IRON MAN #1 by Gillen & Land

November 14, 2012

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Why does Iron Man have a new suit? Click the jump to read more.

Marvel Now Iron Man Iron Man #1
Written by Kieron Gillen
Art by Greg Land
Published by Marvel

Kieron Gillen has come up with an interesting first issue of Iron Man for Marvel Now. What is great about this comic book is the fact that Gillen understands that new readers are reading this book because of their love of the Iron Man movies. So, the comic book feels like it has a connection to the movies, but the comic book continues from previous books of the Iron Man Universe. New readers can enjoy seeing their Iron Man being portrayed in comic books while diehard fans can continue to enjoy their Iron Man with comic book’s continuity intact. It is best to say that fans highly appreciate this. However, Gillen comes up with a storyline that creates depth in Tony Stark as a character as well as action packed storytelling for this first issue of Iron Man.

SYNOPSIS: Tony Stark has a new Iron Man suit and Extemis is back. How will Stark finally be able to stop this walking catastrophe?

GOOD: The first issue is an easy read and it establishes the most important part of this comic book, Tony Stark’s lack of confidence in himself due to the events of AVX. This creates personal conflict for Tony Stark amassed his fortune by using his genius to create state of the art weaponry. Questioning the “fundamentals” of things, Stark must now figure out what his beliefs are. You can see this from the tons of voice-overs indicating Stark’s struggle in something not quite identified. Now, this particular something could be anything for Stark but he ultimately chooses to hold fast in his belief in himself and what he can make of the future. It is interesting to see Stark thinking in his Iron Man suit, which is now black and gold indicating how much he has changed since AVX. The best part that new series writer Keiron Gillen has done with the character is to continue to make Stark appear as his usual arrogant and cocky self. So, Stark’s essence remains intact for fans who have loved the character portrayed as such. The suit’s color change, as well as its usage, shows how Gillen is trying not only to make the character interesting for new readers, but to show Stark in a new perspective for diehard fans. In the end, Stark is revamped but continues to honor the character’s essence for which he is most loved as the cool, nonchalant, armored superhero.

Greg Land’s artwork is cinematic and makes great use of panel work to give flow to Gillen’s story. This is important because the first issue establishes not only the story, but also Gillen’s development of Tony Stark’s character. Land understands this and makes the illustrations very straightforward making it easier for readers to absorb. Even though these panels were straightforward Land makes sure to highlight more iconic moments in this issue, like the one pictured above of Iron Man standing in fire. It was an extremely cool scene to see how the suit looks darker in comparison to the previous suit. Land did a very beautiful job with the artwork.

BAD: I have a thing about using too many voice-overs used in one issue; I don’t wish that Gillen used less voice-overs but I do wish that Gillen used the voice-overs to establish where in the hell Tony Stark going in that new Iron Man suit, literally. I enjoyed the fact that Gillen used the voice-overs to establish Stark’s character in a state of uncertainty however, I found myself questioning where in the world Stark going? Was he on surveillance? Is he testing out the new suit? Personally, I think I was more interested in the new suit than learning about Stark’s state of mind.

Iron Man

I would have preferred to learn about his internal struggles in the nightclub with Pepper Potts than to see him flying around in a new suit and not talk about it. More or less, Gillen really wants to establish Stark’s character and I appreciate this, but only as a reader who sees the new revamped version of the Iron Man suit. I want to know more about what this new suit can do. Overall, there isn’t a lot of bad in this comic book.

From what is seen in this issue, Stark is going to be seen as a more interesting character with his internal conflicts of belief. When it really comes down to it, Stark is a character who believes in serving a purpose just like the weapons he creates. Gillen is trying to add more to Stark’s character by challenging Stark’s way of thinking by putting him in situations that make him question, “what is it that I believe?” Gillen has a good development for this character and I hope to see more of this in the next few issues.

Rating: 4.7/5