Invincible Iron Man

[The NZA]

 

There hasnt been as much talk on this book, and im guessin that's beause the damn thing is practically quarterly at this point. Im just sort of pleasantly surprised when it shows up.

 

Regardless, Warren Ellis and artist Adi Granov are now 5 issues into their first six-issue arc, and i feel there's enough here to get into. For one, some fans bitched about the decompression (read: lotta talkin) of issue 1, but i felt this shit was pivotal. The 616 (regular Marvel U) would have you believe that Stark is the very cornerstone of a formerly UN sanctioned peace-keeping orgainzation, while somehow maintaining:

a) not at all trading in munitions

b) still keeping the US military 100% away from his Iron Man designs

...which always struck me as such bullshit. Bruce Wayne can do this sort of thing, not a fucking weapons developer. Its why i respected the Ultimates' Stark: drunk, and knee-deep in the military-industrial complex. So, the first issue of this series actually tries to show how Stark attempts to keep his hands clean: cellphone technology & the like, while his stockholders demand military contracts. His idealism - hypocritical or not - makes him way more interestin here, i think. And the next issue, with him and a colleague being railed on by a mentor for all they couldve accomplished had they not sold out, really pushes this.

What's cool is that its all around a backdrop of this Extremis formula that's modified a domestic terrorist (skinhead) into one of Stark's more powerful (and interesting) villians. Despite great advances in his Iron Man suit, Tony cant hang, and is nearly killed; reflecting his origin in Vietnam, he's again left with a life-or-death choice that will result in his character forever being changed.

 

I really hate to spoil it, and im not sure how much Ellis has in mind beyond this, but the way things are looking, when this arc is done, Stark wont be what he was before the book, and its looking damn interesting. I'm having more fun with this single last issue, looking at what he & his abilities might become, than i am the massive arc Spider-Man has going on that's essentially trying to do the same thing. Anyway, i know Chief is all about this book, and i look forward to the trade, just wondering if anybody else was checking it out.

[The NZA]

 

...ok, big new powers for Stark, but no one else besides me & Chief readin it...? Read below only if you're caught up...again, its a great arc:

 

Warren Ellis and Adi Granov’s Iron Man #5 recently went on sale and it appears to mark would could/might be a significant change of status quo for the character. First off all, assuming readers would rather read your thoughts than ours, can you describe what happens to Ton Stark and the Iron Man armor in that issue?

 

JQ: Well, I don’t want to spill the issue if you haven’t read it but there are some major biological changes that happen to Tony that are truly making him an Iron Man. Fans should stay tuned because in current continuity we’ve danced around these changes because we knew they were coming, but we didn’t want to give away Warren’s story.

 

These Iron Man revelations will be seen across the board and are part of current continuity going forward and no one is happier than Tom Brevoort because he’s been dancing between the continuity raindrops for over a year.

 

NRAMA: Now you guys have been pretty good of late of drawing attention to titles where significant changes or events occur, and this development appears to be a major one for one of your iconic characters. But this was released without much in the way of fanfare or marketing.

 

Was this a product of the book’s scheduling issues, and just taking a more low-key approach because of it?

 

JQ: It strictly had to do with the scheduling. If readers remember, we did a huge campaign around this book when we relaunched it along with Captain America.

 

Speaking of Captain America, Ed Brubaker is walking around murmuring “If you were one of the Master Men, who would you work for?”

 

NRAMA: Oh boy…So then these Iron Man changes eventually be reflected in New Avengers, Civil War, and Dan Knauf’s upcoming run?

 

JQ: Yes, absolutely!

 

NRAMA: And any updates on that last one now that the Ellis/Granov arc is nearing completion?

 

JQ: We’re looking at March-April for #6 with Knauf and artist Patrick Zircher following right afterwards and monthly.

 

[BigChiefSlapaho]

Cool reads. Thanks IC.

[archangel]

Oh man, just read #08. This is going to be real good.

[Jables]

You... Care to elaborate for us not pirating comics?

[archangel]

It's pretty much what happens the day Iron Man hands everything over to He Who Must Not Be Named

[Jables]

And it warrants a separate new thread? Fair enough, Mysterio.

[The NZA]

i saw the cover for an upcoming issue that had Tony: Most Wanted, and the vilification really came full circle in this month's Mighty Avengers (anyone read that? shit was crazy!) so yeah, arch has me thinking i gotta check this one out now too.

[archangel]

that's the one I'm talking about, and yea, Mighty was amazing

 

 

Mighty was the one with Jane's funeral, right?

 

[The NZA]

that's the one.

 

 

dont get me wrong, im anti-reg to the core, but wasnt hank publicly pinning both steve & jan's death on tony's doorstep, however heated, a bit out of line? fuck man, i know most of marvel puts cap on him, but jan too? because starktech was compromised? i guess the mentality is if everyone was still united, that woudlntve happened, or mebbe its the old marvel thing of "dammit tony if steve was here, shit wouldve worked out somehow...that motherfucker took down thanos with the infinity gauntlet, you tool!!" or something. i just didnt get it.

