Man armor looks fine, but Detroit Steel looks like a really ugly transformers toy (and maybe that's intentional, but come on who designs such a monstrosity?).
I also could not really get behind the whole let's build a car thing. Maybe it's because I just don't care about cars in general, but I really didn't care for it.

The bad: The bad guys "plan" does not make any sense. None.
Just talking about how unbelievable stupid the idea of having drones controlled by unsuspecting people thinking they are playing a mobile game is could take a while. Nothing about this makes any sense... at all: Giving people who have no idea what they are doing access to expensive technology, that fact that a drone can easily be controlled through a cell phone, the fact that a break down in the cell phone network makes the drones useless, the fact that they plastered their name over this game so it's extra easy to associate them with it... and on and on. Which brings us to my second problem with this plan: How do the Hammer women get away with this? They attack a public demonstration of a new car, cause unbelievable amounts of damage probably kill some innocent bystanders and then just tell people it wasn't them, when everyone could see them doing it? You just have to make an anonymous call to some TV station and tell them it was a terrorist attack and no one will inquire any further into this? No one can figure out were these drones suddenly come from and that they are controlled through this game except for some people who work for Stark and they for some reason don't tell anyone? No one gets suspicious that the maps they are playing are the places Detroit Steel is right at that moment in time? Anyone involved with this should be in prison at the end of the story, but they're not because anyone not working for Tony Stark firmly holds the idiot ball since the and guys are still needed for the next story.

So overall I would say three stars, but since Stark Disassembled was so much better and because of the idiot plot especially at the end of the story I'll have to go with two.

[Kevin Giebens · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book of 'Stark Resilient' wasn't that special, in my opinion.
It lacked the usual action, and the upcoming villains weren't interesting enough.

Luckily, Matt Fraction set things right in this volume of Stark Resilient.
Because the first book didn't really end with a specific cliffhanger, we knew how this book would start. Pepper Potts as a brand new 'Rescue', forming 'Team Iron Man' with Tony Stark as Iron Man itself and James Rhodes as War Machine.

Although the arc of Stark Resilient covered the uprising of Tony's new company, it didn't really bother me that much. It was nice to see how Matt was trying to refresh Tony Stark's business by quitting the weapon manufactory, but I wanted to see Tony get it back together and start some action!
And suprisingly, he did in this volume.
Justine and Sasha Hammer (especially Sasha) showed what they were capable of as a villain, even though they didn't come physically into the fight. Instead of using machinery and muscles themselves, they use a much bigger weapon: a free mobile game.



And it works! A simple mobile game almost succeeds in killing Pepper en Rhodey, while Tony tries as hard as he can to save his newly developed 'Resilient Car'.
Where the previous volume lacked action, this volume covers it up without losing anything of its story arc.
But what was the most exciting about this volume? Well... For me, it were to last few pages. I won't spoil the ending, but I can assure you... It will blow your mind! Sh*t is about to hit the fan really hard!

[catechism · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this like ten minutes ago and don't remember what it was about, so that's a good sign. I was really hoping I could get through Fraction's run in what amounts to one sitting but I don't think I can do it. The Stark Resilient arc is about... cars, I think? He's making cars? It was very stupid (not just the cars, which I don't care about; the villains were really terrible). Also I swear he just learned about how he has to ask for help because he was stranded in the desert of his mind or something, but two issues later and he's barely talking to Maria and whatever, Tony, you're the worst. The main thing I remember is him saying he doesn't actually wear clothes anymore because of Extremis (or whatever we're calling it now that we're no longer calling it Extremis). The armor lives in his bones and takes over and then the fake clothes come back when he's no longer in the armor, except for the fact that HE TOTALLY WEARS CLOTHES. How does that even work? Does he program it in when he wants to wear his red tux to the gala?

Okay, yeah, I'm having too many Tony Stark Feelings, definitely time to set it aside for a while and come back later.

