IRON MAN #47 (392)

By: Tony Whitt
Date: Sunday, October 21, 2001

Tony Stark faces opposition from his previous allies, the Sons of Yinsen, who have duplicated his most dangerous armor and are using it against him under the leadership of their resurrected leader, Professor Yinsen. Now he inhabits the sentient armor that Tony created, but as usual, there's more than meets the eye.

Writing IRON MAN must be a tough job. I mean, how many variations on the same plot can you do? It's either a revisiting of Tony's problems with his addictions, or an old enemy returning for another bout, or some bootleg version of his own technology. Even Chuck Austen's excellent MAX series, U.S. WAR MACHINE, is based on the idea that Stark's technology, like any other, is all too easy to duplicate. So it's no surprise that this latest issue reads like a rehash of previous ideas. Oh well, I guess it's better than doing something funky with his age again. Still, it's tiresome to read yet another story in which Stark's own inventions come back to haunt him, and one can only hope that the new team of Mike Grell and Michael Ryan taking over the series with #50 will turn the tide.

The change couldn't come fast enough for the artwork either. Mind you, I'm just as excited as anyone when Tony Stark decides to create (yet another) new suit of armor, but this one is just a bit silly, especially in those sequences in which the artists allow the suit to emote, so that we can see how Tony is reacting while he's inside. Interesting idea, but poor in its execution. (The armor is changing again in #50, by the way. Iron Man's armor reminds me of that old saying about the weather: if you don't like it now, wait a while, cause it'll change.)


Most of the time, though, you'll be more distracted by the frenetic anime/manga influenced style of this issue, which is more likely to induce a headache than excitement. This influence is yet another disturbing trend in IRON MAN-related bookseven the Austen series displays it, though in totally different ways. Granted, IRON MAN probably has become the one series that fans of mecha-heavy anime and manga could mostly easily attach themselves to. But there's a thin line between writing and drawing stories about the human conflict with technology and letting the technology take the center stage completely. By the time we get to the "surprise" ending, it becomes clear just how little humanity there really is in this particular conflict, and you'll find yourself groaning as yet another tired storyline gets rehashed.

Still, if you don't like this issue (as I didn't), just remember that saying about the weather, and mark your calendars for #50.

IRON MAN

Grade: D

Issue: No. 47 (392)

Author(s): Frank Tieri, Keron Grant

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $2.25

 

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