Chaos's Iron Man Blog

Why Marvel Needs to Stop Using the Classic Armor

2010-03-21T11:44:00.002-04:00

In recent years, Marvel has seen fit to have Stark jump into his Classic armor on a semi-regular basis. And they need to stop. They find this act nostalgic or some kind of treat being retro, but they are wrong. Here are three reasons why it is nothing short of idiotic to keep using the Classic armor in the books.

3) There is no logic behind it.
Think about this situation. Your armor is trashed and you need another real quick to help your friends in battle. So what are you going to do? You are going to grab the next most powerful armor and go into battle with it. If this completely logical and common sense answer is your reply, you are wrong.

At least you are according to Marvel.

The correct answer was you are going to grab one of the least powerful and least advanced armors with the most wear and tear on it, mothballed for an extended period without use. For some reason this makes perfect sense to Marvel. To those that actually think things through, it is a head scratcher. The Classic armor cannot hold a candle to ANY armor that has followed it.

Here is a similar scenario. Let us say the Air Force has suffered heavy losses and are in need of fighters immediately. Constructing them would take too long, so they are forced to take planes out of mothballs and refurbish them instead. So which planes will they take? It would be an F-14, F-15, F-16 or some other more recent design made within the last few decades. However, if Marvel were in charge, they would be pulling the P-51 Mustangs from World War II out of retirement.

Why P-51 Mustangs? Because that is about the same the gap in technology between those fighters and the Classic and modern armors. The Classic is archaic and just like the Mustang if put onto today’s battlefield it would be trashed instantly. Go for an F-14, you may be out dated and a little outmatched, but you have a shot. Why use an armor that could make weak villains like Blacklash and Melter major foes instead of a later armor that made them cannon fodder?

I understand there needs to be a certain suspension of belief for comics, but for a company that has been hell bent on realism in recent years, they sure throw it out the window in this case.

2) It is the antithesis of Tony Stark
Tony Stark is a futurist. He is about cutting-edge technology and moving the world forward. Every new armor is (supposedly) more advanced than the previous design. So why then is he always so eager to take a monstrous step back to use an armor that he deemed unfit for duty years ago? It is only logical that Stark would grab the next most advanced armor, cursing the whole way how outdated it was compared to the newest model. But he knew it was his best bet so he went with it.

Yet instead, he keeps grabbing an outdated design for some nostalgic reason or other BS excuse. That is not Stark. If he knows the current armor cannot handle the situation he sure as hell is not going to don and older one that has technology he abandoned long ago. The Classic armor uses transistors and blinking lights instead of servos and digital readouts. That’s technology the real world stopped using years ago for combat purposes and I don’t see them digging up units that use that when in a bind.

1) The Armor’s time is over let it go
Seriously, the design is gone about thirty years now. It is outdated in every sense of the word, from the technology to power to aesthetics. Fifteen years ago, when Marvel designed a modern armor based on the classic there was massive backlash, and for good reason. The Classic armor is called that because that is what it is: classic. No one will deny that. The armor had its day and that day is long gone. It no longer has a place in stories other than a background image.

Review: Tony Stark Disassembled

2010-03-04T20:42:00.000-05:00

The final issue of Tony Stark Disassembled was released today, ending the latest arc by Matt Fraction. This directly leads up to Siege, before it is settled that Bucky will take the Captain America mantle and the assault on Asgard begins. If you have not read issue #24 then I suggest you don't read this as there are spoilers.

Like World’s Most Wanted, I feel TSD had too much filler to be a good arc. A lot of time was spent on interactions between Pepper and Maria Hill, and the dream sequences taking place in Stark’s mind were very repetitive and frankly did not really go anywhere. I did not mind their use in general, but all in all they really did not add a whole lot to the story. I was also a bit annoyed by the parent issues that resurfaced in the end, feeling that has been done to death. It didn’t ruin things at all, but it is tiring.

Fraction wrote some funny moments in this series, including Potts and Hill learning they both slept with Stark when he went on the run, and recently with the exchange between Dr. Strange and the nurse. It helped to keep the mood light through an arc meant to be serious and intriguing.

Rhodey made appearances in this arc, but was completely inconsequential. Even after being shot by the Ghost, his importance in the story was completely limited.

Speaking of the Ghost, I did not like the way he was portrayed. He seemed incompetent and at times a stereotypical villain who kept blabbering rather than doing his job to kill the good guy, a far cry from the Ghost we used to know. I liked how he defeated Dr. Strange and his own defeat by Stark, both neat and interesting. I am miffed at why he found a way to take out Strange so quick yet resorted to trying to strangle Stark.

The ending, just like WMW, was predictable yet entertaining. We all knew Stark was going to be back so the outcome was not in doubt. The surprise at the end was very nice, Stark having created the backup before all the events of Civil War and being appalled by the things that happened. I don't like retcons, but I have to say I love this one. Fraction basically said everything Stark did while having extremis was not really him, that his portrayal by writers like Mark Millar who went out of the way to write him out of character to get their own political points across was completely wrong. So in addition to being a good twist, we get the old, pre-extremis Tony Stark back, which many fans have been clamoring for quite some time. Big kudos to Fraction for this one.

Overall, I give Tony Stark Disassembled a C+. The arc was too slow and the first four issues there was not a lot that really happened. The dream sequences were boring and repetitive, too much character interaction and not a whole lot of action. The arc seemed to be nothing but a lead up to an ending, which was the only real strong point of this.

The next arc will show how good at writing Iron Man Fraction really is. With two years experience on the book and no major event to interfere, Fraction needs to show he can write a good mix of drama and action, the latter of which has been sorely lacking.

Three Suggestions for the Captain America Costume

2010-02-17T20:27:00.001-05:00

Captain America, the Star Spangled Avenger. His costume is one of the most recognizable in comics, having changed almost none over the years. Even in different realities writers and artists are loathe to depart from the basic design. Though iconic, I do not think the costume is above being changed to some extent. Below I have listed three changes to the costume that I think would make it better. Of course, we technically have two Captain Americas running around now, the original Steve Rogers and the new Bucky Barnes. Each has a different costume so will require different adjustments (mostly).

Steve Rogers
1) Lose the scales on the torso
The scales to me just make the costume look…off. On the rare occasion, they do look good but for the most part, they are ill fit to the rest of the costume that is smooth. Making the whole costume scales would make Cap look like a porcupine or some other wild animal, so that option is out. I think it was better when the whole costume was smooth and uniform.

2) Darker Blue
I have never really understood the light blue. If his costume is the American flag, why does he not use a dark blue? Granted it depends on the colorist on just how dark it is, but I do not think I have ever seen it the actual dark blue of our flag.

3) Change the boot cuffs
When I see these, I think of pirates and apparel hundreds of years old, not super heroes. Honestly, when is the last time we have seen boots like this? It is just such an out of date style, even for comic books, that I cannot understand why it is kept around. The Ultimate Cap costume got it right by using more form fitting and realistic gloves and boots.

Bucky Barnes
1) Lose the shine
I know Captain America is supposed to be a ray of hope, but let us not take it literally. When contrasted against the non-shiny black of the rest of the outfit, to me it clashes.

2) Colors on the legs
I do not think there is a good balance to this costume at all. All the color is situated on the head and torso, with nothing but black on legs and small red gloves. While a hefty dose of black can be fine, there is too much of it. At least make the boots a different color.

3) Boot cuffs
Just like Rogers, the boot cuffs are not only ridiculous looking but completely outdated. Even being all black they still do not look good .

3 Aesthetics of the New Armor that Need Changed

2010-02-11T23:06:00.002-05:00

It has been about a month since Marvel showed the world Iron Man’s new armor, and we have all had time to take it in. (If for some reason you have yet to see it, click the link below). Personally, I am liking it less than I initially did, and I have boiled it down to three factors that are also the primary gripes of other fans that I have heard. So here are three aspects to the new armor that, hopefully in the near future, Marvel will correct from fan complaints. These are ordered in what I have determined to be the more voiced displeasures.

http://s590.photobucket.com/albums/ss343/IrOnPaTrIoT/?action=view&current=RMIN.jpg

3) Covering only one part of the body and not another
There are three instances of this: the triceps are covered and not the biceps; the back of the thighs are covered and not the front; and the fingers are covered but not the thumb. I cannot figure out a reason for this at all. They are awkward, and while not enough to ruin the design it would no doubt look better should these things were either fully covered or not at all.

2) Gaps in the red
Culprits include the shoulders, forearms, ankles and back. Especially the back. There is no rhyme or reason why there are gaps there, being little more than distracting. The back especially makes the armor look like it is a suit to wear to the gym rather than fight in. I keep thinking that Under Armor designed this particular suit because of it. It looks like the suit is wearing a workout shirt and lifting gloves. I think the red sections are supposed to coincide with human muscles groups, but regardless it is very distracting and impractical.

1) LED’s
I do not care if these actually have function (which I have a feeling they do not) they need to go. Placed in random places (inside ankles, shoulders to name a few) they attempt to give the suit a high tech feel by placing lights all over the armor. Unfortunately, the attempt fails. Some fans say they are meant for flight stabilizing or weapons discharge, but that theory does not hold up too well because of the odd placement. On the inside ankles is about the last place you want weapons firing and it will not help in flight stabilization much. In addition, what would be the need of having six LED’s on the chest? The hips I do not think make much sense either.

So there are three things that myself and others feel would make the armor look much better. I get they want something futuristic, but they make the same mistake that many make when predicting the future: people will not abandon practicality. Looking at this armor reminds me of seeing an old 1950’s video predicting what things would look like in the 2000’s. Those predictions were not even close to be right, because why would people abandon something that works? This futuristic attempt does not work because it is not practical, and frankly in some ways is outright screwy.

Linked below are my attempts at a photoshop (excuse my poor skills) that would to introduce these three fixes into the armor.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q109/JWeigler/ArmorComparison-2.jpg?t=1263244535

Ideas for Ultimate Alliance 3

2010-02-05T10:25:00.000-05:00

Just a heads up, this article is a bit long and if you have no interest in the Ultimate Alliance games you probably will not want to bother reading it.

With the release of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, I came away disappointed on the development, and by that I mean how it advanced from the first game. And I was not the only one as many felt the game was merely a rehash, just with different settings. I do not own the game for lack of a next gen system, but my friends have also told me not to get it. There were two things I was very disappointed to hear about. First was that it played like the first Ultimate Alliance which left a lot of room for improvement, and frankly I felt was a downgrade over the X-Men Legends II style. Secondly were the characters and costumes.

Game Play
When it comes to game play, a few quick and easy things would help greatly. They did good in ridding the super attack and did the power combination, which was key because the super attacks in UA were weak and lame. What they need to do is make more powers available at once. Clicking one of the side triggers brings up an option to choose between three mutant powers and the combo attack. Use one of the other triggers to do the same, but different powers. The more a player has immediately available the better. Also on the subject of powers, make all powers accessible to start. Forget this getting to level ten to get a specific power; just start them off weak like the others.

Also like X-Men Legends II let the player upgrade the stats. There were four categories and for each new level the player could distribute four points over those categories however they wanted. Bring that back because some characters lacked way too much in some levels (Ms. Marvel dying too easy and Thor not having strong melee attacks, both quite off base from the characters). Being able to customize and control aspects of characters is something all players want. If you want to keep the character balanced, set a maximum limit for each level.

Another aspect of X-Men Legends II that is better than UA was the use of energy and life packs over the orbs. Frankly, I hated the orbs, being reliant on their presence with the life and energy meters unable to regenerate at a quick enough pace. If you were running low on health, you had to go out of your way to destroy something in the area. It was a pain and distracting. Give me ten packs to use at my discretion and let the characters regenerate quicker.

Some powers a character can charge up and fire, so why not have powers that a player can use in a constant stream? For example, you have characters like Iron Man, Cyclops and Sunfire who can keep firing their respective blasts until they are exhausted. Why not be able to do the same in the game by holding the button down and letting it fire until the energy bar is drained? It is simple and effective and adds another dimension. Make the energy drain faster of course to balance it out, because it’s no fun just holding down a single button and killing any enemy that comes near.

Characters
Next is the choice of playable characters and their costumes. Most of the obvious ones have been included already in the past two titles. These characters are featured in their own book, team books, and popular enough to have movies made or being made about them.

I question the addition of Penance, doubting he would have been even considered if not for the Civil War theme. I also never have understood system exclusive characters. Just add all the damn characters for all the systems huh? People are not going to buy the game on two separate systems just for a single character.

I am surprised many designers have never caught on that customization and options are a major sticking point for players. The more characters the better, and the more you can do with each character the better. You do not need every Marvel character but give more than there is. Here are some I think would be a good addition, or at least be considered for the next title.

Ares- yes, the god of war that has made a resurgence when the Mighty Avengers title started. Who does not like fighting with a god of war?

Black Widow- not sure you could do much with her that is not being done with other gone-toting characters already.

Blade and Dr. Strange- I lump them together because thought they were good additions for the first UA, and not sure why they were removed the sequel (though Blade is a character specific to the PS2). Put them back in I say.

Cable- a boss in UA2, Cable has always held a fair amount of fan interest. You could give him a variety of guns and make him somewhat of a brawler.

Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Colossus- three of the more popular X-Men characters that made it into previous games, just make them playable characters. If they were done before, they can be done again.

Darkhawk- a bit iffy on this one, but his return during War of Kings may be enough for consideration. I would hardly be heartbroken if he was not considered though.

Hawkeye- you can give him a bunch of different arrows, and things that are not just piercing or explosive. Be creative and give him ones that wrap around enemies, set a trap, stun a small area etc.

Hercules- kind of the same as Ares, but I would rather see Ares since he is cooler.

Moonknight- a special character in the first UA, he is original enough to be included with the cast

Punisher- like Cable you can have him carry different weapons, though I think he would be more akin to Nick Fury in the first UA. Give him pistols, assault rifles, sniper rifles, grenades etc. to fill out his powers. Probably redundant because of Nick Fury but maybe use him in place of the latter.

Sunfire- the Japanese superhero who houses the power of the sun. May be a bit redundant because of the Human Torch, but I have always found him to be a much more interesting and far less annoying character. He was in X-Men Legends II so he was good enough for one game already.

Vision- his powers of density manipulation could make for some interesting moves, but I’d be a bit iffy on him. Not sure there is enough fan interest to put him here.

Costumes
Again, I mention customization. X-Men Legends II had nearly every costume the playable characters ever wore available. It was great because you could find a least one costume you liked. UA had four costumes for each character, which in most cases covered enough, but still lacked with some. UA2 has one alternate costume. One. I can only imagine laziness was the reason for this because logically there is no reasonable response. Why they would make only one alternate costume available when they have given so many more in the past is absurd. So, with my UA roster finalized, here is a costume list for each character.

Note:
AoA= Age of Apocalypse costume
HoM= House of M costume

Ares- current costume, mini-series costume
Black Widow- modern, classic, original (fishnet)
Blade- same costumes as the first UA, classic, day walker, ultimate and night stalker
Cable- modern, classic, HoM, Stryfe, AoA (Nate Grey X Man)
Captain America- modern, ultimate, WWII, US Agent, Bucky Cap, armored Cap
Colossus- modern, modern 2 (pre-death), classic, AoA, Acolyte, HoM
Cyclops- classic, modern, ultimate, 90’s, AoA, X-Factor, HoM
Daredevil- modern, original, AoA, armored, marvel knights
Darkhawk- modern, War of Kings, Evil Hawk
Deadpool- classic, modern, ultimate, AoA, Heroes Reborn (swordsman)
Dr. Strange- same as UA, classic, blue mage, ultimate, seer
Gambit- modern, AoA, horseman, ultimate
Ghost Rider- same as UA, original, classic, phantom rider, Zarathos
Green Goblin- Hobgoblin, demogoblin, ultimate
Hawkeye- classic, modern, ultimate 1, ultimate 2, 90’s
Hercules- classic, 90’s
Hulk- modern, Mr. Fixit, the Professor, green scar, Red Hulk
Human Torch- classic, modern, new marvel, uiltimate, heroes reborn
Iceman- classic, 90’s, AoA, modern, HoM, Bobby Drake, Ultimate
Iron Man- modern, Classic, Silver Centurion, neo-classic, War Machine, modular, heroes reborn, heroes return, tin man
Invisible Woman- modern, classic, new marvel, Ultimate, Malice, heroes reborn
Luke Cage- same as UA, new avenger, street, classic, power man
Mr. Fantastic- classic, modern, new marvel, ultimate, heroes reborn
Ms. Marvel- same as UA, ventura, classic, binary, warbird,
Nick Fury- same as UA, classic, stealth, ultimate, general
Nightcrawler- modern, classic, ultimate, AoA, HoM
Phoenix- classic (green costume), dark phoenix, white phoenix, Jean Grey classic, Jean Grey 90’s, Jean Grey AoA, Jean Grey HoM
Punisher- modern, classic, trench coat,
Spiderman- modern, Ben Reilly, Scarlet Spider, black costume, unlimited, Stark armor
Storm- classic, modern, AoA, extreme X-Men, Ultimate, 90’s, Morlock leader, queen of Wakanda, HoM
Sunfire- classic, modern, horseman, HoM
Thing- classic, modern, new marvel, ultimate, heroes reborn
Thor- classic, modern, Odin power, Ultimate, 90’s, Heroes Reborn, Thunderstrike, Beta Ray Bill
Venom- classic (original), lethal enforcer, modern, ultimate, Anti-venom
Vision- modern, classic (white), Iron Lad
Wolverine- classic, modern, ultimate, AoA, 90’s, horseman, X-Force, Weapon X, HoM

So there are my simple ideas for improvement in game play or elements that I think would make a third Ultimate Alliance game much better. UA2 received a lot of criticism, and designers need to learn from that mistake and listen to fans to see what needs improved.

1994 Iron Man Animated Series to be Released

2010-01-30T13:35:00.005-05:00

Yesterday it was announced that Marvel/Disney would be releasing the 1994 Iron Man animated series (part of the Marvel Action Hour along with the Fantastic Four) as a single DVD set that includes all twenty six episodes from both seasons. The release is scheduled for May 4, right before the release of Iron Man 2 in theatres. Regular price will be $29.99.

Well, all I have to say is: about damn time. I honestly thought this would have been released around the time of the first movie, especially after its huge success. It is a pretty reasonable price seeing as how it is both seasons.

I admit, the cartoon was not that great, especially the first season. The animation style was switched for the second season, and Force Works were dumped as supporting characters save for a few episodes. It became more like the comics, focused on Iron Man and using some of the more popular plots or issues as stories rather than totally original ones. Though why they gave Tony a mullet I will never understand.

So keep your eyes peeled for this. Pre-orders are not available at the moment, nor is it listed on Amazon or other seller sights. I won't be surprised if this goes on special though.

Here is a link to the press release:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Iron-Man-The-Complete-Series/13275

April is Iron Man Month

2010-01-19T13:38:00.006-05:00

Well it looks like April is going to be a big month for the Armored Avenger. In anticipation of the movie Marvel is making April Iron Man month, and with it releasing a host of titles. Pictures are links due to their large size.