 

but clint telling osborn to fuck himself in a church made up for all of it. i cant believe what a hawkeye fan bendis is making of me.

 

 

how was your invincible book though, do you know who's writing it?

 

PS is stark kinda turning into the bush of the marvel u?

[archangel]

yes, yes he is

 

 

I do like and agree with everything you said, though i would remind you that Hank's name has been sullied more than anyone else, and he's always still wanted to get back with Janet. Considering how instrumental he was in CW, he probably feels responsible for both Cap and being unable to defend Janet.

 

 

Matt Fraction is writing.

[The NZA]

...and Fraction delivers like domino's. even Larocca cant fuck this up (not really a fan).

 

"World's Most Wanted" is 11 issues in now (# 18 was this week, i think) and yeah, this is as good as a solo Stark book has been. Osborn is dead-set on getting the names of the registered supes off Tony's mind, which - and i forget exactly what he did here, but he took something that's making him forget damn near everything, its like Flowers for Algernon in reverse), so you're watching Tony scramble to hide & stay alive with absolutely minimal tech and less than half his brilliance.

 

In the background of that Fugitive setup, you've got Maria Hill and Black Widow doing fetch-quests for Fury, while Pepper Potts is...man, props to Fraction for pulling this off, cause it sounds silly when written but its working here.

 

Great book, should be climactic next issue when this maxi-arc ends, and i gotta say: half the Marvel U books right now are guys swearing they're gonna take down/kill Osborn. The default choice'd be the Avengers, but i really hope Stark gets a go at it, the rivalry & hatred Osborn has for him right now may not be as classic as it is for Parker, but its exciting shit and id love to see it play out.

 

 

dying to see what that uploaded virus does to H.A.M.M.E.R.

 

[archangel]

 

I am, too. And man, Tony trained her very well

 

 

Let's see what happens, cos it doesn't look like it's going to end well for Tony.

[The NZA]

1st issue of "Stark Disassembled is out"...fuck it, Fraction should always write Iron Man.

tell me more of you (arch?) are reading this.

[Iambaytor]

I've been keeping up with it. Not much happened this issue.

[archangel]

If the picture at the end is anything, then this promises to be very cool.

 

That being said, I think the Redemption of Tony Stark is beginning on a wonderful foot. I'm just curious if Bucky Cap will see it through or if Steve will.

 

Also: does Blake speak for Blake when he made that comment or was he channeling Thor?

[The NZA]

well, its lookin like Steve's back sooner rather than later...we should know next month.

 

Also: does Blake speak for Blake when he made that comment or was he channeling Thor?

 

going off his comment about "medical necessity" (i like how stark said to not expect apologies), and what blake said to Reed in this month's issue of Thor - it went something like "....about the thing between me and Thor..." to which blake replied "that's between you and him." - im gonna say Blake spoke for Blake.

 

Last time Thor saw him (early in the current series) he was good and pissed about his genes being used/abused and resulting in the death of a fellow Avenger, even threatened Tony's life when next they met. But since then....Tony's fell off to the top, and Thor's been exiled from his own kingdom as well, so im thinking they might relate well, especially with a common foe in Siege.

[Newtype]

Fucking marvel.

 

Don't read till after Cap reborn #5

[The NZA]

wait, was there a new one this week? i thought # 20 was the latest, i dont recall big spoilers...ah, but the cover of 21 looks like what you're talking about. that's out?

 

shit, marvel's dropping the ball here. we all know its coming, but at least let it out the gate first! this is like when DC started "One Year Later" before Final Crisis or whatever even ended. ugh.

[Iambaytor]

Is this a non-spoiler like the one in the end of the Dark Avengers annual?

[archangel]

wait...so we're NOT supposed to read this Iron Man until after Cap Reborn?

 

OR Dark Avengers Annual?

[Iambaytor]

Here's the spoiler or Dark Avengers Annual... wait for it.... Steve Rogers is alive! But if you've read anything about the character or if you basic deductive skills and have read the title "Captain America: Reborn" then you can figure this all out on your own.

[archangel]

lol no shit man.

[The NZA]

yeah, but its still in the delivery of it. with this book this week - and new avengers annual # 3 making 3 books spoiling it before reborn ties up - its kinda sloppy.

 

i think it was known bats was gonna die at the end of the last DC event, but if a funeral issue wouldve made it out first, it'd still be sloppy. i get that it cant be easy coordinating so many different writers/artists but this is why there's editors and release schedules.

[Iambaytor]

Yes, but I think if it was called "THE DEATH OF BATMAN" my head-brains could summon up the juice to figure out that Batman (or possibly Batman Jones) will die. And if I read it in another book (like I read the ending of World War Hulk in like 6 books before actually reading it in the core book) I probably wouldn't care because I knew that Batman Jones was going to die already.