[Jeff Lanter · Rating 4 out of 5]

My interest in this storyline was very high at the beginning and ebbed some in the middle issues and then went right back up by the end. The first volume of Star Resilient was very exciting and this one at least initially promises an exciting conclusion. Hammer's scheme to ruin Tony ends up being a little cheesier than I expected. Strangely, the drones reminded me of some of the scenes in Iron Man 2 (whereas the first Resilient reminded me heavily of the first Iron man movie), but that was a nice connection for me anyway. The Hammer plan is one of those Sci-Fi ideas that is so contemporary that even reading it a few years later when a technology has become more commonplace does the idea seem kind of silly. How Tony responds uses some incredible superhero logic and is equally silly, but that is all forgiven because by the end, there is the promise of a new and much more imposing villain. When I finished the last issue of this story and was ready to dig into the next and that is definitely one of the strengths of this book.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the most Iron Man and Tech centric of this series so far. Tony Stark gets his full Iron Man mode on complete with angry scowl on the helmet and lots of action in the air. The plot itself is pretty ingenious and uses all the strengths that a character like Iron Man has to offer. There's a strong business main plot as Stark creates an upstart company from scratch only to find that there are still rivals out there with strong anti-Stark issues to deal with. Add in a subplot involving a corrupt military General with an axe to grind and more of Pepper Potts finding her-self and we have yet another complete story written within the confines of a Graphic Novel, which are usually too short a format and too eager to reach the action to contain a complex story line. No such problem here. The reader definitely gets his moneys worth.

[Tarique Ejaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I expected the Resilient storyline to pan out in a better manner.

Yes, Pepper Potts has a suit of her own but that doesn't add to the excitement of the Resilient story arc. However, it does seem that Rescue shall be a major player in further arcs as she had been in the earlier ones as well but given the fact that all that Stark had been through of late, the nonchalant approach is his trademark but then the Repulsor-technology mix where he is still buoyed by the will to make it available to all, adds a new gleam to the series none the less.
:3

Looking forward for more head turning events.

[Richard Graves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Certainly liked it. All the tech is interesting and plausible for the story Faction is telling. I especially liked the crowd sourced drones mirroring current technological concerns when it was published- bit torrent offensive, i think they were referred to) but the liquid suit bothered me the whole time. Kind of a "Robot Symbiote" without any real reason or explanation. I guess they thought it was cool, and it would have been if it had fit in the universe a bit more. Extremis programmed into the nervous system i could buy.....this was a little far fetched.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this all in one go so dividing the trades into 2 seems a little cheap. Same review for both. Moving the story on, Fraction takes Stark in an interesting though somewhat weird direction. Providing cheap renewable energy to the masses? Great. Doing it in the form of a sports car? Erm. Perhaps not what was expected. Still, the story moves and it's intriguing. Still don't like the art though.

Actually - not the same review because by the end while the story has advanced I can't say I found it that interesting. I'm not sure how much more I'm going to read this series as it's not doing that much for me. Hmmm.

[Matt Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pepper gets back in her Rescue armour, HAMMER releases a smartphone app to that recruits an unknowing public in backing up Detroit Steel in reality under the guise of a game, the Resilient car prototype #1 is sabotaged, the release of #2 is attacked by Detroit Steel and drones under the guise of a terrorist attack, Rescue, War Machine and RT car prototype #2 are threatened in fighting off the attack but in the end, PR and reputation saves the day.

Well written and engaging story line compared to some other Iron Man writing. Fun and interesting.

[Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The award-winning series continues apace, with Tony trying to relaunch an eco-car while the Hammer sisters try and stop him.
Oh, and Pepper gets her suit back.
The high standards of the previous volumes are maintained, as the story rips along like a remote-controlled drone (something which has even greater weight given the current climate).
Funny and dramatic in equal measure, the only black mark comes from the unsubtle naming of one of the characters. I could be wrong, but money says I'm not.
This is fast-turning into my new favourite series (sorry Cap and DD)

[Koen Claeys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Larroca's drawings (or computer graphics) will never be my cup of tea (people look like in a Barbie movie or a PC game). Why do I keep reading this then ? Well, Matt Fraction writes an engaging pageturner. I understand that for classic fanboys the pacing can be too slow, the story too decompressed, something that doesn't bother me. I can only imagine how amazing this comic could be with better artwork.

[Noah Soudrette · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic continuation and conclusion tot he Stark Resilient storyline. The Hammer Girls really manage to annoy the hell out of Tony and some of their plans are even brilliant! Still, this volume really just sets the stage for a villianous crossover of epic proportions as all of Fraction's Iron Man plot threads come braided in a ponytail of evil.