The Invincible Iron Man #515, by Marc Alan Fishman – Snarky Synopsis | @MDWorld
April 23, 2012 Marc Fishman 0 Comments
Written by Matt Fraction
Art by Salvador Larroca and Frank D’Armata
It’s been a while since I’ve checked in (well, in this column at least…) on ole’ Rust Bucket. Invincible Iron Man #515 ends the current arc “Demon 6” by Matt Fraction. A return to form for one of the stalwart architects of the Marvel Universe, the issue is everything beautiful about the series as a whole. Fraction has carefully built up a universe within a universe. Since starting the book shortly after the first movie, we’ve seen Tony Stark deconstructed, reconstructed, and now beaten at every turn. Suffice to say, it’s bloody brilliant.
The issue ends the arc started at the fallout of “Fear Itself”; Tony traded in his sobriety for an Odin-level power-up to help defend the Earth from some already forgotten villain of the week. Tony’s nemesis, the Mandarin, finds out. What plays out over the course of 6 issues is a series of gambits to continually distract Tony. Lead with one hand, while playing the world with the other. Aligning himself with the Hammer sisters, and Obie Stane Jr., Mandarin builds up an army to defeat and deflate the titular armored adventurer. Like Aaron Sorkin with a Michael Bay budget, Matt Fraction plays Mandarin’s hand with a clever nod to really effective characterization. Not just a carbon copy Chinese Lex Luthor, Mandarin is unafraid to play insane warlord. He supes up an army of former Iron Man morts, and attacks China. All the while he smears Tony in the media for being drunk. All while playing the United States government into the hands of the Hammers who force Tony to install a “breathalyzer” kill switch to his Arc Reactor chest piece. By by the end of the issue, Tony isn’t able to use his armor, War Machine is left for dead, Pepper (as Rescue) is too late to help, and is publicly defamed for hiding Tony’s drunken Earth-saving.
I can’t state it enough, Fraction is simply at the top of his game here. Here we are on a major book by a tent pole character of the Marvel Universe… and he lost! No super special secret armor. No major weapon fired from his chest. No dumb luck. No brilliant counter-move. The avalanche of his one stumble so many issues ago was played perfectly by his adversaries. It may have taken the combined might of basically every villain to ever punch Iron Man to do so… but Fraction makes it a believable victory. I know for some who read these reviews, there is a rumbling of dissatisfaction in the modern era’s deconstruction of story pacing. This 6 issue arch twenty years ago might have been compressed into a single 24 page adventure. But I argue with anyone who would prefer that to really read this story as a whole. With 6 issues dedicated to this plan… we have the feeling of scope and scale. The true difference between the best of comics in decades past and those produced today? Nowadays creators have the balls to let a moment build. When it’s done right (like Invincible Iron Man #515), the payoff is more effective than any “epic crossover” I’ve read in the last 5 years, or any stand alone issue of yesteryear.
Before I take to my traditional deluge into the art department, and make my final summary, I want to take a moment to savor a particular scene in the book. After believing they’ve killed War Machine, Whirlwind, Melter, and the Living Laser return to their evil hideout to deliver their amazing news. They let Obie Stane Jr. know of their victory, and where one might figure the villains would all share a hearty guffaw… Stane simply doesn’t care. For those who followed the first arc of this book, we know how brilliant Stane truly is. And with a bit more money, time, and planning… could easily have bested Tony. But he was beaten, scooped up by Mandarin, and turned into a glorified worker bee. Laser delivers the news, but Stane simply doesn’t care. He ignores the news, and denotes his completion of “a working version of his [Mandarin’s] squid-tripod death machine nightmare…” and trails off. Simply amazing. In a single page of only 4 panels, Fraction captures the essence of this would-be nemesis. Is he deflated because he himself didn’t mastermind the plan? Is he planning a double cross? Only time will tell, and I love that. The best writers say “enter a scene a bit to late, and leave a bit too early.”, and here, it’s done with flair.
Art wise, once again Salvador Larocca and Frank D’Armarta deliver solid visuals. While many will denote that Larocca’s style is hit or miss—sometime stiff and flat, other times too kinetic and chaotic for his own good—here we’re getting mostly the good stuff. A few panels end up feeling a bit too loose. The major battle scene in LA seems devoid of backgrounds most of the times. And the over-usage of motion blur gets a bit tiresome. That being said? The action is frantic and paced beautifully. The figures all display masterful body language. D’Armata’s color palate is a good balance of muted neutral tones and bright effects. And as noted previously, the pacing and compositions of scenes are handled meticulously. When detail is needed, Larocca doesn’t skimp out. While no panels may make it into the hall of fame… the art is all in service to the story. Larocca has been building Fraction’s Iron-universe since the first issue of the series, and here he is comfortable in his own skin. No over-reaching, just solid story telling.
Overall, I think I’ve made it abundantly clear—Invincible Iron Man #515 is Matt Fraction at his best. The issue ends an arc that leaves me awaiting the next chapter with a fever. How will Tony defeat Mandarin, without his armor, without the government backing him, and a literal army of villains at the ready to blow him to kingdom come? Will he call in the Avengers? Will he build a bigger-better-suit? Or will he use his mind to unravel Mandarin’s megalomania? I don’t know… but damn I want to. DC be damned, no need for a retcon here, when the books being delivered are of this caliber. This is what comics aspire to be.