First off is Iron Man #25, which will herald in a new era of Iron Man, including the debut of the new armor (found below). A double sized issue with a few cover variants what direction Matt Fraction will take Stark in now that he no longer has to play along with major events like Secret Invasion and Dark Reign.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/images/solicits/marvelcomics/201004/44_INVINCIBLE_IRON_MAN_25.jpg

Iron Man Legacy #1 is a new ongoing series that will be visiting stories from the past. In other words we're going to be seeing old villains and old armors in new adventures. I wonder if this may have been partly spurned by Legacy of Doom which saw an adventure with the Neo Classic armor. My gut feeling tells me the nature of the series will lead it to be cancelled sooner rather than alter, but there is no reason to judge at this point when a single issue has yet to hit the stands.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/images/solicits/marvelcomics/201004/51_IRON_MAN__LEGACY_1.jpg

Iron Man will also be the latest hero tackled by the Noir series with Iron Man Noir #1 of 4. Set in the 1930's Tony Stark is an adventurer with a degrading physical condition. He gallivants around the world supposedly looking for a good time, but in reality is searching for a cure. The take on the armor is interesting, advanced for the time but archaic by today's standards, which is exactly what it should be.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/images/solicits/marvelcomics/201004/47_IRON_MAN_NOIR_1.jpg

Iron Man 1.5 #2 of 3 will continue the story that bridges the gap between the first and second movie. What happened after the press conference where Stark declares he is Iron Man up until the point where the new movie kicks off (which we're not quite sure of yet).

Iron Man Magazine is exactly what it sounds, filled with stories, pinups, games and the like and meant for all ages. Sounds a bit geared towards younger readers despite the all ages claim though. http://www.comicbookresources.com/images/solicits/marvelcomics/201004/46_IRON_MAN_MAGAZINE_1.jpg

There is also a new poster book that will feature thirty six different posters of our armored hero. No stories or anything like that, just pictures for us to enjoy. http://www.comicbookresources.com/images/solicits/marvelcomics/201004/48_IRON_MAN_POSTER_BOOK_1.jpg

And finally, most surprising of the new releases will be the Iron Manual Mark 3 #1. This will explore the technology of not only the Iron Man armors, but also enemies like Anton Vanko and Ezekiel Stane. I'm sure this will be as entertaining as the previous Iron Manuals. http://www.comicbookresources.com/images/solicits/marvelcomics/201004/53_IRON_MANUAL_MARK_3_1.jpg

Marvel Unveils New Iron Man Armor

2010-01-08T16:41:00.003-05:00

For the weekend Marvel decided to impart upon us a little surprise: the new Iron Man armor which you can see right here:

The design, according to writer Matt Fraction commented this on the armor:
“The inspiration for the new design came from thinking about a sleeker, leaner, tougher Iron Man. If technology is increasingly getting smaller and lighter it seems like the Iron Man should do the same: ergonomic and aerodynamic. We were looking for something that felt as sleek and glossy as a sports car Tony Stark would covet. I love what we've come up with. It feels like the next evolutionary step in the Iron Man's design.”

Before I comment on the design itself let me say bravo to Matt Fraction for actually taking a step in the right direction. It’s been too long since we’ve been given an aesthetic upgrade that actually looks the part. The Extremis armor and the two models directly before it were all low tech looking. The Grell armor replacing the SKIN armor was probably the last time an armor actually looked more advanced than the previous design and that was how many years ago now?

But now the design itself.

Inspiration seems to come largely from the armor from “The End” one shot a while back with its sleek lines and form fitting shape. They definitely went for something different because there really isn’t much else to compare this armor to. The faceplate seems relatively unchanged, keeping much the same shape as the extremis armor.

Frankly, my reaction (and it seems like quite a few others) is “meh.” Fraction doesn’t lie when he says it’s high tech and streamlined (no coincidence the last model to look this advanced was the Modular which shared the slim design profile) but there are some things that make the design awkward.

First are the “gaps” of gold between the red portions of the armor. On the wrists, ankles and especially the shoulders they look out of place. The gap on the shoulders give the appearance of sleeveless workout shirt, like he’s wearing something designed by the company Under Armor. I can easily picture a football players head in place of the helmet. The area around the thighs are oddly shaped, and I don't know what’s with the random red squared above the hips.

Second are the LED’s, those little balls of light. The unibeam, okay. Over the hands, okay. But the others are just seemingly there for the sake of being there. The ankles and two around the neck I think can definitely go. Initial fan reaction isn’t too high on the LED’s and I won't be surprised if down the line they are removed from the armor since things like this have happened before.

The helmet is a bit confusing to me. It may just be artist interpretation in this particular picture, but it still looks angular and flat compared to the rest of the armor which is rounded. There is also something awkward about the eyes I can't quite put my finger on, but they just look a bit alien to me.

Those are basically my two cents on this design. I’m not thrilled with it, there are too many quirky design elements that distract from it, but it is an upgrade over the extremis armor, but that wasn’t very tough since that was one of the worst looking armors. Fraction said he wants it to be advanced, and it does look the part, so we’ll see if he actually writes it that way.

Review: The Iron Protocols

2009-12-21T14:44:00.000-05:00

Recently Marvel treated Iron Man fans with a one shot issue entitled Iron Man: The Iron Protocols which featured two stories done by two creative teams. Each story was independent and self contained, put into the main stream continuity but not meant to go beyond the one shot. Both stories take place before Secret Invasion. Spoilers ahead if you haven’t read it, in which case you can go to the last paragraph for a summation.

The Ark
The first story features an AI gone rogue with a project meant to ensure Earth’s survival by creating a spaceship filled with DNA samples of every animal on the planet. Basically, it’s a modern day Noah’s ark. Of course it’s up to Iron Man still Director of SHIELD to stop it.

The concept is decent and the story moves fairly quickly. This one is more action heavy but the main fight is actually a verbal one where Stark battles the ships AI in a battle of logic and wits. For all its ego that it was superior (or at least right in its thinking) it was nice to see Stark outwit it, his own sense of logic prevailing over the AI’s.

The art was fairly good, vibrant colors and it was easy to tell what was happening during most the action scenes. There were some odd quirks, such as the repulsor emitter in the mouth and the armor looking a hybrid between the movie and comic styles, which was odd, but it didn’t take away from enjoying the story.

His Girl Friday
The second story again deals with a rogue AI, this time one of Stark’s old side projects where a young AI program “grew” into a “teenage” AI program (holographic representations used accordingly). As with other teens the program is moody and want what it wants, which in this case is attention.

The story moves very fast and unfortunately has a brief piece of Stark fighting his own commandeered armors (it’s such a tired plot anymore). There are a few lines that seem awkward, something Stark may say in his younger days but not now. A nice change though was we saw a bit more of the thrill seeking playboy that has been missing from the character recently.

The art had an anime feel to it, but wasn’t quite the same. It seemed to have a younger audience in mind but features weren't exaggerated enough to distract from the story at all. All in all I wasn’t too thrilled with this one, nothing in particular really standing out.

Conclusion
All in all the one shot was decent and a nice change of pace from the multiple issue story arcs. They were definitely intended to be fun rather than the serious melodrama that has been abundant in comics anymore. Writing and art in both stories was decent, but I definitely prefer the first story over the second. Unfortunately nothing was particularly memorable about either and it’s not hard to imagine if in a few years Iron Protocols is completely forgotten.

5 Things Marvel Needs to Stop Doing with Iron Man

2009-12-16T22:40:00.002-05:00

Ok, I’ve had enough. I need to speak my mind on a bunch of the crap Marvel is continually shoving down our throats with Iron Man. Below I have listed five things that in the past few years Marvel has made a constant part of the character that has only served to lessen the him. And no, I am not even talking about making him the bad guy or writing him incorrectly. These are in no particular order because frankly they’re all equally contributing to the degrading of the character.

5)External Dependencies
What I mean by this are things like the chest plate for keep his heart beating and the most recent arc reactor in his chest to keep his body going. This worked fine when the character first started out but after the character was established the heart subplot was tossed for a reason. All it did was add the same subplot into each issue, a recurring problem that not only had a similar solution each time but also had become tedious and boring. Story quality was hurt by a writer needing to devote valuable page space, the plot device being little more than a waste of time. The previous case in Volume 3 with the mechanical heart Marvel quickly discovered this and got rid of it. Now here they are making the same mistake again. Take a hint guys: the subplot it tired, boring, tedious, a waste of space and most importantly, completely unneeded.

4)Keep the Movie Separate
I loved the movie, but that said the movie and comics shouldn’t intertwine. Keep them separate. Remember when Marvel gave the X-Men similar uniforms like they had in the movie, or Spider-Man organic web shooters? The result was fan backlash and their displeasure with eventual retcons to fix it. If you’re relying on the movies for your material you’re in trouble because they only come out about every three years and they likely won't last past three installments. So what then after you banked the comic off the movies? You’re out of luck. Marvel claims they want to bring the fans of the movie into the books and by making the comic more like the movie the transition will be easier. So you’re running the risk of alienating long time fans to appease possible new fans. You know what brings people into books? Good stories. You don't need to make the book like the successful movie to be good; the book has been going for forty years without the aid of Hollywood. Forty years of good writing (for the most part at least) has been done without leaning on a movie’s material. This is a stupid and frankly desperate move by Marvel. If you wanted to do a separate series or miniseries based on the book, I’m okay with that. But when you’re actually switching forty years of continuity to fit a movie you’re asking for problems. I would like to know what Marvel’s plan is for retconning forty years of material because that is what they are going to be doing. And let’s be honest, when more fans started reading after the release of the first movie and continued to read it despite it not falling in line with the film. Obviously they are reading it anyways why change and make a mess out of things? And there is the bit of irony to this whole matter: the movie was based on the books. So if the movie was a success based on the stories from the books, why would you change the books?

3) The Classic Armor
Yes it’s classic. Yes it was the longest tenured armor and present for much of the character’s great stories. But that time is over. In the past three years we have seen the classic armor resurface in Haunted, Secret Invasion and World’s Most wanted, and if the Cup O’ Joe article that shows a cover to Siege where Tony is wearing the classic armor once more is accurate, we will be seeing it yet again. Listen, the fans loved it when it was around but the armor is in every way, from its technology to power to aesthetics, out of date. Give it a rest because it’s become obvious Marvel is looking for an excuse to use it, and they’ve done so to the point where it no longer holds any nostalgic value. You know what a great part of a character’s heyday is? That everything went together. If you’re trying to make a new heyday don't use an element from the past like the exact armor worn. Make a new armor that people actually like (hint: that’s not the extremis armor); it will add far more than an obsolete design. If you’re so concerned about the armor ask the fans. They will tell you which armors were liked and disliked and you’d discover they are sick of seeing the classic and want the extremis armor gone. So right now you’re failing in both cases.

2) Focusing on the man that is Tony Stark
You need a certain amount of drama and character development I know, and I have no problem with that. A book that’s just two guys hitting each other for no reason gets boring. But unfortunately there has been little fisticuffs between the Knaufs and Fraction. We get it, Stark has his problems, but it’s become the focus anymore. A reason Legacy of Doom was so good was because during a time of heavy drama we got an exciting and action packed series. It has its character development, it got the characters correct and it had all the things Haunted, Five Nightmares and World’s Most wanted had and it did it without being boring, not to mention did it in four issues. There is too much time being focused on characters and not enough on action. You can do both but recently Marvel seems to be oblivious to that fact. A deep meaning or emotional story means nothing when it’s not entertaining.

1) Armor Wars
We just got and Armor Wars miniseries that was terrible. Ultimate Iron Mane had an Armor Wars story line that I don't think anyone read because no one pays attention to Ultimate Iron Man. Now in the new Iron Man series “Iron Man Legacy” (to be covered in a later post) the first is going to be, you guessed it, “Armor Wars.” And the worst part of it all? IT’S ALL THE SAME STORY! Someone steals Stark’s armors and he goes after them in vigilante mode. How many more times will this be done? And none have been to the level of the original story. If you’re going to make a new Armor Wars, do something new for god’s sake. Armor Wars may have been the best saga in Iron Man’s history, but merely rehashing it doesn’t mean the story will be good. Armor Wars I and II were completely different, why when all these new Armor Wars are popping up, are there no new takes on it? I can't imagine it’s that hard to come up with something different.

Review: Armor Wars Miniseries

2009-12-09T19:55:00.006-05:00

Recently the Armor Wars four issue miniseries came to a close. Geared towards mostly younger audiences it was supposed to be a new twist on the classic event. But could it live up to it at all?

Story

Well it’s the same thing Armor Wars starts off with: someone stole Stark’s armor. Unfortunately it quickly diverts from there going from Stark attempting to shut down his stolen armors to, well, I’m not really sure. The story was truly all over the place, attempts at putting some new twist in at every turn to the point that by the time the story ended you weren't sure how it really related to the Armor Wars theme.

Every issue took a new direction; new villains, new armors and new plot. There was little coherence to this series and at even four issues managed to completely after the second installment. If you can't keep the focus on armors for four issues you’ve pretty much failed. Even worse, it’s a failure with a story that has been done before.

Grade: F

Art

As I mentioned this series was geared towards younger audiences and the art definitely reflected that. Having a cartoon/anime style it was filled with characters with exaggerated facial features and bright eye caching colors. At times you couldn’t tell what the artist was going for, the fight scenes often confusing. In terms of the target audience the art was a success; but for a regular collector like myself it didn’t work.

Grade: C

Writing

Like I said the story just went all over the place. So much was crammed into this story that not enough time could be spent on developing characters main or supporting. It also failed the move the story along at a good pace, going fast and jumping all over the place. So many twists were thrown in such as Omega Red and a shape shifter impersonating Rhodey that it just got annoying and confusing by the end. “In depth” is not a term I would apply to this.

Grade: F

Final Thoughts

Even for a younger audience this book doesn’t make the cut. Too many twists and turns, most of which were not needed and added nothing were made the primary focus by the end. For a title called “Armor Wars” there was a massive lack of the concept in the last half of the story. All in all the art and especially the story failed to captivate in any way. If you haven’t picked up the title and you’re not a completist don't waste your time or money.

Final Grade: F

I apologize for the formatting but for some unknown reason blogger refuses to put spaces in between paragraphs,

New Iron Man 2 Poster

2009-11-30T21:26:00.007-05:00

Warning: you may need a tissue.

(click image for larger size)

You may nerdgasm now.

Review: World's Most Wanted

2009-11-20T15:21:00.002-05:00

The “highly acclaimed and award winning” story arc World’s Most Wanted has finally come to a conclusion after twelve long issues. While Marvel and critics claim this arc to be epic in nearly every aspect, you have to wonder if it really is. I don't know how much weight you’ll put into my opinion (I’m guessing zero), but here is my review of World’s Most Wanted.

Story
The story itself wasn’t highly original. Stark is on the run from Osborn and HAMMER and he is losing his mind in the process trying to keep the Super Hero Registration files from falling into Osborn’s hands. It’s reminiscent of Armor Wars when he was on the run from SHIELD and later when his body was failing from the damaged nervous system, just rolled into the same arc. Different yes, but somewhat the same principle. I’m not going to say it’s a copy, but it’s not 100% original either.

The other big problem I have is that it’s really more of making Stark look low. This is Marvel once again punishing the guy they have made popular by writing out of character to be the bad guy. Fraction said he saw it as Stark atoning for all his sins, not just the Civil War crap, but given what he’s gone through in his life; the artificial heart (twice), alcoholism and losing his company, his nervous system ruined, paralysis not to mention that whole death thing, how much more does the guy need to atone for?

This doesn’t mean the story didn’t have potential. It could still have been a fun read if the right things were done, which unfortunately they weren’t. There was so much filler that this arc could have easily been six issues and without missing out on any of the excitement that was present.

The start of the saga wasn’t bad, Stark eliminating his armories and having big names like Namor sent after him added an interesting element. This didn’t last and soon it became Stark fielding less and less advanced armors while continually trying to escape some D-rate villain that had a single appearance in an obscure 1980’s issue or something along that line. The using a less sophisticated armor didn’t make much sense given how newer armors capabilities would allow the onboard computer to do much of the things he wouldn’t be able to handle. It seemed like another lame excuse to start using the classic armor again. Seriously, the armor had its run but put the thing to rest already.

The addition of Pepper becoming a fighter was iffy at best. If you changed it from Pepper to Bethany Cabe, then beating Masque, being Iron Maiden (or whatever you want to call it) would have been far more believable. Pepper is just too much of that nice cheery girl to be really seen as a warrior, even in extraordinary circumstances. I do like the things Fraction had her do, but I just felt Pepper was ill suited to it.

Despite all the room for things to happen, too little transpired and what did was often repetitive. Too many issues felt the same.

Grade: C-

Writing
Fraction made one big mistake throughout the story: he told instead of showing. We were always told how Stark was losing his mind, he said it himself three times an issue. This was horribly repetitive as if we could somehow forget it. I started to roll my eyes every time Stark mentioned this. When Fraction did show it he did a good job (i.e. “Who is Happy?”) but too often that wasn’t the case.

Pacing was also bad. As I said earlier there was a ton of filler in this arc. We were greeted to a few pages of Stark going on about his mental state which by the second issue was a total waste of space. The issues all started to feel the same mid arc and that is never good.

Grade: C

Art
Larocca isn’t my favorite artist, but I’ve seen his past work and it’s better than this. There was nothing wrong with his pencils or the inks, it was the colors. Every person looked plastic and fake in the issues, making Larocca’s art look cartoonish at times. Osborn often looked ridiculous in my opinion, his hair further making him look like someone I expect to see in a Sunday morning comic strip.

Just like during the Knauf’s run, the colorist is taking away from the visuals. We went from dark and drab to everyone being shiny like they were just waxed.

Grade: C

Finish
Marvel and other outlets billed the ending of World’s Most Wanted as shocking. Iron Man fans billed it as totally predictable. I will give credit to Fraction; even though everyone knew what was going to happen in issue #19 it was still a very entertaining piece. We all knew Stark couldn’t die and Osborn was still going to be in control; it couldn’t end any differently, so a win for both signs was a given. I can forgive Fraction for the predictable ending because he had little choice.

Stark won because Osborn didn’t get his hands on any of the information he wanted. Osborn won because Stark was no longer a threat. Like I said, predictable. I did like at the end how Stark smiled and said “I won” which pissed Osborn off to no end, classic Stark (another Kudos to Fraction). Stark also had his contingency plan in place, knowing about all the legalities of SHIELD and having Donald Blake (a.k.a. Thor) as his doctor with power of attorney. It was also nice to see Pepper sabotage the stolen armors, throwing yet another wrench in Osborn’s plans.

In addition the video feed of Osborn beating a helpless Stark was shown all over the world, setting up the beginning of his fall. It looks like public opinion will begin to shift away from Osborn now, so by the time Siege rolls around chances are things will be going badly for him.

Grade: B+

Final Thoughts
Despite the positive critical reviews the majority of long time Iron Man fans have been giving it a big thumbs down. The arc overall was boring, laced with far more filler than substance and a storyline that repeated itself way too much.

Marvel no doubt points to the Eisner win a testament to its quality, but I counter with the opinion from long time Iron Man fans (the ones who have kept the book going for so long) that are ripping it apart. I’d venture to say those opinions are more telling than an award because who knows the character better than the ones who have follow all his exploits for decades? Are we not the ones who can determine if each action is in or out of character, instead of some committee that only gets handed the product when submitted? Ask the long time fans and all of them will tell you World’s Most Wanted can't hold a candle to previous sagas such as Armor Wars, Dragon Seed, War Machine and the other classic arcs. That the arc could have easily been half its length and contain the same amount of quality substance is a fact that should not be overlooked and frankly it should be questioned why it was allowed to happen.

All in all, Worlds Most Wanted despite its critical acclaim was unimpressive. Too long, too boring, and a predictable ending never make for a good story.

Final Grade: C-

Wolverine: Overexposed

2009-10-19T13:58:00.003-04:00

There is no denying that Wolverine is one of the most popular comic characters out there. We loved the edge and grittiness he brought to teams consisting mostly of goody-two-shoes. We loved he was willing to do what it took to get the job done, including what others wouldn’t. He was original from his powers to his past and an all around great character. There was an awe and mystery surrounding him that helped propel him so quickly from cameo to mainstay.

Nowadays Wolverine is everywhere. And while I do mean everywhere from books to movies, let’s just focus on the medium he was created for: comics. Wolverine is all over the place. He holds multiple titles of his own with the likes of Wolverine Origins and Old Man Logan, he is part of a team in the X-Men, X-Force and New Avengers books and is in just about every alternate reality there is like the Ultimates and House of M. Literally, wherever we look, Wolverine is there.

