The Invincible Iron Man #25 Comic Review

Marvel Comics
The Invincible Iron Man #25 Comic Review
By Andy Frisk
May 19, 2010 - 20:05

Marvel Comics
Writer(s): Matt Fraction
Penciller(s): Salvador Larroca
Colourist(s): Frank D'Armata
Letterer(s): VC’s Joe Caramagna
$3.99 US

“C’mon. Let’s do something insane like save the world.” –Tony Stark

Tony Stark has come back from the brink. He has his mind back (albeit with no memory of his actions during Civil War). He’s patched up his relationship with Thor (severely strained by Stark’s actions during Civil War). He’s restarted his business (now named Stark Resilient). He’s got a new and radical Iron Man armor (more on this later). It looks like Tony is rebooted, refitted, restored, and returned to form just in time for the dawn of The Heroic Age (and reset for the next wave or writers, editors, and direction Marvel Comics’ masterminds want to take their heroes in).

Now that Tony has revealed that he’s "not bluffing and he’s making love and not war,” as Sasha Hammer (Justin Hammer’s granddaughter and half of the mother/daughter team currently heading up Hammer Industries) says, the door is open for Hammer Industries to make inroads into the war profiteering world that Tony benefitted from for so many years. Stark Resilient will not be manufacturing and using its patented Repulsor tech to make weapons. It will be directed towards creating free energy in an effort to (presumably) wean the world off fossil fuels. Needless to say, the Pentagon is a little angry over Stark’s new direction, but can they trust Hammer Industries to supply them with their newest weapon, Detroit Steel (an Iron Man like armored battle suit), and refrain from selling to America’s greatest and deadliest enemies as well?

Writer Matt Fraction brings Tony Stark/Iron Man back to square one just in time for new readers, (who’ve been inspired to pick up The Invincible Iron Man for the first time after seeing Iron Man 2) to get on board and not be too terribly lost. Fraction pulls off an essential reboot of the character without dumping any of his history and brings Tony Stark/Iron Man back to basics, so to speak. Tony is starting a new company, getting out of the weapons making business, re-establishing ties with old friends, and (unbeknownst to him) about to become embroiled in a corporate super powered war with Hammer Industries. All in all, these developments are not necessarily a bad thing as hitting the reset button every once in a while dumps the excess story baggage and allows the character to start anew (sort of).

Speaking of starting anew, Tony introduces the newest version of the Iron Man armor, and it’s quite interesting visually. It is also radically different from just about any previous version of the Iron Man armor that I can remember, at least. Artist Salvador Larroca does a fantastic job of bringing Tony’s new armor to life, and as stated, it is quite interesting visually with its semi-biological look as it…grows on Tony…You’re just going to have to check it out for yourself, but for you older readers out there, it reminds me of the dearly missed and long lamented Valiant Comics’ character X-O Manowar’s armor. Personally, I’m a fan of the traditional type of armor (like portrayed in the Iron Man films), but I cannot argue with Larroca’s visual rendering of it.

Tony’s back. How many times have we heard this? It’s a short little phrase that ensures that plenty of mayhem and adventure await us though, so I don’t mind hearing it again. Iron Man is poised to jet headlong into Marvel Comics’ Heroic Age, and with Fraction and Larroca at the helm; The Invincible Iron Man will surely continue to lead the way with quality storytelling and art.

Rating: 7/10