The Invincible Iron Man #21

Marvel Comics
The Invincible Iron Man #21
By Hervé St-Louis
January 1, 2010 - 00:00

Marvel Comics
Writer(s): Matt Fraction
Penciller(s): Salvador Larroca
Inker(s): Salvador Larroca
Colourist(s): Frank D'Amarta
Letterer(s): Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist(s): Salvador Larroca, Patrick Zircher
$2.99 US

Tony Stark, before going brain dead, left specific instructions to his friend on how to revive and reintegrate all the information he knows into his brain, safe from Norman Osborn’s intrusive shadow. However, the reengineering of Tony Stark’s mind needs both the help of Thor’s hammer and Captain America’s shield. This exotic recipe to bring back Tony Stark’s mind may not be enough to resist an attack by the Ghost, though.

Using the help of the other main Avengers is a good trick to get the three of them building a common future where they will take on Norman Osborn. The three of them will all be reunited at once for the first time in many years. The story of course continues to be intriguing, although I would have liked to see more interference by Norman Osborn at this point. The theme here is teamwork and I’m not sure the writer could have driven the point any clearer. I find Tony Stark very devious to have thought of all of the steps needed to bring him back to life even before he was in a dire state. I’m still bored with the dream sequence featuring Stark and other people from his past. There’s no allegory left. None of the symbols require any brain power as the author explains exactly why Tony Stark in this dream sequence.

Visually, Larroca continues to wow readers with complex set and differentiated characters that populate the universe of Tony Stark and Iron Man. It still like the details he puts into those armours.

Rating: 7/10