And it has to stop.

I know Marvel wants to make the most of one of their most popular characters, but it’s to the point of too much. Origins is chided by fans for finally revealing Wolverine’s past, not only making it not that interesting but also taking away secrets that made the character so mysterious. They essentially filled in dates for things that were hinted at for years. Plus they did a big no-no in comics: they gave specific dates. Never give a specific date unless it’s something like Captain America when he fought in World War II and he was then frozen for an undetermined amount of time to get to the present. We now know exactly how old Wolverine is and it hurts the character.

Then you have the fact Wolverine is now a part of three teams, the above mentioned X-Men, X-Force and New Avengers. Where does he get the time for all of this? The two X titles okay, but does he really need to be in the Avengers?

Finally there is the problem on how powerful Wolverine has become. Before one of the great things was that underneath it all, the adamantium and the advanced healing factor, he was no stronger or faster than the rest. He one more by his never quit and aggressive demeanor that his actual powers. But Marvel made an excuse to make him more powerful, saying his body continually evolved and that the adamantium was holding his evolution back. Now he has superhuman strength and his healing factor, before just very quick, can now heal him as long as there is any flesh left. Basically, Wolverine is no longer killable. What fun is that in a character?

Yes, he survived this

If you look at the older X-Men and Wolverine books, you’ll see him struggle to recover from wounds that would keep a normal man down. His recovery would be much faster but he would still be weak for a short time. Think of when Omega Red was first introduced. He barely survived and was weak while he and other captured X-Men escaped. Now if that happened he’d be 100% healthy in a few minutes.

Look at Secret Invasion #6 when he fought the Skrull Queen. In a few frames we see half his face burned off and his forearm burned down to the bone, yet a few frames later he is perfectly fine. It’s too much. What good is a character if they can’t actually be beaten?

I know it won’t happen but Marvel really needs to tone down Wolverine’s exposure, and get him back to what made him interesting to begin with. He’s in too many titles and it’s getting a bit annoying to see him everywhere. Worse is that they’ve watered the character down by telling his past and making him too powerful. A lot of the things that made the character great are now gone.

I like Wolverine as a character, and I was one of those kids who got hooked on the X-Men because of the cartoon back in the 90’s. But that character, the one that caught everyone’s interest instantly is gone.

Siege

2009-10-13T11:19:00.003-04:00

Just recently Marvel announced what the next will be: Siege. Written by Brian Michael Bendis (who seems to be writing 75% of Marvel comics at the moment) it is to bring Dark Reign to a close.

Bendis explains that Norman Osborn will be setting his sights on Asgard seeing them as a threat. We're left to assume he has some big plan in order to bring down a city filled with Gods, and to the rescue will be the Avengers, including the reuniting of the three classic Avengers: Iron Man, Thor and Captain America.

According to Bendis the event will affect the Avengers the most, involving all the teams. I'm guessing we are going to see a Mighty Avengers team consisting of the big three plus some others, a different New Avengers team and likely the end of the Dark Avengers. Bendis is claiming this will be the biggest impact to Earth's mightiest heroes since Disassembled.

The series will be only four issues and supposedly be action packed and move quickly. I'm shocked Marvel editors agreed to do, but Bendis was able to convince them so congrats to him for not wanting to stretch a story when it doesn't need to be.

At this point I'm just not optimistic anymore. Yes I know I have been negative and cynical but Marvel hasn't given me any reason not to be in recent years. Bendis says Thor, Cap and Iron Man will put aside their differences, but frankly I'm not buying it. I've just seen too much Iron Man bashing from Marvel in recent years to really believe Stark wont somehow be lambasted and made to look bad yet again.

For the most part the story sounds interesting. Hopefully Bendis can pull this off and Dark Lame can come to an end. Maybe I just haven't been reading enough Marvel titles, but I've been thoroughly unimpressed with what little has happened under Osborn's rule. It just seems like a wasted opportunity to me.

We'll see where this goes though. Hopefully it will live up the hype Marvel will be putting into it.

Spider-Man Aesthetics

2009-10-08T20:45:00.001-04:00

I admit I don't read Spider-Man at all. There have been a few arcs that have interested me but that’s it. I don’t have anything bad to say about the character himself; I think he’s pretty original, but he’s just never done it for me. But there is something I don't understand that happens with him sometimes:

Why does Spider-Man look like an anorexic teenager wearing pajamas?

Yes, it depends on the artist and some draw him in the more classic style, but some draw him like a scrawny teenager picked off the street and thrown in a costume. I don't get it.

I know Parker was a teen when he became a super hero but I’m pretty sure he’s not a teen any longer. His body has developed and he’s actually filled out with muscles, and super strength is a part of his power set. So why is he drawn like he hasn’t eaten anything in months? I get he’s not supposed to be muscle-bound like Thor or Luke Cage, but there is no reason for him to look like he’s skin and bones.

Also, why do some artists draw the outlines of his feet through his costume as if the feet have no soles? Seeing his toes is awkward and honestly a bit goofy.

So when the editors at Marvel get the layouts from the artist, don't they see it and say to themselves “that looks weird?” I know I would. I’m not saying you should tell an artist his style per se, some will draw characters bigger, some smaller, but I think when it goes into the realm of making him look like Dr. Strange could pick Spider-Man over his head and break him like a twig, I think the editor needs to step in.

Tony Stark Disassembled

2009-09-22T14:10:00.001-04:00

Well if you haven’t heard by now the upcoming arc for Iron Man following World’s Most Boring… err, World’s Most Wanted, will be Tony Stark Disassembled.

Sigh.

So basically the next arc is exactly what we thought it will be: dealing with the aftermath WMW whose sorely predictable ending will end with a fight between Stark and Osborn and each emerging victorious in their own way. TSD will focus on Stark being put back together as a person both in body and mind.

Oh look, more ways to make Stark pay for the past three events fans hated that he didn’t actually cause. Yippee! For whatever reason Marvel decided twelve issues of crapping on Stark wasn’t really enough, so they need to create a supplementary arc to fully cover how shattered he has become. I know I can’t wait!

Seriously, how is this supposed to be entertaining? Honestly, I want to know. We’ve had to deal with an arc where we’re told five times and issue Stark is losing his mind and running away. It’s been a comic adaptation of the movie Run Lola, Run! featuring Iron Man.

Not to mention they pick a name for the arc that related to Avengers: Disassembled, considered a terrible arc by Avengers fans. Way to go Marvel! Nothing entices people to read an arc by relating it to a failed arc.

I don't know what to say at this point, I just don't. I thought this would be a long, well thought out post but as I wrote I found myself unable to muster anything that I haven’t said a hundred times over. Even the paragraphs that I’ve written seem like a repetition of the one before it.

The title has become so boring and predictable and Marvel has told us the six issues that follow will just be more of the same crap. I’m seriously starting to contemplate dropping the title because it is just that uninteresting and banal.

I’m getting depressed just writing this article, and that is probably the most telling thing of all about the direction of this book.

Disney set to buy Marvel

2009-08-31T13:52:00.005-04:00

Well I originally had another post planned for this week, but it gets trumped by this.

If you haven't heard (which I'm sure you have by now), Marvel is being bought by Disney. Yes, Disney. While the sale has not been fully approved yet, since it won't be creating a monopoly or anything of that sort chances are this will go through as long as the two companies to everything legally. The price is $4 Billion, yes, with a "B"

So is this good or bad? Well it's good in that Marvel wont have to worry about money anymore, which could see a rise in the quality of work as it may be more keen on paying to keep high end writers and artists. It can also be a boon for movies as funding likely wont be a problem anymore.

Of course, there is always a flip side.

Disney is known to shove out movies just to get them released so quality may suffer in that aspect. They're in it for the money and I think we've all seen how Disney milks everything they own for what it's worth be it film rights, characters or actors. And they're definitely going to do this with what they're paying for the company.

The question is how much they will interfere with the creative process at Marvel. While I am drooling over the possibility of Joe Q getting the boot, the truth is Disney doesn't really do comics and they could make things worse. If they just throw their own people in charge who have no clue what they're doing (even less so than Marvel) well, the Marvel U will be a mess, titles will get cancelled and who knows what kind of Deus Ex Machina they will have to use to fix it all.

All in all I am skeptical about this. There are definitely pros to this acquisition, and as much as Marvel may be misguided at times, I'm kind of for the devil you know in this case. Comics aren't exactly PG anymore and if Disney decides they should be, well, I don't look forward to Cyclops shooting rainbows from his eyes and Dr. Doom striving for something despicable like maintaining the highest tv ratings in the world.

I wonder what the Vegas odds are when the X-Men take on Duck Tales?

If I Were Marvel Editor in Chief

2009-08-25T12:03:00.000-04:00

I’ve made no secret I am not a fan of Joe Quesada as Marvel Editor in Chief, and neither has many of other Marvel fans out there (not that Marvel cares what any of them think). He’s done far too many things that, while may sell comics, has severely dropped their quality. Things up at Marvel don't seem to be all happy go lucky, filled with ego and either too much leniency for writers or tying their hands too much. When you hear tidbits from those who work there, it isn’t all the fun and games you think it would be. In reflecting on this I have decided to pose a question to myself: what changes would I make if I were Marvel’s Editor in Chief. Below is a list of the changes if I hypothetically got the job.

Arc length is no longer decided by a TPB
This is a major problem I have with Marvel right now. Arc lengths are determined by being put into a TPB, normally six issues and this sells the story and reader short. If an arc only needs to be four issues, do it in four and don't draw the story out. If it needs to be eight, don't cut it short and deprive the reader of what the story was supposed to be. Too often arcs feel rushed or drawn out because of this. The TPB is the one whose length (and subsequently price) should be adjusted to fit the story, not the other way around.

Asterisks are OK
Joe Q got rid of these citing writers should explain what happened in the past in the story, feeling it is a bit of a cop out. Personally I think it’s so they don't have to point to a story that’s been retconned but I digress. Honestly putting the asterisk in keeps the story moving so a writer doesn’t have to waste precious space on referring to the past. Using the asterisk speeds the story up and avoids lengthy retellings.

Smoking is back
Smoking was banned because it was seen as a bad influence to kids. Somehow, all the sex, violence, death and other stuff that is far worse than smoking is ok to have on a regular basis. But a few characters having a smoke? Don’t even think of it. They add an element to the characters and I guarantee you kids never smoked because Wolverine had a cigar. I know it had no affect on me.

Vivid colors return
Far too often comics look drab and dark. Some are supposed to be dark and I am fine with that, but not all comics are a good fit for the noir style. Moon Knight? Yes. Iron Man? No. Too often the Marvel world seems blah from poor coloring. Reading series like Legacy of Doom the story was brought to life by bright, vibrant colors, and it needs to happen again. Look, if people were that into dark, we’d have never switched from black and white film to color. There is a reason TV companies promote how vibrant the colors of their TV are, bright colors are eye catching and are visual stimulating. It should be no different with comics.

Epic and shock factor aren’t a priority of a story
I truly think this has taken over. It’s like every arc there has to be some death defying, world changing occurrence that changes the character(s) life. It’s ridiculous. So many writers try to tell the grand story they lose sight that they aren’t writing a good story. Give me a well written, entertaining non-epic arc over one that is lots of filler but ends with a bang. I don’t pay $3.99 an issue just to have it be filler that leads up to something better. I’m all for a twist or meaningful ending, but it shouldn’t be the point of the arc. If the lead up story isn’t any good or it’s boring, the ending doesn’t really matter.

Listen to the fans
You know, the people that support Marvel by purchasing their product? Too many times has Marvel blown them off because the editors and writers think what they do is good. The Crossing? One More Day? Avengers Disassembled? All horrid in terms of story or their implications but the editors loved what happened. Did it matter to them the fans hated these stories? Nope. Marvel patted themselves on the back for a job well done because they liked them, ignoring the vitriol spewed by the fans.

Get rid of specific dates
I’m sorry, but Wolverine Origins has done nothing but damage the character. Setting a specific date has proven to be a no-no in comics for decades. Wolverine is a great example of this because now we know exactly how old he is, and when he gets to be too old, boom- retcon. All is does is create trouble and spawn an eventual fix, re-boot, retcon or some other method of undoing the date. It’s always been stated Captain America was frozen for an unspecified amount of time after World War II, and despite that working so well some writers don't want to follow that. Specific dates are truly nothing but trouble.

Well Isnt This Interesting?

2009-08-10T09:27:00.003-04:00

This story is courtesy of poster IMJ over at the Advanced Iron forums.

IMJ attended the Wizard World Chicago event over a three day period and one of the things he attended was the Marvel panel. One of the things they talked about was the current and future arc of Iron Man. They expected there to be a a good reaction to the new arc Tony Stark Disassembled (I cover this in a later post) and what they got was silence. In order to break said awkward silence one of the panel said "this arc won an Eisner for a reason!" (or something along that line according to IMJ).

That's really the story, but those last two things are very significant: the silence from the announcement and that Marvel's response was winning the Eisner.

Silence can be golden as they say, and it was definitely the case here. Marvel thought they hit a home run with the upcoming Disassembled arc (even thought people still have nightmares from Avengers Disassembled) only to find out no one was impressed. Why would we be? The current 12 issue arc is basically dragging Tony through the mud even more telling us how he is losing his mind, so why in God's name would we be impressed with another six issue arc that does it even more? Marvel is obviously excited about Stark getting shit on even more yet is ignorant of the fact that everyone, even non Iron Man fans, are sick of it. Like I mentioned in an earlier post months ago, I was talking to a Spider-Man fan and even he said what Marvel was doing to Stark was ridiculous, and he didn't even read the main title!

Next on to Marvel's pathetic response of it winning an Eisner. Here is the thing about books: people who read them don't give a rat's ass about awards. I had no clue what an Eisner was before Fraction got nominated. People read books for enjoyment and don't care what awards they won and right here is the big problem with Marvel: they think the opposite.

They think winning an Eisner means the book is good and the fans would care. Funny thing is when you talk to long time Iron Man fans none of them like this arc at all. Some consider it a rehash, some like myself are bored with it and others just think it's outright crap. The fans silence voiced their displeasure with this title right now.

The problem is Marvel wont take the hint. They'll go home, wonder why no one was cheering then say "well the fact it won an Eisner makes us right." They will, as they have done many times in recent years, ignore the fans. I have no doubt they are saying to themselves "the fans just don't get it." Unfortunately, it's Marvel that just doesn't get it. People are tired of Iron Man being dragged through the mud. While they made it fashionable to do so by blaming everything in Civil War on him three years later it is tired and boring and the readers are just rolling their eyes at this point.

Matt Fraction is nominated for an award. But why?

2009-07-13T23:15:00.001-04:00

A short while ago Matt Fraction was nominated for an Eisner award for his work on Iron Man when he took over the new series. Now, I don't think Fraction is bad or anything, but I have to ask: why was he nominated?

I wasn’t thrilled with the Five Nightmares story arc. I thought it had potential but I was a bit disappointed the way it went. Hunted has been getting a lot of acclaim, but frankly I don't see why.

What has happened in the Hunted arc so far? Stark is on the run, tells use ten times an issue how his brain is degrading, someone employed by Osborn finds him, he escapes and flees again. Rinse and repeat for about five issues now. The most recent issue, #15 was the first to really break from this mold. For all that has happened in this arc, nothing has really happened. The only thing real memorable thus far is the fight with Namor, every else has seemed kind of like filler and not worth remembering.

My biggest beef with Fraction right now is that multiple times an issue he has Tony telling the reader that his brain is going. Yes, we know, we get it. Don’t tell us, show us! That to me is what Fraction is doing wrong. He keeps telling us things when he should be showing it to us. Dialogue can get the point across quick and easy, but is doesn’t always have the impact of an action or moment. I have yet to see a moment where it caused the reader to say to himself “wow, Stark really is losing it!” Almost shooting Pepper was the closest, but I think we all know he wasn’t going to fire on her. The outcome was predictable.

Another thing I don't like about Fraction is “the Iron Man.” Please, stop putting “the” in front of it, it’s annoying. In addition, it really makes it seem like they are two separate entities, rather than a man who wears a suit. It’s reminiscent of when Rhodey had the Warwear which was its own living creature rather than just armor. I don’t like that detached feeling for Iron Man. Granted that is the way it’s supposed to be with a secret identity, but it’s not really a secret anymore is it?

So what I’m getting at is, I’m not sure why Fraction is being nominated when his work on Iron Man has failed to really make an impact on me and others in any way. I just don't see it.

Captain America Returns

2009-07-06T20:38:00.005-04:00

Starting this month with Captain America: Reborn, Marvel will bringing back the star spangled avenger. Raise your hand if you're surprised?

No one?

Me neither.

Despite their best poker faces and vehemently denying he would be returning, the original Captain America, Steve Rogers is returning. Marvel did their best to try and make it look like he was gone forever but no one believed it. How could they? Given Marvel's predictability, not to mention the fact that Cap is one of their most popular characters, his return was inevitable.

Now things about the story have leaked, including how he didn't die. Yes, it's a spoiler, but it also may save you the $3.99 the book costs. Apparently, Cap never died, he's just lost in time.

Now this is more original than the "he never really died" and the whole super soldier serum putting him in suspended animation that everyone was expecting, but sadly, it's lamer.

Lost in time? Really? I'll take the predictable yet plausible one instead of the corny "let's try to impress readers" angle.

And I'm sure he's coming back just in time to rally the heroes to expose and take down Norman Osborn and end Dark Lame, err, Dark Reign. When it's over Cap's return will be heralded, he will be blessed as a savior for ending the reign of the villains and Iron Man will get blamed for it all again.

Don't lie, you know you can see Marvel stretching just so they can have Iron Man take the fall for the fourth event in a row.

Speaking of that, has Dark Reign started yet? For all the talk about the villains being in charge, all we've seen is Norman Osborn do a bunch of interviews. This is actually a good idea, why aren't they doing anything with it?

So yeah, Caps back with a lame ass reason why. Did Marvel really expect anyone to get excited over possibly the most obvious thing they have ever done?

Best Iron Man Covers

2009-04-22T13:58:00.007-04:00

They say never judge a book by its cover; though with comics it is a little different. The same rule applies, you can’t tell if the issue will be good solely based on the outside. But unlike a novel you can get a feel for what the story is going to be like from a cover. In fact, sometimes a cover will tell a whole story in itself.

There are many things that make a cover good, be it the story it plans to tell, the art or colors. As always when dealing with art it is subjective to the person, but I give you what I think are the five best Iron Man covers (in no particular order).

Volume 1 #216

This cover instantly caught my eye when I first bought the issue. Ho wouldn’t be intrigued by the Silver Centurion hauling the Classic armor ablaze back into the atmosphere? The details are good, as is the fire surrounding the two, but the most eye catching part of this picture is the black smoke billowing from the eye slits, signifying the true desperation of the situation. You truly wonder if Rhodey is going to make it just from this picture.

Volume 1 #128

The infamous “Demon in a Bottle” cover, and probably the most famous Iron Man cover. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words and it holds true to this. The show of pure desperation, pain, loss and just about every other negative emotion is shown as a reflection of Stark in the mirror. Stark appears to have finally realized how low he has truly fallen and is screaming “I need help” to himself. A classic cover that is just as intense as the story behind it.

Volume 2 #1

Unlike most the others on this list, this cover doesn’t tell a story. However the art is simply fantastic. Drawn by Whilce Portacio for the first issue to re-launch Iron Man in the pocket universe, the art is detail heavy but completely concise. All those wires normally make a picture looked a jumbled mess, but they are done perfectly, the chords not blurring together and the result is a feel of a true technological marvel that has been created with a suit. Fantastic pencils, inking and colors really brought this together.

