Invincible Iron Man #505 (Fear Itself)

ReviewsJun21 TagsAndrew Ardizzicomic book dailyfear itselfFrank D'ArmataInvincible Iron #505Iron Manjoe caramagnaMarvel comicsMatt FractionSalvador LarrocaRelated PostsX-Men: Prelude to Schism 3Fear Itself: Deadpool #1Batman Arkham City #2Fringe writer to pen Daredevil rebootShare This Posted by Andrew Ardizzi on Jun 21, 2011 in Reviews | 0 comments

Writer: Matt FractionArtist: Salvador LarrocaColourist: Frank D’ArmataLetter: Joe CaramagnaPublisher: Marvel Comics

 

Fear Itself continues this week with the second part of a story centering on Iron Man’s struggles against Grey Gargoyle, who is now in possession of one of the Serpent’s mystical hammers.  Read on, true believers.

Synopsis

Fear reigns and some of Marvel’s physically strongest characters now carry mystical hammers, using them to strike fear in the hearts of their former allies. How can they stand to fight when their worst fears are coming to life? Even more, can they?

What’s the Story?

He's fallen and he can't get up. Stark's reliving his glory days?

After a brief flashback to a conversation with his father, Tony Stark regains consciousness but notices quickly he’s resting upon an island of dead humans; each turned to stone by the Grey Gargoyle and piled one atop the other. Iron Man quickly rises to his feet only to see his transformed adversary closing in on his location. The two clash, but Iron Man is not a match against his godly foe. After sustaining a beating and losing more of his comrades, he uses his repulsor ray to create a sword which is able to damage the transformed Gargoyle and quickly retreats. Stark arrives at his office where he meets Pepper Potts and Bethie. Iron Man leaves them behind after telling them he has to go patch up his suit and meet with the other Avengers.

I felt like the story was methodical and contained, but altogether short with very little transpiring in the issue. Much of the book centres upon the fight between Grey Gargoyle and Iron Man, and all it really drives home to me as a reader is the direness of circumstance this story is defined by. If the greater story is dependent on the concept of raising the God of Fear and anchoring it with its own unbeatable acolytes, this book is nothing more than a supplementary work that emphasizes the primary directives of the plot. In this, the book was successful in communicating the reasons to be fearful if you’re a character in the Marvel universe.

Is it hamma time, or time to shoot to thrill?

The Pretty, Pretty Pictures

Larroca’s artwork was solid and dynamic, complete with finely detailed pencils. Larroca did a nice job of drawing Stark in the early pages as he pulls himself off the ground to realize he’s standing atop the bodies of the dead. His shading of the petrified stone characters as Stark stands highlights the terror characters face in this specific comic. On the same page, we see Gargoyle in the foreground with Stark far off in the distance as a small shaded character standing upon the same mountain of bodies. I also enjoyed the panel in which Gargoyle quickly turns his head and lunges at Iron Man. The following page offers full throttle action as Gargoyle approaches Iron Man for round two, swinging his hammer at the island of bodies and shattering them into a shower of stones. At the bottom of the page, Iron Man unloads his best weapons in a fantastic display of aggression. This page was altogether wonderful, brought to life by D’Armata’s colouring work. The team offers some other great work towards the middle of the issue when Detroit Steel arrives on the scene to try and save Iron Man. The entire page is wonderful, as is the the majority of the issue.

Overall Thoughts

Issue #505 of Iron Man was a solid comic which completed its task of complementing the greater story of Fear itself. As a book on its own, very little happened within it beyond highlighting another piece of the greater puzzle as the main mini-series pushes forward towards the next issue. I felt like the artwork was the strongest part of the issue, with the story somewhat lagging behind in its overall depth and quality. This book is very little beyond a tie-in to the main story, meaning we can very well deduce what will happen throughout the issue based on what story premise has been established with Fear Itself, inching forward as the main story progresses. With that piece of the story established and being thread through the other books, the stories are quite predictable which I feel draws away from the story and overall reading experience.

