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aceinit's review against another edition
3.0
Review is for monthly issues 12-17 and not the graphic novel itself, which has yet to be released at the time of this post. Major spoilers have been hidden. Minor ones may still appear.
I really, honestly don’t know why I still bother with Gillen’s Iron Man. I love the other works I’ve read that he’s done for Marvel, specifically Journey into Mystery, his brief run on Thor and the current ongoing Young Avengers. But, for some reason, his take on Tony Stark comes off as more than a little off-kilter.
So far in the 17 issues of the Marvel Now series, we’ve seen (SPOILERS for those who haven’t read through Volume 2 yet):
*Tony building an AI for his suits named P.E.P.P.E.R., which will never not reek of creep-factor
*Tony having hot make-out sessions with alien babes
*Tony fighting in outer-space gladiatorial-style death matches
*Alien mafia in Rat Pack-era Vegas
*Tony being genetically enhanced and modified by the alien robot 451 while still in the womb, to turn him into a “technological messiah.”
In this collection, we finally find out what 451’s plans for Tony were, and exactly how far he’s willing to go to achieve those goals. Turns out, all the time Tony’s spent in his suits was just practice for a much, much larger project.
The good news is, this collection finally brings Tony back to earth, literally, but he barely has a time to grab a slice of New York pizza before receiving an urgent message from the real Pepper in Los Angeles. This will eventually lead Tony to the final pieces of the puzzle regarding his own origin, and the lengths both of his parents went to in order to protect him…and the real “secret origin” of Tony Stark. I will admit I did not see the final twist coming. I don’t know if that’s because I’m still new to Marvel Comics as a whole, or because it was a genuine twist. Either way, things have changed for Tony.
Gillen’s author’s note at the end of Issue 17 goes a long way towards explaining his thought process with these issues of Iron Man, and why he made the choices he did, and why thing may be slightly less crazy for Tony in upcoming issues (*fingers crossed*). Maybe now that the big reveals are out of the way, some level of normalcy will return.
When you’re dealing with a character as dynamic as Tony Stark, I certainly don’t expect a serious drama-fest all the time. Or even most of the time. But there is a level of utter improbability that has plagued Gillen’s run on Iron Man so far. For me, it’s been that proverbial train wreck that you want to look away from and can’t. It’s bad reality TV. You’re flipping channels and see something so crazy that you have to stop and watch for a few minutes. Until the next commercial break. But then it leaves you with a cliffhanger and you find out the network is running a marathon and you want to change the channel but you just can’t, because you might miss something even wackier than what you’ve just seen. That’s Iron Man for me.
I really, honestly don’t know why I still bother with Gillen’s Iron Man. I love the other works I’ve read that he’s done for Marvel, specifically Journey into Mystery, his brief run on Thor and the current ongoing Young Avengers. But, for some reason, his take on Tony Stark comes off as more than a little off-kilter.
So far in the 17 issues of the Marvel Now series, we’ve seen (SPOILERS for those who haven’t read through Volume 2 yet):
*Tony building an AI for his suits named P.E.P.P.E.R., which will never not reek of creep-factor
*Tony having hot make-out sessions with alien babes
*Tony fighting in outer-space gladiatorial-style death matches
*Alien mafia in Rat Pack-era Vegas
*Tony being genetically enhanced and modified by the alien robot 451 while still in the womb, to turn him into a “technological messiah.”
In this collection, we finally find out what 451’s plans for Tony were, and exactly how far he’s willing to go to achieve those goals. Turns out, all the time Tony’s spent in his suits was just practice for a much, much larger project.
Spoiler
Meet the Godkiller. Think one of Tony's suits meets the Jaegars from Pacific Rim, but bigger. As in “4.7 miles tall” bigger. 451 wants to use it to protect civilization, except that 451 is a little nuts by this point, and doesn’t have a problem wiping out entire civilizations to “persuade” Tony to interface with the machine. When 451 refuses to believe Tony’s reasons for failing to appease him on this matter, he points the suite towards Earth, forcing Tony and P.E.P.P.E.R. to use all their resources and resourcefulness to save the planet.The good news is, this collection finally brings Tony back to earth, literally, but he barely has a time to grab a slice of New York pizza before receiving an urgent message from the real Pepper in Los Angeles. This will eventually lead Tony to the final pieces of the puzzle regarding his own origin, and the lengths both of his parents went to in order to protect him…and the real “secret origin” of Tony Stark. I will admit I did not see the final twist coming. I don’t know if that’s because I’m still new to Marvel Comics as a whole, or because it was a genuine twist. Either way, things have changed for Tony.
Gillen’s author’s note at the end of Issue 17 goes a long way towards explaining his thought process with these issues of Iron Man, and why he made the choices he did, and why thing may be slightly less crazy for Tony in upcoming issues (*fingers crossed*). Maybe now that the big reveals are out of the way, some level of normalcy will return.