Volume 1 #230

With Armor Wars coming to an end, it needed to do so in spectacular fashion. Neither the cover nor issue let down that saw the death of the Silver Centurion armor. We see the once mighty armor being taken apart, seemingly helpless against this new titanic foe that is lurking in the shadows. The part of Firepower not being fully revealed immediately intrigues a reader, wondering who this new, monstrous adversary is and how truly powerful he must be to be so easily destroying the Iron Man armor. The cover told the same story as the issue, with Firepower tearing Stark a new one.

Volume 1 #237
Though probably not one of the more well known covers or issues, if you look at the cover it says a lot. Most predominant are Stark’s eyes shown through the armor slits. While a small portion of the cover, it shows the sheer terror he is feeling by being crabbed by the claws and ripped through a wall. In a way it’s like a classic horror movie poster that shows the victims crippled in fear, trying to get away. Only seeing the monster’s hands makes you wonder what the rest looks like; another common trait in horror and scifi movies. I’d guess this to be the most questionable on my list, but if you really look at it, I think you will see where I’m coming from.

Dark Reign? More like Dark Lame

2009-04-16T22:58:00.004-04:00

Pardon the bad pun, but I thought it got the point across.

I'm sick of Dark Reign already. Just like the aftermath of Civil War it has become horribly repetitive on how it affects the Marvel universe. Civil War it was all about heroes being on the run. Sounds kind of familiar doesnt it? How many heroes are on the run again, this time from Norman Osborn instead of the pro-registration heroes? How many are now faced with the consequences of a madman being in charge?

And that is probably the worst thing about Dark Reign; Norman Osborn is in charge. He's a psychopath and everyone, and I dont mean the readers, the actual Marvel universe, know he is insane and a killer. Yet he's there. Worse, Marvel feels the need to tell us he's insane every time his name is mentioned. Every. Single Time. We got it, we arent as stupid as Joe Q writing Spiderman here.

So if it's so obvious what Osborn is, why doesnt Marvel do something to actually address how he maintains public or political trust? Scratch that, dumb question. Doing that would pose a challenge and they need the quick and easy out of just ignoring to give us more "on the run" stories.

I honestly expected this to be a long diatribe about what was wrong with Dark Reign, but let's be honest, the same problems with this event are the same as the last one. Receptiveness, shallow stories and most of all, weak concept. For the bad guys supposed to be in charge, we've seen little more than "Osborn is insane" "Yeah but he's in charge" coming from writers.

Here's some advice Marvel: if you want people to buy into the story, put some effort into it. It goes a long way.

Also, I do apologize for the extended period between my last post. A lot has happened in my personal life the past month that has slowed things up.

The New War Machine Title

2009-03-06T09:40:00.002-05:00

We're three issues into the new War Machine title and it can be summer up with one word: bad. It's not the theme or art of the book that makes it bad, it's the character. Or, I should say, what's left of the character.

Rhodeynator as I have come to call him, is just bad. He seems driven for violence, and while Rhodey was always more aggressive than Tony, he seems to want to live up to his name o "War Machine." It's not a "I'm bitter cause I'm half robot"kind of thing, he's kind of driven like he was in the first arc of his original title, only Kaminski made it work a lot more. Plus it really seems like a rehash: Rhodey works for an organization trying to correct the wrongs of the world no one else can, and does so by donning the armor. Been there, done that.

They're taking the Rhodeynator concept way too far. He's able to merge himself with other machines, case in point end of issue two where after having his legs blown off (we'll get to that point in a second) he plops himself down on a tank with it's turret ripped off and uses it as his lower body. You know, this wouldnt be bad if it were say Deathlock, but War Machine? No. The cybernetics to Rhodey are what extremis was to Tony: ill suited for the character.

Now that blowing the legs off thing I mentioned. I hould also mention his arms got blown off too. Yes, that's right, it is easy to blow off his limbs. I find it funny that we saw in execute program as Tony's armor took tank rounds point blank without getting denting, yet Rhodey's losing limbs from small arms fire. Yes, troop weapons can blow his limbs off. So not only do the bullets go through the armor, but also his cybernetic parts too. What did they make them out of, cardboard? It's pretty aggravating to see the heroes limbs keep popping off.

In the first issue we find out how Rhodey was injured: combat. Not as War Machine, not on any spectacular mission or duking it out with a super villain, he just got shot up on a regular mission. Well, I think. The writers saw fit to not make it particularly clear what exactly he was doing. You see other dead troops and him torn to bits. SO the reason he's a cyborg isnt even a good one. On the bright side though the first issue also revealed that they've been making a new body for Rhodey, and I'm not talking mechanical. It seems to be a clone or some other organic body grown in a chamber. Unfortunately with Osborn taking over he was able to get his hands on it, which is bad cause aparently Rhodey is dying even with his cybernetics. So that will probably be the next arc, him trying to get his new body back. Of course, I must stress, that's if there IS a next arc cause right now this book isnt even holding the attention of long time Iron Man and War Machine fans.

The armor was conspicuously changed to the movie armor in it's design. There was never any reason given, I'm to assume his model based on Tony's extremis armor was made useless by the Skrull virus so he had to get another. Of course, it never says that anywhere. And it's not just stylic differences of the artists. It is a black and silver version of the movie and definitely not the extremis-based armor. I'd say I want to know why but honestly I dont particularly care.

Right now the only real positive of the book is the return of Bethany Cabe. Missing since I believe the Crossing, she makes her return still as the tough-as-nails friend who knows how to get things done.

If you havent picked this title up, I honestly wouldnt suggest it unless you like seeing Rhodey buchered in more ways than one. Its not that entertaining and seeing Rhodey as a cyborg just doesnt sit well. I dont see this series lasting past twelve issues, and I think that's even stretching it.

The Red Hulk

2009-02-26T21:26:00.003-05:00

As I believe I mentioned earlier I decided to pick up the new Hulk series featuring the Red Hulk. I was going to give it a try for about ten issues to see how it went.

The first arc was good if you like action. As you can expect with a Hulk title there was plenty of fighting and the art by Ed McGuinness was perfect for the title. While the dialogue was weak, as were some plot elements if you're an action guy like me the trade off worked.

The biggest problem was that when Red Hulk fought anyone else, they're were basically toys for him to play with. Iron Man, She Hulk, for god's sake even Thor were manhandled by the Red Hulk. Thor is a freaking god! That more than anything hurt the initial issues because Red Hulk was just too powerful.

Then of course, because Hulk fans need to be shown they're character is superior, the regular Hulk defeats Red Hulk by discovering his weakness. Nope, guys like Iron Man, one of the smartest people in Marvel, or she Hulk, a smart person herself, couldn't figure it out. Instead the guy with the mental capacity of a five year old and behavior of a wild animal figured it out. Enter facepalm.

Since the Red Hulk's defeat, the book has been aimless. Before it was trying to discover who the Red Hulk was (evidence pointed to Doc Samson, but luckily they didn't make it that obvious) but now the story of who he really is seems to be completely irrelevant. And he keeps fighting the lady superheroes cause She Hulk wants revenge. Meanwhile Hulk keeps switching between banner, Hulk and Mr Fixit (his grey incarnation) and that plot doesn't seem to lead anywhere either. McGuinness is no longer drawing the title, so even that strength is gone.

So while the series started out entertaining yet faulty, its devolved into a jumbled mess with no aim at all.

I gave it a shot, but I think it's time to start saving the $2.99.

Some Thoughts From Invincible Iron Man #10

2009-02-09T20:16:00.003-05:00

Picking up the latest issue of Iron Man I came away a bit disappointed. It wasnt a bad issues, but it was an issue where bad things happen, and by that I dont mean bad things happen to our hero. I'm talking bad is in poorly thought out story. So if you havent gotten the issue yet, dont read because there are spoilers.

All the armors are being destroyed. Again
Seriously, how many times have all the armors been destroyed in one way, shape or form? Teen Tony blew them up so no one could get their hands on them. Then they were all destroyed during World War Hulk and trying to save the Hellicarrier from the Red Hulk. Then during Legacy of Doom Tony was melting them down. And again this arc will feature Tony sending Maria Hill to the various armories he has hidden around the world to prevent Norman Osborn from getting them. Even though he has all he needs from the ones left in Stark Tower (horrible writing on Bendis part as we all know Stark would have destroyed or shipped them out before anything). So honestly, how many more times are the armors going to be destroyed, especially since we know all of them are going to be coming back at some point in the future?

Iron Potts
Yes, that's right, Pepper now has her own Iron Man armor. Or would it be Iron Maiden? Regardless, Pepper has an armor and it's just so out of character for her. Bethany Cabe, yes, we can see that and she was fine in issue #300. But Pepper? I'm guessing at some point she is going to be bailed out by Iron Arbogast like Rhodey used to bail out Stark? I just cant see good things coming from this.

"The" Iron Man
Why in God's name does Fraction keep having everyone refer to it as "The Iron Man?" Its not a separate entity for gods sake. And worse, it's just plain annoying. Please stop.

Norman Osborn is already boring
Everything he does is so watered down that you cant possibly believe "geez, everyone is going to take his word for it?" But according to Marvel they are. I mean it's one thing we already know he's a bad guy, but there has yet to be one single convincing element of his rule that could possibly make you think anything but retarded monkeys are following him. Its like Marvel isnt even trying. Just being lazy and telling us to accept the story. Which of those two things is worse?

Someone please tell Larocca to draw Tony with a goatee
Nothing special, just draw him with the proper facial hair.

To be fair, the issue wasnt all that bad. So here are some of the pros:

The Stark-Hill Fling
In a way it was surprising, but we also knew it was coming. I mean, it is Stark. Fraction adds in some nice humor with it too.

The Hall of Armors did look cool
I admit: I'm a sucker for seeing a hall of armors. It's just cool to me, and I'm sure no one else gets sick of it.

Despite some short comings, I think Fraction gets Stark
He seems to have his personality down pretty good, and I am definitely seeing Tony do the things Fraction has him do. This is why I'm not giving up on Fraction (yet). Time will tell, but unlike most writers the past ten years, he seems to actually know who he is writing about.

A classic armor that isnt the Classic
I pointed this out in my last post, but i wanted to point it out again. It's nice to see Tony going to a more recent armor than digging all the way back to his early models. We're making progress.

Oh look, They FInally used...

2009-01-27T19:09:00.002-05:00

... a more recent armor in the Heroes Return model as a replacement for the current out-of-commission suit. I have to say, this is quite the break through for Marvel.

How many times have we seen the current model inactive for whatever reason, so Tony is forced to use an older model, 99% of the time which is the classic red and gold armor?

I mean yeah, we get it. It's the longest running armor in IM's history and was a novelty for most the period. But its so outdated even by the subsequent Silver Centurion you have to wonder why he would actually use it? Why not throw on the Modular, Heroes Reborn, Heroes Return, Grell armor etc?

We even saw this the most recently during Secret Invasion where he was forced to take off the extremis armor and comes back with the classic. And a little before that fighting the Mandarin with the classic. I've always thought this was a very over used gimmick.

So it's finally nice to see a more recent model used. I'd say it's a step in the right direction, but I have a feeling the next time the situation comes up the Classic is going to be back.

Is this Hypocrisy, or Just the Absence of Logic?

2009-01-19T21:22:00.003-05:00

Joe Q. You know my thoughts on him and they aren’t good. I don’t agree with a lot of the things he has done and I doubt I ever will. But more and more I realize his entire way of thinking is a contradiction. I’d say hypocritical, but I truly think he isn’t smart enough to realize it. He comes up with certain rules he wants the writers to follow, yet doesn’t realize that some of them are contradictions to others he makes. Let me explain.

Smoking is not ok
For those that don’t know, Joe Q banned any kind of smoking from appearing in comics, which is why we never see the likes of Wolverine or Nick Fury having a cigar anymore. He says it sets a bad example and can be a bad influence on younger readers. Really? Well, let me list a few things that are WORSE than smoking, but Joe Q finds perfectly alright to be in comics:
-Violence to solve disputes (pretty much every issue of every book)
-Slavery/conquering
-Drinking/alcoholism
-Intercourse/rape
-Racism (the whole mutant thing)
-Murder and genocide (take your pick)
-Incest (Ultimate Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch)

Any one of these are far worse than smoking is, yet are common themes in comics (except the last one). Am I the only one scratching their head on this?

Realism is key
Joe Q stresses realism. Why? Seriously, why? Comics are not about realism. Yes, there has to be a certain amount so that readers can relate, but he wants just about everything to be real. So let me get this straight: you are the editor in chief of a comic book company, which revolves around fiction, science fiction and fantasy, on things that CAN’T POSSIBLY HAPPEN IN THE REAL WORLD, yet he wants things be as real as possible? I mean, Tony Stark uses the most advanced technology on the planet for his Iron Man armor, supplies SHIELD with their weapons and technology, yet they still fly F-15’s? Am I the only person so utterly confused by this?

No more notes for past issues
But retconning things is ok. How can you say that a writer is not allowed to put an * and a note to show a plot line that happened in a past issue, yet instead you allow them to just wipe the story out?

Actually, now that I think of this, it makes perfect sense. Seeing as how the current writer is ignoring what the past writer did, there is no continuity and thus having the note on the past issue wouldn’t make sense. Well, guess you can strike one up for Joe Q there.

Writers and editors personal opinions mean more than the fans
Look at Spiderman with Brand New Day and Iron Man the last few years. Fans have hated the things that have happened, yet what is Marvel’s response to these fan criticisms? “Well, we think it’s good.” I got news for you Joe, the fans buy the comics and pay your salary. They’ll only tolerate your selfishness for so long.

I could probably go into a long drawn out diatribe, but I just wanted to point these few things out. I mean these things just don’t make sense to me. It’s like some twisted form of reverse logic that is anything but. If you can make sense of it, please tell me.

5 Ways to Instantly Improve Comics

2009-01-05T19:00:00.002-05:00

When I was younger the only thing that really made a comic good to me was the action, thrill and neatness. I didn’t need a deep story, or some underlying issue or personal relationships. I just wanted something fun. And while I still want those in my comics, I have grown to appreciate the sub plots, relationships and all the other deep things that can be included. However, being older and wiser you also catch on to more things that make the comics a lot worse. And some f these problems are easily fixed, yet are stubbornly clung to.

To this end, I’ve gone and picked what I consider the five most prevalent things about comics that could easily be changed that would makes current comics multitudes better than they are now.

Less Emphasis on Shock Value/Impact
It seems every story now is written to either end in a major shocker or have a long lasting, major impact on the title. And I’m not talking the major events where it is expected, I’m talking regular character or team titles. It’s not that there is anything wrong with shock value or major impact per se, but it’s when it becomes the main intent that it turns into a problem. Honestly, when is the last time an X-Men arc was written that didn’t have some major impact on the future of Mutant kind? I’m not saying take both these elements out of comics, but writers need to lay off because it seems they are more interested in impressing their readers than actually telling them a good story.

Lay off the Dark and Foreboding Stories
Like above, it’s not a bad thing until you start doing it all the time, which is exactly what is happening. I get that “dark” is in, but why does every story have to be that way? During the entire Volume 4 or Volume 5 runs of Iron Man, has there been one story that has portrayed a sense of happiness, or some bright future ahead? Execute Program, Haunted, Five Nightmares, they’ve all had a dark and depressing tone. Comics are becoming like the news: gloom and doom. I mean, give us something to smile and cheer about for once.

Brighter Colors
Just like the stories, the colors have become more muted and darker to help get the mood across. I cannot tell you how much I loved the colors in Iron Man: Legacy of Doom because they were so bright and vibrant, and added a sense of life to the series. That’s rarely seen anymore. Bright and deep colors really give a sense of life to comics, I don't know how that’s become forgotten.

Less Politics
Seriously, people don't buy comics for politics. I don't want to know the writers opinion on serious matter x, nor do I care even if you tell me. Some politics is fine, but when it’s a major chunk of the story (i.e. Civil War) the arc takes a huge nosedive. Honestly, why would the readers care? We don't buy comics for that. In fact, we buy comics to get away from that stuff. And worse, we have to sit by and read a story that’s geared to the writer’s personal feelings, so it’s not even going o be unbiased.

That Thing Called “Continuity”
Taken directly from Webster’s Dictionary:
1 a: uninterrupted connection, succession, or union b: uninterrupted duration or continuation especially without essential change.

Let me highlight the important part for any of you who actually write for Marvel Comics:
1 a: uninterrupted connection, succession, or union b: uninterrupted duration or continuation especially without essential change.

In other words: STOP RETCONNING EVERYTHING!!!

My Five Holiday Wishes for Iron Man

2008-12-30T20:38:00.003-05:00

A bit late, but I figured it was still relevant since we have another day in the holiday season. But like everyone, I have my wishes for things to happen for Iron Man in comics. And while it looks like I'm getting one long time wish of extremis being eliminated, I still have a few others. So here are the five things I wish most for Iron Man (in no particular order):

1) New Armor
I don't hide my dislike for the extremis armor. Its neither streamlined nor complicated, seeming unable to decide which is wants to be. The faceplate makes him look alien, and there is nothing special about this armor at all, aesthetic or technical. Its time for a next generation armor that looks cool and actually performs good to, unlike the extremis.

2) A New Colorist
Another pet peeve of mine. I really disliked the colorist during the Knauf's run on DOS, and I don't care much for the current colorist on the Invincible series. I've seen Larocca's work in the past, and it's much better than this. The current color makes his art look very flat and 2D, and every person seems to have a pudgy face. Just look at the Legacy of Doom series and you can see what a good colorist(s) can do for someones art.

3) Rhodey to Lose the Terminator Crap
Not really Iron Man, but Rhodey is easily the best supporting character in his history, and even he has gotten the shaft. His torso and half his face are all that's left of his organic body, and it's just plain stupid and serves no purpose. So here's to a return of the real Rhodey.

4) Be the Hero Of Dark Reign
Yeah, I know, it's not happening. I'm sure he'll be blamed even more at the end of it. Marvel will somehow make it his fault. Again.

5) Marvel to Treat Iron Man Right
I don't think this is too much to ask. For three major events in a row Iron Man has been blamed, and done so deliberately without even good excuses. He's been written out of character to do it too, adding insult to injury. At my comic book shop the other day I was talking to one of the workers who is a Spiderman fan and doesn't pay attention to Iron Man much. But he even said he's sick of them stretching to blame Iron Man for everything and it's to the point of ridiculous. I'm sorry, but when even a non fan thinks the character is being crapped on this much it's a sad state of affairs.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-22T21:49:00.002-05:00

Sorry, no real upate this week, way to busy with life.

Hope everyone has a happy holiday season though.

Extremis is Gone

2008-12-16T22:34:00.002-05:00

So if you have missed some recent interviews with Matt Fraction, extremis is gone.

Thank god.

I have detested this since it appeared. Now, thats not to say extremis in itself is bad. Its a good idea especially if used properly. The problem is its so ill-fitted to Stark it becomes a terrible plot device.

One of the main premises to Tony Stark is he's a man. Intelligent, suave, rich. Yes, all of those. But deep down he's human just like you and me. In a way we want to be him, but in a way we would be too afraid to be. And that humanity is what extremis took away, and his quote at the end of Bias Political Commentary (Civil War according to Marvel) of "you know what it took to make me human again? War." shows that.

But now its gone because of the Skrulls infecting Starktech.

Yes, even though Extremis isnt Stark tech, it somehow is linked and is malfunctioning. An upcoming issue is solicited as Stark trying to erase something and it might kill him, the cover showing his head with a bunch of tubes going into it. One would think this is the issue where extremis is finally out of his body as he continues to operate the suit which needs extremis.

The plot device to get rid of it sounds a bit weak, but frankly I'm glad its gone one way or another. I felt this has dragged the character down and ripped out a major element that makes him so unique.

Secret Invasion: Iron Man Gets Screwed. Again.

