With a major blockbuster motion picture in cinemas now (internationally, anyway), Marvel looks to turn the dial back a bit for the new arc of “Iron Man.” After the first two arcs have come and gone, how is the series holding up from when we first looked at the book?
Written by Kieron Gillen
Illustrated by Dale EagleshamTHE SECRET ORIGIN OF TONY STARK
• Death’s Head and Iron Man team-up to hunt down a genocidal criminal. Not the problem.
• A shipful of dead badoon. Not the problem.
• What Tony finds in the depths of that ship: the problem. Big problem.
• The lead into the biggest Tony Stark story of the year.
Iron Man is a curious entity. A fan-favorite of yesteryear, his movie roles (and the undeniable charisma of Robert Downey Jr) have played a large part in making him a popular staple of the Marvel Universe. As such, and in the wake of the Avengers, the ostensible goal Marvel has is to create an accessible Iron Man book for fans new and old. And wouldn’t you know it, but with a third film in theaters already, the book responds by dialing things back to look at the secret origin of Tony Stark. It’s admittedly a thing that isn’t inherently new (his story started with his secret origin, which has since been retold numerous times), but as is the trend with comics, there are always things in the past yet to be discovered for one reason or another.
And so, in the aftermath of ‘Godkiller,’ ‘the Secret Origin of Tony Stark’ begins. Well, sort of — it doesn’t so much start the new arc as it does get the reader ready for the start of the new arc, in what is essentially an epiprologue briding the gap between the two books. It’s the kind of issue that’s difficult to recommend to new readers due to the knowledge assumedly required of recent events, yet it’s also rather new reader friendly in its handling of that material and how it leads to the next arc. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword in that way, but one thing that the issue makes rather clear is this: if you’re here for what Iron Man does when he’s not a Guardian of the Galaxy or an Avenger, you’re going to very much get just that.
However, if there’s one thing that this issue of “Iron Man” seems to suffer from (and, truly, what it has suffered from since the relaunch) as well as the series as a whole, it’s that the direction of the book still seems largely unclear. It’s a curious thing for sure, as Gillen’s previous and current Marvel work have always shown strong direction right away, but nine issues into this book and it’s hard to tell what the main focus is. This is partially a result of taking Tony so far out of his element, which leads to obvious “fish out of water” aspects, so the direction (or lack thereof) does seemingly match up with one of the major themes of the book. Yet, as this latest arc seems to look towards his past rather than his future, questions begin to arise as to how much of a long con Gillen is pulling with the reader before the book starts to make more sense overall.
But then again — well, that’s the point, isn’t it? If the book feels confusing or disorienting, that’s because it should be, specifically because Tony is confused and disoriented. He’s going where the wind takes him, in a matter of speaking, in a totally unfamiliar environment and that has a direct effect on the reader. If some things don’t feel developed enough, that’s because they aren’t due to Tony not being any more in the know than us and dramatic irony not being at play here. The book may seem like it’s played a bit straight at parts, but that aspect of it is assuredly based on the type of character that Tony is reacting to the type of environment that he’s in. Therefore when the book is clever or even when it may feel a touch shallow, it’s only a reflection of it’s central narrator and Gillen and Eaglesham’s talent of tricking you into actually seeing this world through Tony’s eyes.
Continued belowSo it’s a decidedly mixed bag. Whether the riff is intentional or not is up to you, but there’s certainly a rather meta-relationship going on between the reader and Tony in the pages of the book, for better and for worse.
Luckily, where the issue leaves the reader is in a rather intriguing place. Revisionist history is a common thing to see in comics these days, and while the trope may ostensibly be a touch overdone these days (especially in the wake of Bendis’ Avengers body of work) the issue seems to tap into a more cinematic mindset than we’d seen previously, which opens up a few more doors. Eaglesham’s pencils and framing, for example, somewhat mirror the video sequence from Iron Man 2 where Tony learns some of his father’s secrets, and the issue in general finds itself with a larger scope perfect for Eaglesham’s talents. This is perhaps one of the more heavy sci-fi loaded issues since the space adventures began, and Eaglesham delivers a very grand vision for it all. Where the previous few space-based issues were somewhat lacking in that crippling grandeur that comes with exploring new galaxies, Eaglesham shows off a Tarkovsky-esque talent with sleekly designed space-craft exterior and interiors, and his version of 451 is very Kirby-esque akin to the “2001” comic from the late 70’s. Guru eFX’s colors add a very modern shine to that but the visual reference is still certainly there, and it definitely matches the shiny and more glamorous “Tony Vision” ideas that were present when Greg Land was the book’s illustrator.
Gillen has certainly developed a steady and even-keeled take on Tony Stark since the series launched eight issues ago, and this issue is no exception. Given that Tony is a character whose star-power has risen since his movie thus resulting in his appearance in many books, it’s nice that his solo title can still show-off the dual nature of Tony the Showman and Tony the Scientist. However, one of the better aspects of this particular issue is the inclusion of Death’s Head, whom Gillen wrote with great humor back in the “SWORD” days; while this issue isn’t particularly played for humor too much, the give-and-take between Tony and Death’s Head is a major appeal to the issue, offering up some great one-liners (robot racist!) while also giving a good narrative tool to bring newer readers up to speed with the dark climax of the previous arc. It’s a great testament to Gillen’s writing that he can use a character to this effect in a way that never feels particularly intrusive towards the reading experience for new and old. Add all of this upon Eaglesham’s great illustrative talent, which again balances the humor and the straight-laced nature of things like the size differential between Tony and Death’s Head and we’re given a pretty good reason to pick up the issue on that merit alone.
And there is that previously-discussed business of tricking the reader into really seeing the world through Tony’s eyes, of course. That’s also rather impressive, assuming it’s on purpose.
The latest issue of “Iron Man” stands at an interesting precipice. It is not part of the last arc, yet it serves as an epilogue; it is not part of the new arc, yet it serves as a prologue. This is the type of issue that would supposedly do well for new readers, yet also lightly insinuates that the reader should have some of previous events before entering. In spite of it all, though, it’s a rather solid issue of “Iron Man”, and with Dale Eaglesham on art you can easily expect great things to come.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – Come on in, movie-goers, the water’s fine