Andrew Ardizzi is a freelance journalist and honours graduate of journalism from Humber College. He also holds a BA in political science. You can find him at his blog Come Gather ’round People Wherever You Roam. You can also follow him on Twitter.Share this:ShareRedditEmail Leave a Comment Click here to cancel reply.

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REVIEW: Invincible #79

Mark has spend nearly a year beating up his own people in deep space, but... Wasn't something going on with Atom Eve?

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Skip to contentHomeCommunityMajor Spoilers ForumGeneral DiscussionDC Comics forumMarvel Comics forumColumnsComic Casting CouchEditorialsFeaturesGamer’s CornerHero HistoriesMajor Spoilers AdventuresTop 10The Want ListPodcastsCritical HitMajor Spoilers PodcastOn the Next Major Spoilers PodcastThe Want ListReviewsReviewRetro ReviewInterviewsMoviesComic Casting CouchSneak PeekSolicitationsNew Comic ReleasesAboutAdvertiseContactStephen SchleicherMatthew PetersonRodrigoMike McLartyMajor Spoilers Terms of UseYour Favorites← Critical Hit #95: Role Playing MonstersADVANCE REVIEW: Danger Girl and the Army of Darkness #1 →Posted on April 23, 2011 by Matthew Peterson

Or – “Meanwhile, Back On Earth…”

It’s been some time since Mark Grayson went into space to deal with the Viltrumite menace.  After nigh on a year in space, and half a dozen brushed with death, he’s returned home to find his girlfriend Atom Eve has been through a few changes as well…

INVINCIBLE #79
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Penciler: Ryan Ottley
Inker: Cliff Rathburn
Colorist: Nikos Koutsis
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Editor: Sina Grace
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99

Previously, on Invincible: Mark Grayson’s dad, Nolan, was secretly Omni-Man, superhero of some note.  He was also a member of the murderous Viltrumite empire, sent to colonize and dominate Earth.  For a few years, he was successful, but eventually fled Earth after beating his son senseless.  Mark took over as the primary protector of the planet, met his half-alien (well, technically ALL alien) brother, and eventually fell into a pretty serious relationship with Atom Eve of the Teen Team.  Just when Mark set off into space to fight off more evil Viltrumites, Eve (fresh off a near-death experience) found out that she was pregnant with Mark’s child.

The Return Of The Fingerless Gloves…

One of my biggest complaints with last year’s revamp of the Invincible costume was that, while it returned to Mark’s old colors, it changed his distinct boots and gloves to something pretty generic.  Turns out I’m not the only one bothered by this, as the issue kicks off with Mark visiting the tailor who makes his costumes and requesting the return of both of those features to the uniform.  Weirdly enough, this feels like a pretty important development in Invincible’s life after the chaos of the Invincible War, bringing him back to his original look just in time to return to his old life.  A montage of “back in business” moments is a hoot, including the likes of Doc Seismic, The Elephant and the Russian villain with the electric powers getting thoroughly thrashed.  There’s even a one-page digression involving villain Dinosaurus that probably won’t pay off until next month, at least, reminding me of the old-school Marvel plotting.

Yes, He Was Abraham Lincoln.  That’s Not A Spoiler.

There are some problems with this issue, though, and like Invincible’s tonsorial alterations, they’re not exactly appropriate in the way they seem to affect our hero.  We find that mom Debbie and girlfriend Atom Eve have become pals during Mark’s absence, which upsets him (and makes him look like a real putz in his awkward reaction.)  Omni-Man’s return to Earth is played mostly for laughs, as everyone at the Pentagon reacts so awkwardly that he gets to make a joke about how his return is going to be problematic.  Given the extreme violence of his exit, I’m surprised that he doesn’t get how much of a problem this really is.  A dinner date with Mark and Eve at Dupli-Kate’s house is mostly awkward because Kate’s husband is clueless, but Eve suddenly breaks down while helping Kate bathe Kate’s babies.  The issue ends with Mark finding out about Eve’s pregnancy for the first time, as well as some nice character/relationship building stuff for the two heroes.