2008-12-09T20:04:00.003-05:00

Sigh. I'm amazed at Marvel. Not that they completely screwed up the ending of Secret Invasion by making it utterly predictable and lame, but once again they screwed over Iron Man.

Thor saying "I abhor what you've become" ??? Are you serious? Like him or not, Stark has always done what he's thought right, and you cant say the same for Thor, who has shown moral lacking on more than one occasion. And Bucky turning his back on him? The guy that let him be Captain America (against Steve Rogers wishes) and looked after him just goes and turns his back on Tony for no reason?

I mean, what the hell is wrong with Marvel? Why do they feel the need to screw over Stark every major event?

Civil war and Cap's death? Stark was the head for pro registration, so his fault.

World War Hulk? It was his idea to shoot Hulk into space (along with the other Illuminati), but only he gets blamed.

Secret Invasion? Despite the Skrulls infiltrating before Stark was even head of Shield, somehow he should have known. Despite that no other hero on the planet knew, Stark should have known. Despite Shield itself was infested with Skrulls keeping their presence a secret, he should have known. Despite all the Illuminati agreeing to preempt the Skrulls, it was just him who did it.

Oh yeah, and of all the Illuminati who knew when Stark brought them the body of Elektra, Stark was THE ONLY ONE WHO TRIED TO DO A DAMN THING ABOUT IT.

But that doesnt matter. It's Stark's fault.

I have to say, I'm really tired of this crap Marvel keeps pulling. What in god's name do they have against Stark that they have made him the punching bag and scapegoat for the last four years? This is so god damned petty and forced it's ridiculous.

Seriously, Marvel needs to grow up and stop shitting on the character, who they purposefully turned into an asshole by not correctly writing him.

Way to go Marvel, you again prove how childish and idiotic you truly are. You cant even bring yourself to crap all over someone else.

Then again, when you have an idiot like Joe Q in charge, does this really surprise anyone?

Mutant Powers Through Suits

2008-12-01T19:15:00.001-05:00

Am I the only one who finds this idea incredibly stupid? I am seeing this more and more as a way to “re-power” mutants after they were “de-powered” during the events of M-Day.

Now I understand why they went and took a lot of mutants powers away. There were too many and soon the Earth was going to be overrun. It may be a Dues Ex Machina, but honestly, it was one that was actually good for once.

But like anything, there are ups and downs. The downs being that many mutants who were the stable of stories (Magneto being the biggest one), now are no longer powered and hence little to no threat at all. So like the good writers they are at Marvel they work around this and come up with new characters right?

Haha, sure. Like we could actually expect that of Marvel. Why work around something when you can just come up with a way to ignore it? And that’s exactly what they’ve done by giving de-powered mutants suits that give them their powers back, at least to a degree.

Sigh. Yet again Marvel writers go for a cop out rather than actually taking the time and thought to work around something. But you know, maybe it’s not just laziness. What if the writers just aren’t good enough to get around it? Maybe they actually can’t think of a way to build around a story that wasn’t there doing.

Plus, it’s almost like they are admitting they made a mistake. Like they thought it was a good idea at the time but once they saw the consequences, went “aw shit!” and just came up with something really lame.

And here’s another thing. If these mutants are getting their hands on a suit that can simulate their powers, what’s stopping the likes of Shield or Dr Doom from getting it and making vast armies of people with these suits? I mean if someone can create a suit that can simulate powers as great as Magneto’s, wouldn’t every military organization want to get their hands on it? Now that I think of it, it would be kind of like the What If issue where Stark went public with his Iron Man technology.

I don't like this idea. It screams laziness and incompetence to me. But until they just retcon or do another Deus Ex Machina to reverse the de-powering we’re just going to see more of it.

Iron Man's Fate at the End of Secret Invasion?

2008-11-24T19:17:00.006-05:00

I think we're all wondering what it is. And frankly, I have no idea where it is going to go. But I do know this: I dont feel comfortable with it.

Right now things are set up for Iron Man to be the hero. The Wasp is now a living bomb and has caught the heroes and Skrulls in some sort of energy field. Iron Man flew back to Stark Tower to get a new armor because his was about to fall apart. But it also means he's not caught in the energy field holding the other Earth heroes (and villains) captive.

Now, part of me wants to say Tony grabs a new armor, discovers Jarvis is a Skrull, says "you're fired" while lasting him with a repulsor saving Luke Cage's baby. He then flies in, grabs the Wasp and lifts her out of the atmosphere where she explodes (but he is out of the blast range), thereby saving the day, being the hero and getting rid of a crappy character in the Wasp.

But it sounds too good to be true. And that's why I dont think it will happen.

Marvel is keeping things under wraps, not even local comic shops have the images for post SI covers, meaning some real nasty stuff is probably going to happen.

One of the few things we know of in SI's wake are the Dark Avengers, who's picture (albeit shadowed" can be seen here:

Who it seems in that picture are Ms Marvel in her original red costume; Spiderman in his black costume, possibly even re-attached to the symbiote, Hawkeye who you'll remember grabbed the Young Avenger by the same name's bow and arrow and starting killing a bunch of Skrulls, and finally Wolverine in what appears to be his old brown costume.

The guy in the Iron Man armor? The only thing we know is he's called the Iron Patriot, and Marvel said the questions people should be asking is "who is the Iron Patriot?" (again, that worries me). He's got an armor that looks like Iron Man's but with a red, white and blue paint scheme. That's it. It may be Stark, it may be the current Captain America Bucky Barnes, or it could even be the return of Steve Rogers (possibly not fully healed from his wounds and needing the armor)? We just dont know, and no one at Marvel is talking.

We also dont know much what Dark Reign is going to be about, only it deals with the fallout of SI. It's widely speculated the villains take over, even if for a short time, following the possible decimation of Earth's heroes during the invasion. The Dark Avengers may be an underground team fighting to free the world from the villains control. Are they a team that works for the villains? They may be the characters we know whose personalities were changed due to the Wasp's energy field.

Guesses, guesses, guesses. That's all we've got.

Sadly, the way Iron Man has been treated over the last few events, not to mention how disappointing those events were (remember, a crappy ending can kill a story no matter how good the rest is), I just have a bad feeling us Iron Man fans are going to hate how this ends.

Let's hope I'm wrong and Stark comes out as the big hero after all is said and done.

Back Soon... Again...

2008-11-04T20:48:00.005-05:00

Ok, so my trial version of MS Office expired, and currently I cant even copy and paste the articles I had ready to go into the site. Add in I am heading out of town, it's going to be a week or so before another post comes up, and I dont like doing hastily written posts I dont have a chance to even do a quick lookover with.

So yeah, sorry for the delay again : /

Cyborg Rhodey- Ugh...

2008-10-27T19:38:00.002-04:00

So if you've been reading the Director of Shield title you know that the past two issues have been following Jim Rhodes during the Skrull Invasion. Now, we knew Rhodey was gravely injured at some point and has cybernetic enhancements, but we didnt know to what extent until the latest issue.

In the final page we see Rhodey lying on a Skrull operating table, them ready to dissect him to find how his flesh works with the bionics. Unfortunately, we discover the extent of the damage. The only thing that appears to be left of Jim is half of his face and his torso; his arms and legs being fully bionic.

Ugh.

I cant tell you how much i despise this direction. Honestly, what possible good could come with this? If its a means to try and create the tension between Stark and Rhodes (which for some reason Marvel thinks is what IM fans like, instead of wanting them to be friends full time like they actually do), than it's a pathetic attempt.

I'm hoping that sometime in the very nearly future Rhodes is restored to his normal self, and no more of this Rhodey-nator crap. It's almost like Deathlock gets an Iron Man armor.

It doesnt make the character more interesting. It doesnt make him neater. This I would say is even worse than Extremis because extremis can just be purged. How exactly is Rhodes going to get all his limbs back?

Terrible. Terrible, terrible, terrible.

Way to screw the pooch again Marvel.

An Open Letter to Marvel RE: Iron Man

2008-10-13T23:05:00.001-04:00

Dear Marvel,

I would like to take the time to discuss with the matter of the character Iron Man.

As time goes on it has become apparent that you are quite enamored with the work you have done on Iron Man. You love the extremis idea, you love the way the armor looks and that it’s portrayed as easily the most powerful armor ever created. You feel that the changes extremis made to Tony Stark have set him apart from all the other characters, and that it has made people like the character. And you also whole heartedly believe that the Ultimate Iron Man is in fact not only good looking, but is good enough to be #9 in the top ten armors of all time for Iron Man.

Now, I understand you feel it’s a job well done and you want to pat yourself on the back for it. And there is nothing wrong with feeling proud of a job well done. So I feel that leaves it up to me to inform you that you need to stop.

And not only do you need to stop your back patting, you need to apologize to us readers.

Because frankly, that is what a terrible job you have done to Iron Man in recent years.

You feel Extremis, which changed Tony’s powers and his personality is the reason the character’s popularity has soared recently. Unfortunately, you couldn’t be more wrong. First to think that putting Iron Man in the spotlight AS THE BAD GUY in Civil War and World War Hulk (two monumental failures in terms of story I may add) isn’t the primary reason for his popularity surge, especially when you BLAME HIM for BOTH of the events happening is mind boggling. Secondly, extremis completely destroyed not only the main point of Iron Man, but it destroyed the character.

I know at this point you are shaking your heads in confusion, or thinking of ways to retcon the most recent major X-Men arc to make the new one more dramatic, but hear me out. You see, one of the best things about Tony Stark is that he is just a man. Yes, he is incredibly smart, incredibly rich and incredibly suave (which makes all of us jealous), but beneath it all just a man who has all the same problems as the rest of us, and sometimes more even without the super hero gig. I have found this quote to best summarize this aspect of his character:

“Super hero. Would the world really think that if they knew the full story of the frail, mortal man who lives inside this shell?” (which, by the way, you put on the back of his Marvel Series 3 trading card).

Readers could relate to him because outside of that suit he didn’t have super powers. After a battle he needed to rest and take some pain pills. He was worn down and at times broken. But not anymore, not with extremis. Now he has a layer of protection built into his body, plus a healing factor like Wolverine. Now he can plug his mind directly into computers and multitask in ways not possible for the human brain to accomplish. Tony Stark is not longer a normal man, and by doing this the connection readers have with him was severed. I, along with many others always liked the idea that I could be Iron Man. All it took was that suit, because it was never the suit that made the man, it was the man that made the suit. But now, that feeling is gone.

Even worse is how watered down and hacked apart the character has become. Tony was always a morally driven man. He cared for his employees, he always did the right thing even if it was unpopular, and the bottom line was never an issue. And now? He’s become shut down from the rest of the world, wallowing in his own thoughts. He doesn’t care how the job gets done, as long as it gets done. The bottom line is the issue, and he’ll be damned if a hundred people have to be hurt in the process. Here is a quote from the end of the Civil War saga:

“You know what it took to make me human again? War.”

How you can possibly say that is even remotely the same character as the one who said the above quote is beyond reasoning. It truly is. And don’t give me a “the character has evolved” excuse, because if that isn’t a display of character devolution I don't know what is. This is not Tony Stark. This isn’t even a hero. You should be ashamed of yourselves for even trying to compare it to who the character really is.

But I guess that’s the point isn’t it? Since no one at Marvel was able to correctly write the character after Kurt Busiek left the book, instead of taking the time to read past issues you instead just butchered the character to such a shallow level of depth that anyone could write him and do anything with him.

(Note: if you’re still trying to think of a good X-Men retcon arc here- Xorn was never Magneto, nor was it its own entity. It was just a powerful telepath manifesting the whole idea into everyone’s heads. There, now you have your six issue made for trade paperback arc and you can pay attention again).

Now let’s talk about the armor. Why exactly is it good? Just cause the character’s popular? Sorry, not the case. This model is said to be the most advanced ever, yet other than reaching speeds of mach 8 I have yet to see it demonstrate capabilities greater than the 1980’s Neo Classic red and gold armor (that’s the one after the Silver Centurion since I’ve noticed from your armor designations you don’t even know what order the armors were made in). I’ve seen models much older that didn’t even have digital displays shoot down hypersonic missiles, yet the extremis armor can’t target a Skrull with Mr. Fantastic’s powers because it was too fast? Hmm, interesting, especially since all the hype about how the armor’s direct patching into his brain makes for even quicker reaction time. Where are all the secondary weapons? How about the shields? You know, other than the harnessing power from nuclear reactors, there actually hasn’t been one single thing about this armor that has impressed people. And the aesthetics? Ugh. You say it’s streamlined, but if that were true the torso wouldn’t be all plated, and those weird toe things that have yet to serve any function wouldn’t be there. What’s with the blocky, oddly shaped shoulder armor? What’s with covering the triceps but not biceps? And why does the helmet slope in such a way it makes his head look alien? Please explain to me what is so impressive about this armor, because I’m not seeing anything here.

Oh and the Ultimate armor? I get it’s an alternate reality and you want to make things different (btw, kudos for making Ultimate Spiderman way different than the mainstream, so different readers have to look at the title to tell if they’re reading Ultimate or mainstream), but this suit just isn’t likeable. It looks kind of like the ASIMO robot they made over in Japan. And what’s with those goggles for the eyes? Really? This is the most low tech looking suit since the original grey armor, now 45 years old. It’s actually so aesthetically unpleasing that it distracts from the story. I know some will say you’re just playing it up because it’s what is currently on the market and good for business, but I know you Marvel. We both know that’s not the case. You are truly enamored with this suit that nearly every fan finds repulsive. Only two other times have I seen an armor this reviled: the Crossing Armor and the SKIN armor, both of which had very short runs. But of course you know that because you listen to the fans right?

So let me sum this up for before you go on to your next “Hulk beats everyone up” project. You’ve watered down the character and ripped out what made him so appealing. You’ve watered down the armor. You’ve ignored the past for the sake of expedience. And that you haven’t listened to the long time Iron Man fans that have kept the book around for so long is quite disconcerting, because if you did you would have gone back to the way things were.

But I know sorting things out isn’t your way. It takes thought and time and neither of those are things you can afford to use. So I will offer you the easy way out that you always take that will, for once, benefit us all. Retcon. Go back to Volume 4, Issue #1 where extremis started and wipe it out. All of it. Because that’s when the character truly started to go down hill.

That is when Iron Man stopped be Iron Man.

But I don’t expect you to listen to me. I’m a fan and my opinion doesn’t matter. Only your personal feelings do. Spiderman fans will attest to that with Brand New Day.

Sincerely,

Chaos
Iron Man fan.

Alternate Reality Costumes

2008-10-06T21:53:00.002-04:00

I’ve always been a fan of the alternate dimensions/realities that comic books use. It gives us readers a chance to see our favorite characters in a different light if the world had turned out different. We may not always like how they are portrayed, but if nothing else it’s a nice change of pace. And another good thing: a new costume.

Well, some of the time a least.

See, this is what I don’t get. If you have an alternate reality, and you’re doing it to make things different, why the hell would you use the same costume? Case in point is Ultimate Spiderman. Same damn thing. In many alternate realities, Magneto has the same costume. What’s the point of doing that?

I get that some costumes are iconic, or just well liked. But when you’re doing something different with the character, why keep the same costume? It’s like writers use it as a safety net where they can say “well if you didn’t like the story, at least we had the same costume.” It’s just weak. This is your chance to go wild because it isn’t the mainstream. It makes the whole effort seem wasted.

So yeah, this is kind of a pet peeve of mine. If you’re doing something different with the character, especially if it’s changing their personality, change the costume too. Give us something different too look at.

Will be Returning Shortly

2008-09-23T18:31:00.001-04:00

Due to family matters and the subsequent death of my laptop, I have been unable to post recently (not to mention lost the articles I had ready). I will be back to regular updates soon.

Onslaught Reborn

2008-08-25T20:04:00.001-04:00

While perusing Borders this past weekend armed with a 30% off coupon, I happened come across the Onslaught Reborn TPB. For $15 bucks I figured what the hell I’ll go for it. That and I completely forgot to pick up when it was released in single issues, but that’s not the point.

It was a team up of some of the Heroes Reborn think tank in Jeff Loeb and Rob Liefield, revisiting the Reborn saga as a ten year anniversary. I for one actually liked the Heroes Reborn saga, if nothing else it was a change of pace (not to mention it was after that whole Crossing mess we would all like to forget).

The story starts with a narration from Bucky (the Heroes Reborn female Bucky that is) and Onslaught returning and coming after Franklin Richards, the son of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman should you not already know that. In an attempt to escape he uses some green globe thing (I don’t really remember what it is) and comes back to the Reborn universe, where all the heroes are. In his attempts to capture Franklin, Onslaught begins to inhabit the bodies of the different heroes, and pits them against one another in an attempt to find the strongest body that he can then take over that universe with. And so the fighting begins.

I’m not going to lie, I prefer action over drama, and while not the strongest plot if you like action this was a good series. I don’t think the plot was weak per se, but it definitely was geared to a more action packed series than a deep and meaningful one.

Liefield’s art, something many have problems with because he exaggerates the features and has a very scratchy detail style, was more toned down. You could still tell it was him, and there were some frames that definitely needed to be lightened on the details, but for the most part I thought he did a good job.

The fighting I thought was good. The frames were clear and you could easily tell what was going on. I liked the coloring too, pretty bright and vibrant, something you don’t seem to see much of nowadays.

I don’t want to give away too much of the story, but there are some twists in this, some good, and some make you scratch your head. You have to wonder if one or two things were intended to be done in the original series and they just never got around to it, or if Loeb and Liefield just decided to have fun with the idea.

All in all I thought the series was pretty good. Though a quick read I did enjoy it and it is definitely good for those who prefer action.

What Happened to Stark Industries?

2008-08-19T19:23:00.002-04:00

Since he took over as Director of Shield, there is something I’ve been wondering about the Iron Man titles: where is Stark Industries? I honestly can’t say the last time I even heard this mentioned in one of the books was.

I understand that being the director of Shield isn’t a paltry job, but Tony always ran his company and was directly involved in much of it. But now Stark Industries seems like it has just disappeared. Sure we see Stark Tower all the time, but how often anything that actually does on there?

Since he took over as head of Shield I’ve been feeling a bit disconnect from the character, in the sense that something just seemed off. Other than the whole Biased Political Commentary (a.k.a. Civil War) fiasco things with Stark just haven't seemed right. And while its not one single thing, I think this is a good chunk of it.

Stark was always at his company, be it Industries, Enterprises or Solutions, and it was always a priority to him, especially because he cared for the people under him. Now it’s like it’s not even on his radar, and only heard in passing. I miss the days of Bob & Dave and Kaminski where we got a healthy dose of the company along with the hero.

With the Director of Shield title ending, I think we are going to see Stark returning to his company and Shield back in the hands of Nick Fury. But only time will tell.

Director of Shield Title Cancelled

2008-08-12T18:53:00.005-04:00

Marvel has announced (well, did a few weeks ago) that the Director of Shield title will be coming to an end, and the Invincible Iron Man title will now be the main book, continuing with the team of Matt Fraction and Salvador Larocca. The title is going to be replaced with a new ongoing War Machine title.

I have some mixed feelings on this. Stark as the head of Shield had potential, but it was really never used; more so how Stark was used with his companies as plot support. We never see much of how he really operates Shield beyond just barking orders and a few changes here and there and to me that is a waste. Part of it might have been the Knaufs (whose leaving the title makes more sense now) never intended it and had to write it into their Mandarin arc, which would mean it take a back seat. Though the title of Director of Shield was there, did we really ever feel like it was part of the character? For me it wasnt.

On one hand though I am kind of happy it's gone as I never really felt it was suited to Stark. I just couldnt really buy in to him being the head of an organization like Shield. Not that he couldnt be, but espionage and counter terrorism arent exactly his specialties, and definitely isnt the same as running a corporation. I've always liked the more independent Stark and I think it will lead to more character specific adventures like before (as in he's by himself and doesnt always have the Hellicarrier close behind). Which brings me to my next point.