When you’re dealing with a character as dynamic as Tony Stark, I certainly don’t expect a serious drama-fest all the time. Or even most of the time. But there is a level of utter improbability that has plagued Gillen’s run on Iron Man so far. For me, it’s been that proverbial train wreck that you want to look away from and can’t. It’s bad reality TV. You’re flipping channels and see something so crazy that you have to stop and watch for a few minutes. Until the next commercial break. But then it leaves you with a cliffhanger and you find out the network is running a marathon and you want to change the channel but you just can’t, because you might miss something even wackier than what you’ve just seen. That’s Iron Man for me.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
4.0
Huh. Okay this one was better than the second one. And I didn't see that either part of that ending coming and I don't know if Marvel will keep it. But it has interesting possibilities. And is more believable then the truth told in volume two.
gohawks's review against another edition
3.0
Gillen has begun to win me over with the new Iron Man's brother plot. It's not amazing, but it's enought to hook a reader.
pickett22's review against another edition
4.0
Spoilers!!
I have been a terrible reader the past two months. I blame anxiety. Anyway, personal crap aside, I finally finished it.
I, like many other Iron Man fans I have seen on the internet, got mad at it. I got mad at Gillen. I thought he had turned my hero into a machine. But that was the point. That right along with Tony, we would question what makes him valuable. What makes him heroic. I'm sorry to say I limped along to the end of this with eyes half closed because I didn't want to answer the question. It actually wasn't until I read a spoiler on tumblr that I realized what I should have known all along, mainly that Gillen wouldn't do what I thought he was doing. (Although, in my defense, I thought Bendis would never do what he's done to my X-Men, so some of those betrayed feelings may have been carried over. Basically:
"Because I trust you"
"I'm touched"
"I don't trust you."
"Say nothing."
)
But even if Gillen had done what it looked like he had, I should have trusted him to carry it with grace. This is the man who sent Tony into space because everything he had done thus far was less than he could have, and therefore too little.
All that said, I liked this. It seemed all over the place when the run started, and coming off the Fraction run, it seemed like this was not going to be very good. But I really, really like where it ended up. I had to get all the way to the last few pages to really like it, but I do.
BUT WTF PEPPER?!?! GILLEN! PLEASE NO! I DON'T THINK I COULD DO ANOTHER HEARTBREAK HERE! GIVE HER BACK RESCUE OR SOMETHING, BUT NOT THIS.
*ahem*.
I'm just having Happy Hogan feels. Don't mind me.
I'm still worried about Pepper, but I'm trying to trust Gillen, because he finished these two books really, really well.
I have been a terrible reader the past two months. I blame anxiety. Anyway, personal crap aside, I finally finished it.
I, like many other Iron Man fans I have seen on the internet, got mad at it. I got mad at Gillen. I thought he had turned my hero into a machine. But that was the point. That right along with Tony, we would question what makes him valuable. What makes him heroic. I'm sorry to say I limped along to the end of this with eyes half closed because I didn't want to answer the question. It actually wasn't until I read a spoiler on tumblr that I realized what I should have known all along, mainly that Gillen wouldn't do what I thought he was doing. (Although, in my defense, I thought Bendis would never do what he's done to my X-Men, so some of those betrayed feelings may have been carried over. Basically:
"Because I trust you"
"I'm touched"
"I don't trust you."
"Say nothing."
)But even if Gillen had done what it looked like he had, I should have trusted him to carry it with grace. This is the man who sent Tony into space because everything he had done thus far was less than he could have, and therefore too little.
All that said, I liked this. It seemed all over the place when the run started, and coming off the Fraction run, it seemed like this was not going to be very good. But I really, really like where it ended up. I had to get all the way to the last few pages to really like it, but I do.
BUT WTF PEPPER?!?! GILLEN! PLEASE NO! I DON'T THINK I COULD DO ANOTHER HEARTBREAK HERE! GIVE HER BACK RESCUE OR SOMETHING, BUT NOT THIS.
*ahem*.
I'm just having Happy Hogan feels. Don't mind me.
I'm still worried about Pepper, but I'm trying to trust Gillen, because he finished these two books really, really well.
jhstack's review against another edition
3.0
Inconsistent, but good Stark quips and action, as well as an out-of-the-blue ending twist that promises to make future volumes a bit more interesting.
renatasnacks's review against another edition
2.0
Ehh... like, I get that they needed to put Tony Stark in space to tie him in with Guardians of the Galaxy, but ultimately I just didn't care that much about this. I like Tony best when he's interacting with people, not stuck in space with robots. And the ending felt like a fakeout. But I'm glad Tony's back on earth.
meliemelo's review against another edition
3.0
Everything is revealed, everything is explained...
I enjoyed this. Lots of action, I liked the art, and I'm happy with the resolution. It's not my favourite thing that Gillen has written, and out of the three volumes I preferred the first one, but it was still good and pretty smart, now that I think about it. It wasn't so much about the "retcon" than about Tony Stark's reaction to it, and that was great.
I'd love to read Tony's adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy though, it might be one of the next things I pick up !
I enjoyed this. Lots of action, I liked the art, and I'm happy with the resolution. It's not my favourite thing that Gillen has written, and out of the three volumes I preferred the first one, but it was still good and pretty smart, now that I think about it. It wasn't so much about the "retcon" than about Tony Stark's reaction to it, and that was great.
I'd love to read Tony's adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy though, it might be one of the next things I pick up !
victoriae's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. Better than I thought it would be after the last volume but still pretty dumb!
bloodredrache's review against another edition
3.0
It's good, but definitely not great. I'm not sure what isn't making this book click for me (especially since I adore everything else I've read of Kieron's). Hopefully the next arc will pick up!