The Verdict: Oddly Puzzling.

For some reason, this issue feels off-balance to me.  Whether it’s because of the long build-up to the reveal at the end, or the quick return to mundane moments after the long months of outer-space battles and high adventure/drama or something in the narrative isn’t clear to me.  After three passes on this one, I still can’t quite pin it down.  The art is quite good throughout, the quiet moments should be a nice touch, and it’s good to see Dupli-Kate (one of the most awesome/awkward names in comics) again, but I suppose that I didn’t care for the seemingly trickery involved in HOW the reveal came around.  I do like the fact that Mark isn’t even bothered by Eve’s minor weight gain, something that could have turned into another “why is our hero acting like a jerk?” moment.  Invincible is a book in the classic style, with 70′s style plotting combined with 90′s style shock to create something that feels new and different, so I expect that I’ll get over my reserations quickly enough.  Invincible #79 touches on some difficult subjects, but doesn’t quite give the characters enough room to maneuver around, earning a strong 3 out of 5 years overall.

Rating:

Faithful Spoilerite Question Of The Day: Can Omni-Man really be redeemed as a character at this point?

About Matthew Peterson
The Beatles... They were big. Buddhism, too, has had it's followers... But can any of these REALLY compare to the phenomenon that is THE MATTHEW SHOW? At the age of 39, he's finally certain that there's no such thing as an adult, only children with varying abilities to cover their own insecurities. His comic book collection is currently housed in fifty-three short boxes, and were one of the major forces behind his family's move to larger quarters. Matthew enjoys body surfing, (so long as the bodies are fresh) writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women.

Favorite writers include Gail Simone, Joss Whedon, Matt Fraction, Fred Van Lente, Doug Moench, Geoff Johns, Kurt Busiek, Jeff Parker, Steve Gerber and David Anthony Kraft. Among his favorite artists are John Byrne, Phil Jiminez, Nicola Scott, Barry Kitson, Mark Bagley, Mac Raboy, Marshall Rogers, Gil Kane, Russ Manning, Jerry Ordway, Gene Colan, and Tim Truman.

Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear. Surprise. Ruthless efficiency. An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture. And a nice red uniform.This entry was posted in Featured, Image Comics, Invincible, Review, Skybound and tagged Image Comics, Invincible, Robert Kirkman, skybound. Bookmark the permalink.← Critical Hit #95: Role Playing MonstersADVANCE REVIEW: Danger Girl and the Army of Darkness #1 →2 Responses to GeorgeWook says:April 24, 2011 at 3:06 am

I enjoyed this issue, even if there wasn’t much I action. Kirkman often does this, taking a few issues to explore how the previous dramatic events have actually effected the characters – whilst building up the next story arc at the same time. I’ve always thought its these type of issues which make the characters feel more real and developed, and therefore create more of an emotional impact once all the violence kicks in again..

As for Omni-Man’s redemption, most people don’t really know who he is and most don’t know he’s back.. so if he changes the costume and shaves the tash – he could easily take on a new identity!

Alternatively, could be interesting if he tried a green hornet type of gig – posing as a villain to help take the bad guys down from the inside

Replybrenton8090 says:April 24, 2011 at 6:53 am

The reveal really hit me in the way it should have. Talk about a good use of a splash page. I stopped and just stared at the page for a while. What a bombshelll. My only problem with that delicate moment was a small issue with the art: After the reveal, there’s a cartoonish amount of tears immediately pouring out of Mark’s eyes. Like, entire rivers on his face.

Which is a shame, because the moment was played perfectly and really took me by surprise, but then I was immediately pulled out of it by such a tiny art thing.

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