If the DOS title is gone, Nick Fury has resurfaced and Maria Hill has been proven to not be a Skrull, I think its pretty clear Tony's days as the head of Shield are done. Maybe Stark's time there will leave a lasting effect, but I doubt it with the impact Secret Invasion is bound to have on the Marvel U.

Finally, the War Machine monthly title. To say the least, I'm skeptical. Back in the 90's when Iron Man's popularity was at one of it's highest, and Rhodes was still a major supporting character in the Iron Man book War Machine only lasted a few years. Is there enough to a character that hasnt even been built up much lately to try and carry his own title again? Plus there is that thing where Rhodey now appears to be half cyborg or something. If you havent been reading the Initiative title it was revealed Rhodes is part bionic (half his face included) though we're not sure why yet. I REALLY hate that direction, and hope to hell Marvel plans on it being a temporary plot device and to get rid of it sooner rather than later. Rhodey as a cyborg is just... wrong.

Review of Marvel's Top Ten Iron Man Armors

2008-07-24T20:00:00.004-04:00

I meant to do this before the launch of the movie, but honestly forgot to. Still, I think it is something worth covering.

When celebrating Iron Man month as a means to build hype for the movie, Marvel posted their top ten Iron Man armors. Now, I understand no one will ever fully agree on a subject such as this for anything, but some of the things here were just piss poor in my opinion. I’ll list the rank, the armor and then my thoughts on Marvel’s rank.

you can find the original article here: http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.3417.Take_10~colon~_Iron_Man~apos~s_Armory

10) Mark IV Red and Gold
Marvel’s Take: Iron Man's most recent armor before going Extremis laid the groundwork for both his current look and the character's big screen appearance. A clean, modern-looking design that came into prominence in particular when rendered by digital painter Adi Granov, this armor propelled the Golden Avenger into the present.

Chaos Take: First let me say Marvel has by far the worst model designations of anyone I have ever seen, and yet they created the character. Sorry, the red and gold armors don’t by Red and Gold Mark whatever. Secondly, there was nothing special of this armor at all. It’s low tech looking and has a 50’s scifi faceplate. If by “clean and modern” looking they meant “plated with a bunch of ridges and looking slightly more sophisticated than medieval knight armor” than yes, I agree with them. As for bringing him into the present, well here are some armors that predate this one that look much more advanced: War Machine, Modular, Heroes Reborn, Heroes Return, Grell armor (first version).

9) Ultimate Iron Man
Marvel’s Take: It would have been easy for artist Bryan Hitch to at least stick to the basic template when bringing Iron Man over to the Ultimate Universe, but his decision to reinvent the wheel—or repulsor ray—made for an impressive and bold visual feast. The bulky and intricate look reflected how a suit of battle armor might look in the real world and set Ultimate Iron Man apart from any other incarnation of Shellhead

Chaos Take: It was at this time (mind you the second armor into the list) I realized Marvel had decided to merely put the more recent armors in the top ten list to A) pat themselves on the back for their perceiving a job well done and B) promote any current or recent armor. I think many Iron Man fans will agree the Ultimate armor is in fact one of, if not the worst armor design ever. Even for being in an alternate dimension it sucks. They had a chance to be creative and break from the norm of the designs and go wild (which despite their claim they didn’t really), instead they created some crappy robot thing. To put this armor in anything but the ten worst list is mind boggling to me. If that armor is a visual feast, this is me visually throwing up.

8) Original Grey
Marvel’s Take: So Tony Stark's a dude who gets critically injured in a war-torn area, becomes a P.O.W. and is forced to use his giant brain to make a giant weapon for giant jerks. Giving them the proverbial finger, he creates a badass suit of über-destructive armor out of scraps and detritus, puts it on, stomping and shooting his way to freedom. The classic grey armor—or Mark I, if you will—may seem a little hokey by today's standards, but it's a testament to Tony Stark's genius and indomitable will. Plus, the old-school robot look never goes out of style

Chaos Take: It’s hard to argue with the original. It’s cold, robotic Frankenstein look was perfect for the time, hell even now because there is nothing fancy about it. It’s big, bulky, low tech and gets the job done.

7) Hulk Buster Mark I
Marvel’s Take: Despite being used exactly one time—and not even used successfully—the original Hulkbuster suit has been immortalized in both action figure and video game form in the years since its 1994 curtain call. Why the appeal? Well, it's a gigantic friggin' Iron Man armor that can go toe-to-toe with the Hulk—what more do you need?"

Chaos Take: Um, hate to break to this to you Hulk fanboys at Marvel, the fight was, at worst, a stalemate and at best Stark winning. They stopped fighting to talk it out, it had nothing to do with either getting a major upper hand. But like I said, that’s what happens when fanboys run the show. Anyways, they are actually right in the fact that despite being used once it immediately found its way into our “things in comics that are awesome” category and we all still love it and have been hoping for its return (and not like that monstrosity in Marvel’s Hulk Hard-on event).

6) Stealth Armor
Marvel’s Take: In the history of Iron Man, there aren't many more radical departures from his classic look than the first Stealth Armor, but there aren't many cooler departures either. Besides the fact that it's jet black, automatically raising its awesome quotient, the Stealth Armor also serves has actual reasonable science—or at least pseudo-science—behind how it works thanks to the wizardry of David Michelinie and Bob Layton."

Chaos Take: I wouldn’t call it a radical departure in terms of looks, because other than sharper boots and gauntlets and a new paint job there wasn't a whole lot different visually. It is neat, especially since it made Tony fight even more with his brains than fists because it lacked weapon systems. As for the pseudo science, if they give Bob and Dave credit they sure as hell should give Kaminsky credit because of all the Iron Man writers he has displayed a level of technological knowledge greater than any others. But I have no problem with this armor being on the list.

5) Extremis Armor
Marvel’s Take: Unlike any other Iron Man suit, the Extremis virus allows its user to store armor in the hollow of his bones and instantaneously utilize it at any time. The Extremis armor responds more quickly to user commands and provides interface with all external communications systems, from cellular phones to satellites. Extremis also boats increased repulsor technology for both energy projection and flight as well as greatly enhanced healing capabilities.

Chaos Take: (cough) bullshit (cough) Sorry about that, had something in my throat. For all those advantages they listed, we have yet to see any single one actually be improved outside maybe propulsion. In fact, given how the suits are displayed in the comics, I would say nothing after the Silver Centurion would have a problem kicking the crap out of this thing. This is definitely Marvel being all gushy on themselves on something they think is a great accomplishment when it’s anything but. This armor doesn’t even know if it wants to be high or low tech looking. It’s supposed to be smoothed and streamlined yet is plated all over the torso, plus has extra components on the legs and arms that stick out. Terrible choice.

4) Red and Gold Mark II
Marvel’s Take: The nice thing about this late '80s revamp of the standard red and gold armor Iron Man had worn for years prior was that it really looked of the times. It retained the classic elements and basic design of the long-tenured suit, but streamlined stuff that no longer fit such as the lined underoos and giant hip discs. This armor allowed fans to have their cake and eat it too, with an Iron Man who looked familiar, but not dated

Chaos Take: It’s actually the Neo Classic armor after the Silver Centurion. Apparently Marvel has failed to realize there were variations before what we now know as the Classic Red and Gold got to its final incarnation. But hey, why would the guys in charge of Iron Man’s history k now that? Anyways, this went back to a more recognizable design, being a modern (for the time) version of the Classic after the big departure that was the Silver Centurion. It had a simple yet advanced look and lasted quite a while so I don’t have a problem with its choice.

3) Classic Red and Gold
Marvel’s Take: This may not have been the first armor and it may not be sported by Tony any time soon, but you can't deny that every armor since then has been influenced by this beauty. Sleek lines and a forward-thinking look made for one of the most iconic costumes in comic book history. It's also impressive that this costume doesn't make Iron Man look like a robot—it's clearly a man in armor, which makes it apparent that Iron Man isn't defined just by the armor. It's the man inside who truly powers this hero."

Chaos Take: It’s the classic, what would you really want me to say that you aren’t thinking? It really did start the advance look, even more so than the previous red and gold armors which really looked flimsy at times.

2) Silver Centurion
Marvel’s Take: Shaking up the red and gold standard with this variation was controversial at the time, but it's amazing how all that venom has been replaced by fond nostalgia these days. This is easily one of the sleekest, cleanest looking armors that Iron Man ever sported, with a color scheme that still looks wildly different from his other incarnations, but awesome in its own right."

Chaos Take: Face it, we all love the Silver Centurion. A radical departure from what became the norm, it wasn't just the looks that differed but also the systems. It was the biggest leap in power from one suit to another, as it manhandled many enemies that once gave the classic armor a lot of trouble. It looked great and you really got a sense of power and advanced technology from it.

1) War Machine
Marvel’s Take: Really, is there a much 'cooler' looking armor than this one? From the shocking amount of weaponry to the very basic color scheme, this suit screams 'you're in trouble' to evildoers everywhere. Not only is it part of a great story with Tony being replaced with Rhodey, it's also the armor that we associate with the awesome character known as War Machine! Sure, other armors may be more powerful, sleeker and a tad less ridiculous when it comes to all the visible deadly weapons, but there's no denying that this is the one suit that you know means business.

Chaos Take: I wouldn’t say “you’re in trouble” so much as “you’re @&#$ed” as to what it screams. The War Machine is great because it shows if Stark wants to just beat the crap out of you he can and will. It’s more menacing face plate and cold color scheme along with the weapons gave it an incredibly intimidating look. I’m surprised Marvel was able to get this one right. But maybe its just that obvious.

Legacy of Doom: Final Thoughts

2008-07-22T22:00:00.001-04:00

This month we were treated with the fourth and final installment of the Legacy of Doom miniseries. Once again we were treated to a battle of intelligence and wits as Iron Man and Doom had to work together and use their brains instead of brawn to win the day.

But I don’t want to go too in depth to the ending of the series in case you haven't read it yet (if it’s been available and you haven't picked it up yet, shame on you!). I will though give some grades on the major aspects of the book.

Writing: A+
The grasp of the characters was, well, you can’t grasp them any better. It’s just so refreshing to see Stark handling so succinctly after the way he has been kicked around over the past few years. Bob and Dave again show why they are one of, if not the best Iron Man writer(s) to ever grace the book. It was a battle of wits despite there being enough for a battle of strength with two of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe, but also the most cunning. The story itself was well laid out and progressive, with no boring parts and a storyline that kept you wondering what the next twist would be.

Pencils/Inks: A+
Lim was a guy that was always called upon to pencil major events and he continues to show why. His art is clear and precise with both modern and classic tones. Layton knows how to ink the character as he has been doing it for years, even in his free time and knows just how heavy to be. The combination was great, definitely giving one the feel of a 1980’s Iron Man issue.

Colors: A+
Bob noted that one of the great things about this series was that not only was he given the freedom to do the colors how he and Dave wanted but that also the colorists, Sotomayor and Baumann were willing to work closely with him on it instead of putting their touch on it so to speak. The result was a bright and vibrant display that is a nice contrast from the often dull colors used anymore.

Final Grade: A+
Yes, I did just give a perfect score to this miniseries, and the thing of it? I like my comics heavy on the action. Bob and Dave have been action heavy (but by no means light on it) and I still thoroughly enjoyed this mini. Everything was just done so well it’s hard to give it anything but.

Final Thoughts
As they say, all good things must come to an end. Though four issues seem too short because it was enjoyable, it’s better than having a long, drawn out story. Everything from the writing to art was top notch and you can tell a lot of thought, effort and passion for the character went into its creation.

And let’s not forget the great nod to the previous Iron Man – Doom meeting where Merlin discovers that the lake has been built over by the mall, only to have the mall done by Stark himself as a means to protect Excalibur (and since he had no recollection of his trip to the future he came up with the idea himself).

As Iron Man fans, I think we can all give a hats off to the entire team for the series they did, and hope they will be collaborating again on one in the future.

Thanks guys!

The Fantastic Four- not so Fantastic

2008-07-12T00:59:00.002-04:00

The Fantastic Four. One of the oldest super hero teams and one that has managed to stay together with the same group for almost its entire existence. Even if it does change, it always goes back to the family of Reed Richards Mr. fantastic, Sue and Johnny Storm the Invisible Woman and Human Torch and their best friend Ben Grimm, the Thing. Though they seemingly have stood the test of time, personally, I feel they are starting to become out of place.

Comics are sci-fi and fantasy, despite what some Marvel Morons like Joe Q are trying to do. And one of the great things about sci-fi that no other genre can really claim, or at least to the same extent, is that sci-fi grows. By that I mean it is not limited by realism, only by what our minds can think up. And as things like technology grow, so do the limits of our mind as new ideas are spawned form creation.

When you think about it, the powers of the Fantastic Four don’t rely on any kind of technology or understanding of phenomena or anything of that sort. Cosmic radiation changed their bodies and gave them their powers. Mr. Fantastic stretch a lot. Invisible Woman can be invisible and create shields and weapons with her thoughts, the Human Torch engulfs himself in fire and can shoot it and fly, and the Thing is basically a big rock monster. Back in the 1960’s they were definitely neat. Now in the 2000’s? Not really.

Sue and Grimm are still kind of interesting because Sue’s powers can be used in a variety of ways, and Grimm in general is, well a rock monster which for some reason entertains us. Reed and Johnny? Well, I guess the word “meh” can sum up their powers. Stretching just inst that interesting, and lets face it, a lot of people can envelope themselves in fire.

But it’s not just the powers. In fact that’s the least of it. I feel the characters personalities have grown pretty tiring. Yeah, we know that Reed is obsessed with work. Yeah we get Sue is basically a pushover but cares for her family. Yeah we get Johnny is cocky and that Ben thinks he’s tough. But the characters have never really grown from these things. They’re really still the same, just throw some marital/family problems in here and there. I just don’t find them interesting at all. Thing’s “it’s clobbering time!” is about as fresh as “Hulk smash!” is anymore and Human Torch’s cockiness is just kind of aggravating.

I know not everyone will disagree with me, but every time I read the Fantastic Four or their characters, I just come away so unimpressed by any of them and hope that each major event is their last.

Secret Invasion so Far

2008-07-07T21:34:00.000-04:00

I make it no secret how much I disliked the past two Marvel universe major events, Biased Political Commentary (Civil War) and Marvel’s Hulk Hard-on (World War Hulk). But as they say, three times a charm. Well, at least so far. Yes, so far I am liking Secret Invasion.

Secret Invasion started off with a bang both literally and figuratively. We’ve already seen the death (maybe) of some well known characters like Dum Dum Dugan, Jarvis, and Hank Pym, and who knows else who. Bendis is keeping this story very interesting and you are left guessing at every turn.

For example we’ll take good old Tony Stark. Spider Woman (who is really the Skrull Queen) told Tony he was really a deep cover agent for the Skrull and that they had to erase his memory to do it. But is it true or not? Is Tony really a Skrull or is the queen merely trying to eliminate the director of Shield who would be one of if not the most rallying characters for Earth’s heroes and armed forces? There are many twists and turns like this but that is one example.

Plus personally I am loving trying to figure out who is a Skrull and not. In Mighty Avengers #13 and #13 end with Nick Fury standing next to a wall with pictures of heroes, some circled in blue, some circled in red but most have no circle. Presumably this is Fury singling out who is a Skrull and who isn’t.

As for the Skrulls gaining access to heroes powers, they seem to go through a process where some organic “sheet” is placed on them, then a green orb releases energy, they say a spiel and they are now in the shape of the hero/heroine they are replacing with their powers. If this can be done more than once than it would explain why a Skrull can have more than one heroes powers. Of course it could also be based on the process in which the original Super Skrull got the powers of the Fantastic Four.

During the third issue the Skrulls said it was a good thing that Thor wasn't around. During the first new issue of Thor it was said he would have a major part in a great conflict, so I definitely think it is Secret Invasion with those two bits of info. With the return of the green Hulk, its also possible that Hulk will play a major role in defeating the Skrulls.

I will say this: the future cover that shows Captain America, Iron and Thor to me is suggesting that we may see a return to a classic Avengers lineup. And with the recent Hulk movie and the upcoming Avengers movie, I think that only suggests that theory.

Again, one question leads to three more, and that’s what is great about it. Issue #4 comes out this week, so we’ll see what twists and turns Bendis has for us.

Iron Man DoS #30

2008-06-29T14:29:00.000-04:00

Iron Man Director of Shield #30 came out this last week and my response is this: blah.

The plot itself was boring, very little actually happening, mostly background story on the new villain who is an expert at miniaturizing weapons. He was an acquaintance of Stark’s in the past and they looked to make weapons together after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Unfortunately the man’s country went into civil war and his wife was killed and himself imprisoned. So now he’s out for revenge, or justice, or whatever.

So very little happens, and IM once again goes in like a special troop squad with the Shield agents with Stark Tech as his backup. When they take out the bad guys HQ some two bit lame villain called Paladin brings Stark a message from his old partner who gives him the rundown on what happened.

And then comes something that pretty much angers every comic book fan of any character. Paladin shoots Stark with some kind of electrical charge that sucks away his armors power and makes it dead weight. And how was it explained? Well in the first part of the issue with the background Stark agreed to give the guy some access to Stark miniaturized technology, which apparently has to do with his Iron Man technology.

So let me get this straight, Stark actually allowed someone access to his armor technology that wasn't a totally trusted friend. Right. But furthermore, this guy probably had access to technology that has nothing to do with Extremis, or even the most recent armors. Yet he was able to figure a counter to it based on old technology. While not totally unfeasible it’s highly unlikely.

So yeah, the issue was pretty much a bore and some two bit villain taking down Stark with a two bit explanation would have ruined it even if it was a good story. All in all, a crappy issue. But at least colorist Dean White didn’t smudge things nearly as much as he normally does. Sadly that was probably the best thing about the issue.

Legacy of Doom #3

2008-06-23T22:15:00.005-04:00

So it dawns on me I forgot to mention my thoughts on Legacy of Doom #3.

Again I am loving this creative team. Frankly, this is the first time in years I feel like I'm reading the real Tony Stark (though to their credit the Knaufs were getting the character back to that place). Dave and Bob have him down so pat its almost scary. Lim's pencils continue with that classic feel and the colors are nice and vibrant. It really feels like we're reading a comic from the 80's.

The plot was good, with Stark needing to use his brains once again to get out of a mess rather than brute force. And to me, Tony saying "I hate magic" never gets old. I also like the insult Tony threw at Doom (don't want to ruin it if you didn't read the book, and shame on you if you're not picking it up).

The issue ends with Stark "donning" the Mystical Armor (posted below for your viewing pleasure), which I have to say is really cool (my only peeve being the pony tail thing on the helmet which I've never liked on any armor, but I digress). Though I must ponder why Excalibur changed Doom's tunic from green to black while the Iron Man armor was completely changed in shape. Maybe I'm just thinking too much.

I have to say I'm disappointed this is only a four issue series and we are coming up on the final one. Its really been a blast from the past in many ways and I look forward to the finale next month.

World War Hulk- A Failure as Big as the Character

2008-06-16T23:22:00.002-04:00

In the past you’ve seen me make some (derogatory) references to the World War Hulk event Marvel had back in 2007. I’ve reviewed Civil War so you could get an impression of my thoughts on that, but I’ve never said my due on World War Hulk. So here is what I think of World War Hulk.

The concept wasn't that bad in general. Hulk has always been one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe, there’s no doubt about that, so it’s not a surprise there would be an event where the heroes would have to stop a rampaging Hulk from destroying everything. Unfortunately, this wasn't really the basis for the event. In fact the reasons behind World War Hulk were outright pathetic. I’m not talking about the story behind it, as in the reason that was given for the Hulk to go want to lay a beating on everyone. I mean what drove the people at Marvel to make the event (the normal making money thing aside of course), and that is this: a bunch of Hulk fanboys needed to get their jollies off on their favorite character beating up on everyone. Yes, I do believe that was the whole point of this event, and let me explain why.

