Iron Man #1 Review: An Iron War Like No Other

Tony Stark has been dealing with a lot lately. On top of his “Avenging” duties, the man of iron got married to X-Men’s Emma Frost and saw his technology used to create a new generation of lethal, mutant-hunting Sentinels. Now, a new era is upon us for the Iron Man thanks to creators Spencer Ackerman and Julius Ohta who are giving Stark a battle that is taking place on multiple fronts. Luckily, there are plenty of elements here to throw some interesting curveballs at Tony while injecting new life into the story of Iron Man.

As mentioned earlier, Tony has seen better days. While he has been able to lay claim to Stark Enterprises once again from the villainous Feilong, Stark doesn’t have much chance to rest his head in the face of both physical and capitalistic threats. On top of A.I.M. making a play for his company, the villainous scientific collective has the backing of Roxxon and Justine Hammer. Now, his greatest creation and his own company are turning against him and things are not looking good for Tony as he begins to go to a “back to basics” approach that might be the only thing keeping his skin in the game.

Giving Tony Stark challenges can sometimes seem like a loft goal, especially since he is often portrayed as the “man who has everything.” Luckily, Ackerman does a fantastic job of amplifying the stakes by throwing everything and the kitchen sink in his way during this new series. The boardroom drama is solid here, as Tony finds himself on the receiving end of a hostile takeover. While Stark hardly needs the money that comes in, the idea that Advanced Idea Mechanics would gain access to Stark technology is what really helps sell Tony’s predicament.

Another tantalizing aspect of this new series is the idea that the Iron Man armors are beginning to fail. At a certain point, it’s almost become comical how advanced the mech suits have become for Tony at this point, with nanomachines, liquid metal, circuits fusing with Tony’s nervous system, and even magic incorporated into the suits. Finding that certain parts of the suits are no longer able to function as they once did presents an interesting problem for Stark on top of his personal life issues.

Of course, what would a good Iron Man story be without its villains and this new series has them in spades. Hilariously, the most fun in the premiere issue comes from Tiger Shark and Flying Tiger, aka the Tiger Pack, as they try to defeat Stark for the viewers streaming the fight at home. On top of slinging some hilarious puns, the duo also reinforces the idea of “Stark betting”, which would be seen as a replacement to weapons manufacturing in allowing streaming viewers to bet on superhero battles. It’s an interesting tidbit that could be explored further here.

There’s a lot of meat on the bone here but all of said meat is a fine cut. Tony Stark assaulted on all sides, having to rebuild his armor, his business, and himself works best for any Iron Man comic and thus this makes for a nice reboot of one of Marvel’s most popular characters. Roxxon has become a gleeful villainous force in the Marvel Comics universe and I’m anxious to see where this all leads to.

On the art front, Julius Ohta does a fine job of both capturing the mechs, monsters, and emotions of all the characters involved here. There’s a tiny crack in the armor when it comes to some of the facial expressions here but ultimately nothing that is enough to stop this ride from being a fun one. Ohta manages to capture the energy that would go into suits of armor slamming into one another at mach speeds, making for some quite nice fight scenes along the way.

Marvel creating new number ones can sometimes feel a tad tedious, as many series feel like extensions of past storylines. This new Iron Man is one that earns its number one and manages to toss some interesting ideas Tony Stark’s way that will have readers more than likely sticking with him for the rest of the run. Iron Man #1 makes for a good return of the characters while adding some new elements for a strong showing.

Published by Marvel Comics

On October 23rd, 2024

Written by Spencer Ackerman

Art by Julius Ohta

Colors by Alex Sinclair

Letters by VC’s Joe Caramagna

Cover by Yasmine Putri