IRON MEN: A UNIVERSE X SPECIAL

By: Tony Whitt
Date: Thursday, July 26, 2001

In the midst of a conflict, the Iron Maiden receives a call to come to the Savage Land a telepathic call that she shouldn't be receiving, since all the telepaths on Earth were killed. She and Jade Dragon find a city which was built by Magneto out of the remains of the Sentinels as a safe haven for all of mutantkind. But Magneto is no longer the King of Sentinel City his powers have been usurped by the Toad, who now controls the Iron Avengers. As the Iron Maiden discovers the owner of the voice which has been calling her, she realizes that there's more at stake than just restoring Magneto to power.

If you haven't been keeping up with the epic UNIVERSE X like the good little comics fan you are, it doesn't mean you can't still enjoy IRON MEN: A UNIVERSE X SPECIAL. For that matter, even a basic knowledge of the goings-on in EARTH X isn't a complete necessity. Instead, just imagine the Marvel Universe aged a few decades and turned on its head, and then imagine that this is one of the stand-alone stories from that universe. Believe me, it's the best way to approach this book.

Once you do, the only confusing element is the discussion between Black Bolt's son, the Black Knight, and his mother Medusa, which is the only thing that requires some working knowledge of both X series. Frankly, it's also the only bit of the book that isn't all that interesting. Otherwise, this story is fascinating, particularly for the way in which it illuminates the character of Magneto. I must admit that between this single comic and last year's movie in which Ian McKellen brought the character to life, I've never liked Magneto more than now. His subjugation (albeit probably well-deserved) by the Toad, followed by the quality of mercy he shows towards his former minion afterwards, shows just what a well-rounded character he is, and how ill-deserving of the label "supervillain." The X Universe has shown us several of our beloved characters destroyed by the advancing years Reed Richards in his Doom armor, Tony Stark following in the steps of Howard Hughes but Magneto thrives in this new age.

The title IRON MEN is something of a misnomer, however, as it appears to refer less to the Iron Avengers who grace the cover and more to the Black Knight and the Iron Maiden, who share the cover spotlight. In particular, this is Iron Maiden's story even more than the Black Knight's, and it makes a great sidestep in an otherwise portentous (and sometimes pretentious) epic. Granted, Krueger's script is still some of the chattiest writing around, expounding as it does upon the nature of honor and loyalty (and the nature of vibranium, of course), but here it doesn't feel so out of place. Strangely enough, this book lives up to the epic feel of the script, perhaps because the story is told on such relatively small terms.


Anderson and Palmer's artwork enhances the experience, and it's even enough to make you forget the Alex Ross painting on the front cover. These guys aren't afraid to use huge, expansive panels to tell a smaller and less expansive story, and the slightly higher page count allows them to use as many of them as they want. Page five, which features every single remaining Sentinel chasing after Magneto, is arguably the finest of these: a full page depicting what looks like a one-sided battle, which it is for the Sentinels.

There really should be more one-shots of this quality, but they shouldn't always have to be tied to epic maxi-series. This is the stuff that annuals were once made of after all.

IRON MEN: A UNIVERSE X SPECIAL

Grade: B

Issue: No. 1

Author(s): Jim Krueger, Alex Ross, Brent Anderson, Tom Palmer

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $3.99