“He’s never been this mad”
This is how the Hulk managed to beat everyone, even the Sentry whose power is pretty much limitless. We all know Hulk gets stronger the madder he gets, it’s been said a million times. But now he’s really, really, really, really mad and so his power is far greater than ever before! Excuse my sarcasm for making a joke out of it but that’s what it is; a joke. Will Tony Stark be able to beat up everyone with his Iron Man armor under the phrase “he’s never been this inventive before” ??? How about Professor Xavier controlling everyone justified by the phrase “he’s never been this focused before” ??? Or how about Speedball beating everyone up because “he’s never gone this fast before” ??? Sounds stupid? Of course it does, because it is. It is really one of the sorriest excuses ever on how somehow has pretty much become invincible and is capable of now beating everyone, even using powers that can destroy a planet.

Hulk was not the good guy
The writers desperately tried to make Hulk look like the good guy. He was the one wronged, he was the one shot into space, he has a right to be mad etc. To a degree he is entitled to these things, but here is the catch: the second you threaten to destroy and entire race in order to seek revenge on five people, you are in no way, shape or form the good guy. You are not entitled to justice or revenge when you announce you are a homicidal maniac. What Hulk did was not a whole lot better than Hitler. Actually, you can say the Hulk is worse than Hitler was.

Did the Illuminati, in particular Stark shoot Hulk into space? Yes, but Stark’s intention was he go to a world where no one else lived and finally be at peace and be left alone, something Hulk has wanted since pretty much his existence. But things went wrong and instead of getting what he always wanted he went to a world where hew as forced to fight, something he had always chosen to do and had no qualms with but now absolutely hated doing so. Again, not that he shouldn’t be pissed he was essentially made a slave, but the fact is someone tried to give him the only thing he ever wanted and instead of trying to look at that, he merely became enraged again. Which brings me to my next point…

Hulk was as mindless and savage as ever
The current Hulk was supposed to be more intelligent than the last. He could actually think and reason, and even had Banner’s personality at his disposal so he retained a level of logic and reason. Of course, this wasn't the case at all.

Instead of thinking that “hey, if they wanted to really kill me wouldn’t they have just flown me into the sun?” Nope. Hulk once again showed his penchant for not thinking at all and only looking to excise his rage onto someone. Is having your wife, your unborn child and friends killed a reason to be enraged? Damn right. But is it right to threaten an entire race in order to get your revenge, essentially becoming far worse than those you seek revenge on and being a far greater evil than what you proclaim they did to you? Not at all. But yet that last part was ignored. It didn’t matter Hulk was ready to kill billions, it only mattered he was wronged and he was right to seek revenge by any means necessary.

And what did he want to do when he got a hold of them? Well fight of course, you know, the thing he didn’t want to do anymore. For someone just looking for peace he always manages to somehow keep fighting.

The Illuminati: big on brains, but apparently not on strategy
The Illuminati are the smartest people on Earth (and the moon in case of Black Bolt) and twist events so that the world is a better and safer place. When something is bigger than just one of them, they ban together to try and find a solution to the problem. That is until the Hulk comes back of course. For some reason the smartest people on Earth didn’t think to ban together to use their separate abilities to stop a rampaging beat they knew was coming. Instead they all tried to take him on one on one. This was nothing more than a pathetic plot device by the writers to have Hulk beat each one up individually. And while that makes for more entertaining, the fact is it’s not how it would have happened. For people that seem hell bent on realism, they sure like to ignore it when it suits their purposes.

Heroes would have never sided with him
Funny how heroes have sworn themselves to protect the lives and welfare of the innocent, yet some of them joined the Hulk in his quest for revenge, something considered to be a petty motive by heroes with strong morals. Yet there were the likes of Hercules and Angel siding with the Hulk and helping him in his quest for a bloodbath. Does anyone see a major flaw in that? That heroes abandoned everything they believed in and sided with a possible mass murderer for the sake of a motive they have always looked down upon? Again, its just horrible writing in a lame attempt to make their character look right.

Final Thoughts
World War Hulk was everything a Hulk fanboy could want: mindless violence with the Hulk and his allies easily beating up on their enemies. It lacked real plot, story and common sense, and I guess in a way that is great for Hulk fanboys as some seem to display the intelligence level of the Hulk himself.

Notice how that word “fanboy” keeps popping up? That’s why instead of referring to it as the official title “World War Hulk” I refer to it as “Marvel’s Hulk Hard-on” because when it boils down to it, that’s all it was. The event was every bit as mindless and poorly thought out as the character it was based on. As much as I dislike Civil War, Millar at least tried to write a real story. This was nothing but sheer bias and a love fest for the Hulk lovers at Marvel.

Thoughts on Invincible Iron Man #2

2008-06-10T20:54:00.003-04:00

With the second issue of the new monthly series out, we get a little more substance to the issue as the first was more of a set up.

To start Iron Man easily takes down the members of AGM and their leader MODOG, who in my opinion was dealt with a bit too easily. In a way it is nice to see Stark handle a foe whos predecessors in the past were major adversaries, in this case MODOK and MODAM, but it just seemed a bit too quick. What I did like about the exchange was that Tony mentioned how he was still using boot jets, and it was hinted that we may be getting a new propulsion system soon. This was actually my favorite part of the book because I felt the boot jets seemed very low tech compared to the rest of the suits features. I think an upgrade to the propulsion system has been needed for some time.

Writer Matt Fraction also seems to have a good grip on Stark through two issues. I am getting vibes of pre-extremis Tony with the writing, him making all his witty comments and retorts. It is also interesting to see Pepper seems to have a thing for Tony once more, but he seems rather oblivious to it. And I still cant help but think that the mention of Bethany Cabe in the first issue is a herald to her return to the series.

The issue ends with Ezekiel Stane introducing himself to Tony and setting off another one of their biological bombs. Personally I like the way this is shape up with the "Iron Man 2.0" thing. Looks like we're going to have a showdown between a Iron Man 1.0 (mechanical) vs Iron Man 2.0 (biological).

And while I dont like the idea of Stane's kid coming back to haunt Tony, Fraction is at least making good use of it, and already you hate the character, and thats a good sign.

Knaufs No More

2008-06-05T21:53:00.002-04:00

So for those that havent heard father and son team Daniel and Charles Knauf will no longer be on the Iron Man: Director of Shield title. No new creative team has been announced but one or two arcs shall have guest teams.

All in all I'm not that upset about this. Dont get me wrong, I'm not calling the Knaufs bad. They have a good grasp of Tony and have written him well, especially undoing a lot of the personality changes that extremis had caused. They were writing Iron Man correctly and partially at a time when he was being kicked around left and right. The problem with the Knaufs were that for the most part, their stories were slow going.

Many issues had a lot of drama and filler, and while some is fine a comic isnt about drama. Many of their arcs I found to be a bit lackluster, and the latest Mandarin arc didnt really pick up until the final issues. Plus it seemed like they wanted to do a lot but just didnt have the pages to do it.

The only thing I am excited about with this move is that there will be a new colorist on board. As I said in my post "A Matter of Color" a few months back, I was very displeased with the dull and drab coloring of the book that really muted the livliness of the story, plus also degraded the quality of art from De La Torra and Guice. It really looked like color was being smugged on and the art suffered greatly because of it.

As much as I hope the new team would be the current team of Michelinie, Layton and Lim on the Legacy of Doom book, or the now de-lurking Kaminski, I'm not really holding out hope. Still we will have to take a wait and see attitude until the new regular team is announced.

Review: Legacy of Doom Issues 1 and 2

2008-05-20T22:17:00.002-04:00

*Note: I've posted two entries today and one yesterday, all reviews for the most recent issues. Please be sure to look at them all.

So the first two issues of Legacy of Doom have been released, and I have one word for them: wow. I love the writing, I love the art, I’m just loving everything about it.

Dave Michelinie and Bob Layton are showing once again why they are some of the best writers in Iron Man’s history, and what a team that is on the same page and who love the character can do. Every character is so spot on with their quirks, dialect and nuances that it’s almost scary.

Ron Lim’s art is again top notch and seeing a more classic style really gives a sense of nostalgia. The colors are vibrant and bring a lot of life to the story, a stark (no pun intended) contrast to the drab, dark and dull colors that seems to becoming more prevalent in today’s comics, including the Director of Shield series.

But enough of my gushing, on to the actual review.

The setup was again Doom playing on a heroes morals, luring Stark into his trap by saying they needed to work together to save many lives, and as a hero Stark couldn’t refuse. Doom got him into Mephisto’s realm where he traded Stark for a shard of Excalibur: King Arthur’s ancient sword. As Iron Man tries to activate the return signal to go back to the real world, Doom reveals the one he gave Stark didn’t have the right signal, trapping him there.

As Iron Man battled Mephisto’s minions, Mephisto grew tired of it an unleashed a robot made with Stark tech and Howard Stark’s personality. The construct started again telling Tony how weak he was and what a failure he was in his father’s eyes. Stark realized that it was a fake, and was able to destroy it. Knowing he needed to fix the transmitter Doom gave him, he used the Stark tech from the robot to create a force field around himself while he worked. He succeeded and as he came back to Doom’s castle, he found that Doom now possessed Excalibur, and that the sword could cut through his armor with no problem. Stark had planned to duke it out with Doom, but not while Doom had that kind of power at his disposal.

And so ended the second issue which, like a good comic, left us not wanting to wait for the next issue to come out. Two issues in and I’m finding myself I am actually upset this is only a limited series being done by this crew. No offense to the Knaufs or De LA Torre, but Michelinie, Layton and Lim have created a depiction and story that is truly the best Iron Man in many years.

Review: Viva Las Vegas #1

2008-05-20T21:48:00.001-04:00

On the heels of the movie we were treated by the Jon Favreau written and Adi Granov illustrated Viva Las Vegas miniseries first issue. The issue went fast. I mean really fast. I’m a slow reader and try and soak in the art, and it seemed like it only took a few minutes. But that doesn’t mean it was bad.

Favreau definitely seems to understand the character as again yet again it felt like it was old school Stark we were seeing, cracking the quick jokes and being carefree. Of course there was the gratuitous ladies thrown in, and it was an interesting twist they were after Iron Man and not Stark.

So far there isn’t much revealed about the enemy, other than an ancient Asian spirit that will be a dragon. So far all we’ve seen is a giant skeleton (I think its metal) of a dragon that has attracted lizards to Vegas and overrun the city as the largest Vegas casino is about to open.

And that was really it. It started off with a bit of a bang as Stark thwarted a terrorist on a plane, but that again went very quick.

The pace of the issue hurt it more than anything. With only three issues to go I am a bit worried not a lot is going to happen in this series, but the set up seems to be out of the way. The issue wasn't bad, but definitely lacked substance, so hopefully the following issues will be better.

The Invincible Iron Man: 1st Issue Review

2008-05-19T20:34:00.001-04:00

So we were treated earlier with the first issue of the second monthly Iron Man title “The Invincible Iron Man” (the title of the original comic before it became the “Director of Shield” but I digress).

The story was ok, but that’s the case with many first issues. We’re introduced to Ezekiel Stane, son of former Stark rival Obadiah Stane, who like his father is a rather evil and cunning, but also seems to have the intelligence of Stark, something his father didn’t have. He has been able to alter his body so that its primary functions use far less energy than normal, which allows him to use that extra energy to enhance his own body, including releasing energy from his fingers through some kind of device.

At the same time terrorist bombings in Africa draw Starks attention as he believes they may be his own technology again being used for evil, and we all remember how the armor wars turned out…Further investigation revealed that it was Stark tech, but some new biotech, possibly something more advanced than the Iron Man armor which Stark referred to as “Iron Man 2.0” indicated he thinks it is the next step in Iron Man technology.

Also while investigating Shield comes across a splinter group of AIM called AIG: Advanced Ideas Genocide, so you can pretty much get the gist of what they’re about. It’s been revealed through previews that they have their own version of MODOK called MODOG, where the “G” stands for, yes, Genocide. So we’ll be seeing another battle in the near future.

The art I felt was good. Larocca delivered some good angles and clear battles and if you’ve seen his art in the past is something you would come to expect. Unfortunately just like the DOS title, the art is dragged down by the drab colors that at times actually make the art look two dimensional and in one or two frames cartoony. I was very disappointed in that aspect.

Odd was that Larocca drew the War Machine armor like Rhodey’s original one, not the current model. Also when Stark first started entertaining the thought of his tech being stolen he brought up a holographic display of his armors and the villains who wore armor. It showed the War Machine, but it was the original Tony wore without the unibeam. I’m not sure if that was a mistake on Larocca’s part or merely an easter egg though.

All in all the issue was average, but like I said it was the first issue. With a new MODOK on the way, and possibly a biotech Iron Man villain on the way the series looks like it has a good direction. But as they say, only time will tell.

Iron Man: Box Office Smash

2008-05-17T20:29:00.003-04:00

In it's first two weeks out, Iron Man made over $150 million in just the US alone and was the top grossing movie both weekends. That's expecting not to be the case with the new Narnia movie coming out, but I have to say that it's nice to see the movie lived up to the hype in terms of performance and critiquing. Sure it took a dozen years or so to finally get it done, but good things come to those that wait. I'm also sure long time Iron Man fans going to see it one, two or eight times helped out, but who's counting?

It was really no surprise then that Marvel officially announced Iron Man 2 after the first weekend along with a host of other movies, inlcuding the Avengers which will also feature Iron Man.

I still remember when the footage from the San Diego comicon leaked onto the web. Favreau seemed a bit nervous presenting a movie that had had so much turmoil in getting it made, switching writers and directors numerous times. Then after the preview finished the audience erupted, and so began the massive hype of the movie. But what I actually remember most is the looks on Favreau's and Howard's faces once the crowd went into an uproar: they were genuinely surprised and happy of how the fans reacted. It was kind of a "wow, we're part of something big here" look, and they were.

So the movie will probably continue to do good for another few weeks, then have good DVD sales. I honestly think the second movie will do better as now that the origin and background have all been taken care of, it will leave more room for action and the like. I'd say I cant wait for it, but since I waited a dozen years for the first, I don't think I will have that much of a problem.

Favorite Villains

2008-05-12T19:07:00.008-04:00

So a few weeks ago I did the best Iron Man villains, and I’ve decided to somewhat of a follow up by listing my favorite (not the best) Marvel villains. I admit, they may not be the greatest but they are the ones I like the most. So, in no particular order, here are my favorite Marvel Universe villains.

Venom

The original Venom that is; the one where Eddie Brock was driven by revenge and he was a sociopath and completely deranged killer. Not the “lethal protector” or the anti-hero incarnations that really watered down the character. The original Venom was great, a true force to be reckoned with and not just for Spiderman, the one with the huge mouth, gnarling teeth and a roided out appearance. When he was turned into a hero he justified everything he did as heroic and kept telling himself he was really a hero. All he was is a shadow of the real character. Alas, even with a new villainous Venom, it just isn’t the same.

Omega Red

Personality wise there is nothing so great about Omega Red. Sadistic killer, no remorse, standard psychopathic villain. But his design and his powers I think are absolutely great. His death aura and carbonadium tendrils are interesting weapons at his disposal, and he definitely uses both to good use. Coming from the cold war has become a bit nostalgic for us anymore too, a reminder of an era past.

Dr. Doom

Doom always haws an ulterior motive for his actions and despite knowing this he is able to convince the heroes to bring him along or fall into his trap time and time again. His intellect and cunning is surpassed only by a few and his lust for power insatiable. He has a grasp on both technology and magic, a rare mix for any character. Plus unlike many other villains Doom is very calm and collected and has a wit and threatening tone about him that is more fearful than the villains who boast their powers.

Magneto

Magneto is a perfect example of what happens when a man with power is supremely driven. Hell bent on his quest of ascending mutant kind he returns again and again, and though he may preach a new cause it all boils down to the same thing, with the same result: Magneto feeling provoked and attacking. Though his actions may be repetitive, seeing someone with such power is always awe striking especially since he has the will to use it. That is a big reason he has lasted so long: Magneto never ceases to amaze.

Thanos

Thanos is one of the most powerful characters and he displays it time and time again. Driven by the concept of death he hatches scheme after scheme that takes multiple heroes to stop. But his character isn’t that shallow. He was always smart enough to see when greater dangers arose and he needed to ally himself with his enemies. In addition Thanos has evolved over time. At one point he was a murderer with only selfish intentions, and while he is still driven for his own reasons, it’s really not a lot different from anyone else. Every time we see him he seems to have a new outlook and you can expect something different so his character stays refreshing.

Go See Iron Man

2008-05-05T20:40:00.002-04:00

If the title of the post didn’t give it away you know I am going to say this movie is good. It definitely lived up to the hype and a hundred million over the weekend suggested that many others agree. And to think, it all started with a few minute clip Favreau showed at the San Diego Comicon. But enough of that, on the review.

Acting
I admit, I am not a fan of Robert Downey Jr. I’ve felt in many of his roles he portray the character the same way, same tone, quirks and all. But I have to say he did a very good job with Stark. His portrayal was very believable and I truly felt like I was watching the comic book character in the flesh. Kudos to RDJ for nailing it.

Jeff Daniels did a good job as Stane also, pulling of the sly, manipulative and greedy persona. Though there wasn't nearly enough time to play out the character like in the comics I thought there was enough that the relation was there.

Paltrow did a good performance with Potts and her chemistry with RDJ was noticeably good. Though maybe a bit more stern and perky than I pictured Potts, I liked the character.

Howard did a good job with Rhodey, but I felt the character was written wrong. He seemed like a pushover at times, just taking whatever Stark dished out at him, and Howard’s soft voice added to that, though I digress that I was used to the gruff tone of the 90’s cartoons that Rhodey had. I don’t blame Howard for Rhodey being a bit of a lame duck so to speak, but the character was definitely lacking the grit and intensity Rhodey has.

Plot
The first half hour was basically the set up and origin, but it was entertaining enough that at no point where you impatiently wanting the movie to move along. The origin was a bit different, but along the comics enough that at no point would you shake your head knowing the true origin.

The action was good, and there was enough to keep the movie interesting. Seeing the suit be built by Stark and him doing the various tests was entertaining and you were genuinely intrigued by it.

The movie was much more humorous than the other non-comedic comic movies, Starks witty one liners prevalent in that along with a few other things that I won’t tell you since I will keep this spoiler free.

The Suit
It was awesome. Even after all the previews, all the pictures and videos, it was still awesome even in the clips we had already seen. At no point did it look fake, but seeing all the moving parts was a bit strange, but that was to be expecting since we wouldn’t see much of it in the comics. It looked real, acted real and was believable in its construction. And frankly, I thought it looked a lot better than the current extremis armor. In combat or in flight you truly got a feel for how powerful the suit was.

All in all the movie was very good, and there were hints at the sequel which again, I won’t be giving away at all, but you’ll like it. The characters were true to the comic and the performances good, and the action while not constant was entertaining. If you haven't already seen it, once, twice or five times like others have, make time to.

No Update Today, Sorry : /

2008-04-28T21:25:00.003-04:00

I started a new job earlier this month and gone out of town a few times so it has really messed with my schedule, so I apologize for not getting a real update in this week. There is a very good chance I will be seeing the Iron Man movie this Friday, so if that happens I will have a review posted next Monday, promise.

Armor Design

2008-04-21T21:43:00.003-04:00

Since I was out of town most of last week I didnt get a chance to get a good entry in, so I'm going to post an armor design I did about seven or eight years ago.

