Comic Review: Marvel-Verse Iron Man

Marvel-Verse Iron Man

After picking up a couple of comics for friends, I got this for myself.  I thought about getting the other Nexus Omnibus Zia had available, but picked this up instead.  Though Zia Comics has a large selection of trade paperbacks, most of them aren’t to my taste.  There’s a lot of adult material like The Boys and Walking Dead there (not “adult” like porn) and not much traditional superhero stuff.   This small Iron Man trade was out of place there and caught my eye.  Though slim and not full comic book-sized, it was at least fairly cheap at $10.

 

The four stories inside featured two stories from before the MCU and two from after.  Surprisingly, Iron Man and Tony Stark are still thought of as separate people in these comics.  Everyone just knows Iron Man as Tony Stark’s bodyguard.  I heard that Robert Downey Jr. saying, “I am Iron Man,” from the end of the first movie was an ad lib, and the producers went with it.  What a monumental decision for the future of the MCU.

Marvel Adventures Iron Man #1 (2007)

Marvel Adventures was Marvel’s sort of kids line.  We’ll say it’s an all-ages appropriate classic comic.  I remember reading their X-Men comic (featuring the original group) in a collection.  I think they were originally featured in a newsstand magazine format (not in a standard comic book format).  I still think that’s a great idea for publishing superhero comics, even if nobody else does.

 

This issue retells Iron Man’s origin.  In the original from the 60’s, what I know of it, Stark was an inventor/industrialist that was captured by the Viet Cong in Vietnam and had to invent the armored suit to fight his way out.  In the movie, he was in Afghanistan.  (Tony’s origin can unfortunately probably always be updated to a current war.)  Here, Iron Man has a more Marvel Comics appropriate origin and is captured by A.I.M., an evil organization of high-tech scientists. 

 

The story here is really kind of rushed, but makes a bit more sense in a comic book sort of way than the other two origins.  It could still be refined a bit more.  A.I.M. would probably initially assume Stark would be a natural ally.  Only when he resisted would they damage his heart and force him to work for him.  Whatever. 

What I really wonder though.  Scientist Supreme is nice, but where’s MODOK!  It’s just not A.I.M. without the big head.       

Iron Man #234 (1988)

Yeah, you can tell this one is straight from the 80’s.  In spite of the violet robe and mop of  Jerry curl hair, Tony is still quite the ladies man. 

His pilot, James Rhodes, is also quite the playa.

You can also experience painful dated references.

The story is a typical one-shot team up between Iron Man and Spider-Man.  It’s okay.  It would be better enjoyed with some more issues from the era, since there’s obviously continuing storylines going on.   

 

Iron Man #1 (1998)

Kurt Busiek is the author of note for this one.  I’m not really familiar with his work, but I’ve heard of him.  (The other writers in this trade aren’t as well-known.  I should also mention that the artwork is generally good, but not outstanding.  The Marvel Adventures artwork is a bit more kid-ish.)  Boy is Kurt wordy.  I was getting a real frustrated novelist vibe from the piles of captions. 

 

That said, the story was really good.  I think this one came about after the Heroes Return storyline.  Iron Man’s origin is quickly retold, though it doesn’t quite match any of the others.  This story reset the character and set up future conflicts.  This was exactly what you’d want for a relaunch.  I kind of want to read more of Busiek’s run now.  It’s just fun comics.  I wonder if the look of Tony Stark in this influenced his look in the movies? 

   

Marvel Adventures Iron Man #7 (2007)

Iron Man versus Doctor Doom.  I’m all over it.  The Fantastic Four may be Doom’s traditional enemy, but shellhead is his natural enemy.  Mom gave me the above classic comic a long time ago when I was home sick as a kid once.  I’ve always kind of cherished it.  It’s a great comic, except it ends on a cliffhanger and I have no idea how the story concludes. 

 

In any case, Iron Man is off on a rescue mission to Latveria.  He realizes he’s overmatched on Doom’s home turf and has to sneak his way in with his best tech.  It’s another fun story.   

Overall, even with the small size and odd collection of stories, this was great for the price.  Like the Nexus Omnibus, the shrunken size didn’t hurt the artwork and allowed for an affordable color volume.  I wouldn’t mind seeing longer, continuous runs of titles in a similar format.  In any case, this works as an introductory volume to the character.  It’s probably meant as a gift for a kid that likes the Iron Man movies. 

 

However, I must say this statue that greeted me at the door Zia Comics was easily the most desired item in the store for me.  It’s Applejack from My Little Pony.  I have no familiarly with this material, but I know cute when I see it.  If only I had somewhere to display this where I live.  Also, it’s $109.     

And I have one more trade to ***review next.***