For lack of a better name, we'll just call it the Chaos armor. As you can tell at first glance it was influenced by the Heroes Reborn Prometheum armor with the smoke stacks and the leg attachments and also the modular armor with the more streamlined look and lack of mouth. Though it may look like I went purely for aesthetics, the big parts do have functions.

The armor is meant to be modular, able to swap out systems like boots and gauntlets, plus the shoulder armor and back pack could be removed for different units.

The leg attachments as you can see have straps to hold them on, they are actually battery units for extra power. Think of them as bigger versions of the disks the Classic armor had on the hips. They were completely optional and could be discarded with ease.

Much the same manner was the backpack, which was also a power generator and had its own thrusters for extra speed.

The shoulders (whose design actually came form the Wing Zero Gundam mecha) are three separate thermocouple units for extra energy conversion. While in flight the two lower segments lift up into the top one for greater aerodynamic stability.

The uni-beam, well that was pure aesthetics there. I was going for something different and thought the straps would look good there. The gauntlets have overhangs above the hands and elbows for protection, plus giving en elbow would hurt a lot more with that thing.

But yeah, that's an old design I came up with but always liked. Not every one's cup of tea I know, and admittedly I would do some things different now, but all in all I am proud of the design.

Best Iron Man villains

2008-04-14T20:55:00.005-04:00

Just like every other hero, Iron Man has his share of villains, some one shot guys and some who have been around as long as he has. Of course some stick out more than others, and to no surprise they last the longest because they tend to be the most original and interesting. So which do I feel these are? Well, I give you what I believe to be Iron Man’s best villains.

5) Crimson Dynamo

I wanted to put him as the first because the Dynamo always represented Tony if he was born in Russia, plus at the time with the Cold War that meant a lot more. It was two men whose only real difference was that they grew up on the other side of the world. Unfortunately the problem with the Dynamo was the guy in the armor kept changing, so it became more a suit than anything. I guess you can call it the Tin Man: the character lacked a heart. His latest appearance was little more than a joke, wearing armor like the original and getting beat with no real effort. The Dynamo really needs to get an established wearer so it can be used to full potential. Still he has managed to continually be interesting, so he makes the list.

4) Justin Hammer

Tony with no morals is probably a good way to explain Hammer. He was driven by money and power and didn’t care who he stepped on to get it. Of course, he didn’t get where he was by being stupid and every time he looked down for good something he did in the past blew up in Tony’s face and he was back in it. Until that whole Bad Blood thing, but of course in comics, is anyone ever truly dead?

3) Titanium Man

The T-Man always represented a bit of a step up from Iron Man, a David vs Goliath if you will. Plus he represented somewhat of a great fear at the time: an unstoppable Russian weapon. He was loyal to a fault and would never give up. Even after Tony had upgraded his armor multiple times, the T-Man was still a match in the same armor he wore. It says something when after beating the T-Man with the classic armor, the far superior Modular armor was having trouble taking him down. It shows how powerful the Titanium Man truly was, and it was only death that really stopped him.

2) Obadiah Stane (Iron Monger)

Stane was Tony’s most crafty and intelligent enemy, and in ways actually smarter than him. Stane avoided direct conflict seeking instead to stay behind the scenes and ruin Tony emotionally, taking away his company and driving him to alcoholism. Tony was at his worst when Stane wanted him. But in the end Stane underestimated Tony, thinking Tony was broken for good and he had won, Stark came back with the Silver Centurion armor and not only outfought Stane in his Iron Monger but out-thought him. Everything Stane threw at him Tony waded through with little problem. Unwilling to give Tony the final victory Stane took his own life. Of all the Iron man villains, none have ever managed to make Tony steep so low.

1) Mandarin

It’s really hard to put Mandarin anywhere but the top spot. Not only is he the most intriguing, but he is the only villain who continually evolves. After every battle the Mandarin comes back with a changed philosophy and strategy, and sometimes new powers. He has done everything from creating his own armor to trying to control Fing Fang Foom and Ultimo. He always has a new scheme vastly different from the last, and he has the intelligence to use his supreme powers. The only thing I don’t like is that he is almost always been physically frail, so the battle between him and Iron Man is usually the Mandarin dodging repulsors. But still, what the Mandarin brings more than offsets that. Intelligent, resourceful and driven the Mandarin time and again has proven to be Stark’s greatest enemy.

Review: Age of Apocalypse

2008-04-07T22:17:00.002-04:00

I’ve decided to take the time to review one of the major alternate realities in the Marvel Universe: The Age of Apocalypse. For those that don’t know this was an alternate timeline created within the mainstream Marvel Universe by the death Charles Xavier (this alternate timeline was portrayed in the regular monthly titles). An attempt to kill Magneto in the past to prevent him from being a mutant terrorist is disrupted when Xavier jumps in to save him, dying in his place. Mutants are not as unified by Xavier’s ideals and the rift between mutants and humans grows which Apocalypse takes full advantage of, resulting in his conquering of the United States in a dark and apocalyptic (no pun intended) setting where humans are slaughtered like cattle and Europe is the only free place for humans left after the destruction of much of the rest of the world.

What I liked most is really how dark this series was. More graphic and realistic in the sense that no one was safe, anyone could dies and heroes didn’t always win, AoA as it is referred to had a completely different feel to it than mainstream Marvel. There were few happy moments, even in victories and everyone was constantly divided not only with others but with themselves. The feeling at times is a bit akin to the Terminator future: dark, desolate and violent with only glimmers of hope where war is constant.

Also many characters were flip flopped, such as Cyclops and Havok both being agents of Apocalypse and Magneto being the last thing standing in front of Apocalypse’s rule of the Earth. It was interesting to see such established characters in a new light, and what it would be like if someone like Magneto was a force of good rather than evil. It’s really something us as readers always wondered: “what if this character was on the other side” and this series answers some of those. Though you could normally see hints of the characters regular personas for the most part the characters were a fair amount different not only because they had switched allegiances, but also because the world they lived in was so much harsher (a bit of a spoiler, do we honestly ever think Night Crawler would deliver a killing blow to a bad guy with no remorse?).

The art too I thought was very good. Led by artists like Ian Churchill, Steve Epting, Salvador Larrocca and Adam and Andy Kubert just to name some, I would say the art was all in all fantastic for the series. I know we all have our own tastes and not everyone can be impressed, but all things considered I can’t see people not liking the art. If you're a fan of detail heavy art, this is definitely for you.

The one thing I didn’t like about this series was the end. What happened wasn’t bad, but how fast it happened was. It seemed like all of a sudden things came to a head all too quick and people started dying left and right. It really should have been drawn out over another month at least to really get a good fulfilling ending in. This was also a bit of a problem for the whole series. It jumped around a lot, often months or sometimes years passing between issues. Though I realize they didn’t want to drag this on forever, at points you really feel gypped of a good story.

All in all this was a very good series. It is more adult oriented and mature and the writers get the despair and darkness of the world across very good. I picked up the series in the four volume trade paper backs and thoroughly enjoyed everyone, included the special “Chosen” issue where you see Apocalypse’s profiles on the more prominent characters of the series. If you got some spare cash (about $25 US for each) I suggest this series.

No Update Next Week

2008-03-26T21:52:00.001-04:00

I will be out of town with no computer access so there will be no update next Monday. New update will resume on April 7.

Armor Designations

2008-03-24T21:01:00.001-04:00

It seems Marvel and every fan site out there has their own list of armor designations most of which vary (Ironically, Marvel’s list is easily the most inaccurate I have seen). Granted this is to be expected since everyone will have their own opinion, but regardless I am going to take a stab at it. Feel free to let me know of any disagreements you may have.

My criteria for a new model is based upon how much the suit changes in terms of both aesthetic appearance and functionality. Luckily these tend to go hand in hand so it makes things rather easy. Also, specialty armors are not included in this at all as they have their own category.

Model I Mark I Grey Armor
Model I Mark II Gold Armor
Model I Mark III Grey Armor the armor Stark sued to take down Rhodey before the Silver Centurion armor. While it did have some improvements, it is essentially the same as the Grey and I don’t think it should get another model designation.

Model II Mark I 1st Red and Gold
Model III Mark I 2nd Red and Gold (rivets around the faceplate)
Model III Mark II R&G
Model III Mark III R&G with nose
Model III Mark IV for Rhodes

Model IV Mark I Silver Centurion

Model V Mark I Neo Classic/ new Red and Gold
Model V Mark II Romita Jr. rendition. Aesthetic changes but exhibits the same power and weapons.

Model VI Mark I War Machine. Though could be a specialty, since Rhodes wore it for a time it is mainstream
Model VI Mark II War Machine Rhodes

Model VII Mark I Teleprescence armor

Model VIII Mark I Modular Armor

Model IX Mark I Retro Classic/ The Crossing Armor

Model X *Prototype* Teen Tony Armor under construction
Model X Mark I completed and refined version
Model X Mark II The final issues leading up to Onslaught and Reborn

Model IX *Protype* Red and Silver Prometheum worn by Rebel
Model XI Mark I Heroes Reborn/ Prometheum Armor

Model XII Mark I Heroes Return/Renaissance Armor
Model XII Mark II Sentient Armor
Model XII Mark III Safe armor

Model XIII *Prototype* SKIN armor Model XIII Mark I SKIN armor
Model XIV Mark I Grell Armor/ Tin Man armor
Model XIV Mark II removes the tubing from sides and legs for streamlined look
Model XIV Mark III becomes a much more heavily plated and layered design, helmet changes via Jorge Lucas design
Model XIV Mark IV streamlined Adi Granov version

Model XV Mark I Extremis Armor

What's Wrong with Comics Today

2008-03-17T11:42:00.011-04:00

It seems more and more comic book readers are commenting that the books were better years ago, though that is quite a broad time frame since readers ages are all over the place and they could be referring to any decade. But that doesn’t mean that the underlying problems of comics today are any different. There are many complaints these days, many of the same complaints as to why comics are suffering in their quality. I am going to try and break down what I believe are the primary problems that face the industry today, focusing on a sheer quality point of view, not a business point of view. That’s a whole other matter.

Fantasy No More
Fantasy was the basis of comics and their characters. We read them to see what fantastic and obviously unrealistic powers and adventures the characters would have. It was a break from the real world. But that’s gone. Now everything needs a real world scientific explanation. Now things need to based on actual science and technology, civilian and government reactions. You can’t just step in some ooze and be transformed anymore. Now the ooze has to be made up of such and such chemicals which affects the DNA so and so yadda yadda yadda. The fantasy, and hence imagination, is gone.

And I want to know why SHIELD is using F-15’s and F-16’s as their main fighters? Not only are these real world jets far inferior to what SHIELD has used in the past, but they aren’t even the most advanced jets in the world today, being outclassed by the likes of the F-22 Raptor, Eurofighter Typhoon and Su-37 Berkhut. And speaking of SHIELD, they’re now little more than a UN peace keeping force. Gone is their real autonomy and proactive methods, rather they sit by and wait for word on what they can do. They’re run purely by politics, nothing more.

So if everything is run by realistic explanations and reactions, where does that leave room fantasy? It doesn’t leave a whole lot. Everything needs to be rooted in something real anymore, it can’t be a flight of fancy which is one of the main reasons people read comics to begin with.

Politics
A little politics is ok, like Senator Kelly in X-Men, when they play a pivotal role in plot, but they aren’t the plot nor does the story delve into more than the concept he was pushing. Now, it’s all about politics. We have to see what the senators or whoever are doing, time wasted on them talking to their aids and accomplices. Focus of stories are on something the government or a political figure is doing. It’s ridiculous. If I want to hear about politics, I’ll pick up a damn paper or political journal. I don’t spend money on comics just to have pictures with my politics. Plus, the writers are almost always biased and their writing shows it, making it even worse. Read Civil War and you will clearly see Millar drive the story to who he believes is right.

Retconning
Retroactive Continuity. The fans absolutely dread this concept but writers love it. Why the latter? Because it lets them be lazy. The writer can save the time of reading back issues and actually getting to know the character by merely changing them and their history at their whim. Marvel is such a convoluted mess right now there is no real history. Every new writer on the book wipes out what the last did so he can do his own thing and not work around it. The likes of Mark Millar and Warren Ellis are notorious for this (and the above mentioned politics also) and yet they are heralded as some of the current great writers. It’s quite sad really.

Some fans say “well as long as the story is good I don’t mind a retcon.” Here’s the problem with that line of thinking: in a few months, that story wont be the same story. It will be changed to suit the purpose of the current arc. Plus, good writers always pay attention to what was done in the past. You don’t see history writers saying how in World War II the Americans just kicked everyone’s ass with little problem because it sounds better do you? Well, that rewriting is exactly what writers are doing today.

Half of the interest of new arcs was seeing how it would be affected by the last. In other words we looked forward to the repercussions of the events and the decisions made. Now things are just changed or ignored because it’s easier. There is no creativity in the matter, just cop-outs.

I’ve created a simple graph that shows what a progression of a book should look like if continuity is followed. For the sake of ease, we’ll call the graph’s “Old Story Structure” to represent how things should be done, and “New Story Structure” to represent how things are currently done. At the center of each lies the origin of the character, normally the first arc of their series, which is followed by subsequent arcs. Each arc is built upon the other, expanding on what the character has done while using those past experiences. Each colored circle pertains to a new arc.

The current story structure though works a bit different with the retconning that happens on a regular basis. As each new arc happens a previous is ignored or changed so that it can fall in line with the current arc, effectively changing the story. That essentially makes every arc a complete new history for the character. Eventually though this divulges so much from what originally happened that the origin, the center of the character itself is changed to fall in line with what is being done. The more arcs that occur the less concise and firm each new one will seem until every arc is practically an alternate dimension in itself. (the graph is suppsoed to enlarge when you click on it, but is refusing to do so in order to see the comments you will need to click the link below. I apologize for the inconvenience).
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-10/866439/StoryStructureRevised.JPG

No Longer a World of its Own
The Marvel Universe is slowly mixing with our own. Current politics, global issues, wars etc. are all finding their way into comics almost as quick as they happen. But Marvel comics aren’t about what happens in our world, it’s about what happens in Marvel’s world.

A good point of this is Civil War. The idea of someone keeping track of super powered beings running around in tights has been around a long time, but it was ignored for a reason: that’s not how the Marvel Universe works. Civil War is a saga about what OUR world would do if we had super powered beings, not what the MARVEL world would do. There is too much emphasis on how our world would react to such things rather than how Marvel’s would.

I don’t mind having historic events like major wars or something referred to, but using them as a milestone is trouble. Iron Man’s origin was in the Vietnam War. It would eventually need to be changed since the war took place before his character was born given his look and demeanor. In the volume 4 reboot it was changed it to Afghanistan because that’s who the USA was fighting at the time. So what happens a few decades down the line when that’s too far in the past? New origin of course! The writers and editors made the same mistake that was made before. All that was needed was to have the time not be during the Vietnam War, it could have just been in Vietnam at an unspecified time. It’s idiotic mistakes like this that continue to hurt Marvel.

Joe Quesada
That’s right, the Marvel Editor in Chief himself. Why? Because Joe Q has facilitated all this under his reign of terror (or error, either is really fitting). In addition to allowing all the retconning, promoting the writer ahead of the story and letting writers do whatever they want, he has thrown any kind of schedule out the window. Artists are consistently late meeting their deadlines because Joe Q himself can’t make his own deadlines. Books that used to come out every month are getting pushed back more and more because he refuses to hold artists or writers accountable because he can’t hold himself accountable. I’m not sure whether that is more selfish or unprofessional.

In addition he wants things done based on what he likes, not what is the best. The current example of this is Spiderman’s Brand New Day arc. Joe Q said he never liked the idea of Parker getting married, so what does he do? Create an out of character premise of Peter making a deal with Mephisto to save Aunt May at the expense of his marriage. Peter would never make a deal with Mephisto, and he’s logical enough to figure out not to undo his marriage to save his quite elderly aunt. But now Joe Q has retconned more than two decades of stories because he never liked the concept. Talk about abuse of power.

And this will only continue to get worse. Marvel is bad now, but wait a few more years of this stuff. Hell, we’ll probably find out it wasn’t Stark who fired the satellites to stop the Hulk but Galactus instead because the Hulk became a threat to him. The Captain America killed was really Bucky all this time and Winter Soldier was the real Captain America? Of course it could work! Peter Parker is actually the love child of Magneto and Enchantress and he had his powers since birth? Brilliant!

As ridiculous as these things sound, you cannot rule them out because Joe Q seems to love outlandish things like this for shock value, whether or not it makes sense or is a good or interesting idea. But shock value means little when the story isn’t any good (kind of like M. Night Shyamalan movies). That leads us to the next part.

Epic and Shock Value is More Important than the Story
You’re probably wondering what I mean by this. Well doesn’t it seem every other arc in every book is supposed to be a defining and epic moment in the character’s history? That when it’s through everything about the character will be different? The infamous “nothing will ever be the same again” tagline being used once again? Writers keep going for something massive, meaningful and with long lasting repercussions just to wow people, but there are some problems with that. First is wow factor’s aren’t any good if the story suffers when it’s only written as a lead up to the end (again, I reference M. Night Shyamalan who forgoes the rest of the movie to get a big twist in at the end). It’s not that twists or wow’s are bad, but when that’s the whole point of the story and everything before it is filler, than the whole is useless.

Second is that it happens way too often. I mean honestly, I can’t keep track of each new “life-defining event with repercussions for all mutants” arc in the X-Men titles because it’s one after the other. By now it’s just lost its flare. Same goes for the Marvel wide events. Civil War was considered a bore by many, World War Hulk was just Hulk fanboys (who sadly are in charge at Marvel) getting their jollies off on the Hulk beating everyone up with the excuse for him being unbeatable “he’s never been this mad” (rolls eyes). Now the Secret Invasion is coming and the excitement for it doesn’t seem nearly as big as the others. This is what happens when you do them consecutively. I like the big crossovers, but not every year. There is a reason the old editors put extended times between them: they knew it would be bigger if there was time between events. Doing them year after year takes away from the luster. Yes, they sell well, but when you care only about the book selling on not how good it is, you’ve lost your way.

So now nearly every month we’re told the story for such and such character will change them forever. (Yawn). I hear that every arc now, it doesn’t grab my attention. It’s getting to the point of a broken record really.

Definitive Arcs
Notice how just about every arc in Marvel is always six issues? Part of the reason for that is to make it east for a trade paper back to be released, but it is putting a stranglehold on the writers. Not every arc needs to be a set length. Some arcs are better fit for fewer issues, some for more. This means the writers now have to tailor the arc to be six issues so the story will now either feel drawn out or too short. This has happened many times and frankly is a waste. If the arc doesn’t require six issues, there are better things to write about. If an arc needs more than six issues, don’t cut out chunks that need to be there. A well written story is worth more than ease to make a trade paper back. And to be frank, I feel like I am being screwed out of a proper ending when the latter happens. It’s anti-climatic.

Too Much Leeway for Artists
I used to draw myself, and every artist has their own style, but the problem is when they are allowed too much interpretation that things start to get icky. By this I mean how much different characters are drawn from book to book. Like I said, artist style will account for a part of this, so there is going to be iterations. But when characters start looking significantly different from book to book it becomes a problem. Case in point: Iron Man. He is possibly the most non-universally dawn character out there, and the armor looks like a different model in each book. It’s a bit much. There needs to be a basic design that everyone follows so the armor looks close to the same. While not as big a problem as other things I have mentioned, some better consistency would be nice. I’ve created a composite picture below so you can see what I’m talking about. For the full size image please click this link:

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-10/866439/IMComposite.JPG

The Writer is More Important than the Product
Nowadays it seems that anyone who creates one good arc, or has made a name for themselves in the past becomes an authority on story telling and is allowed to do whatever they want. They can change the character, they’re history, anything really and it is allowed because of who they are. How often does Marvel play up the names like Warren Ellis, Mark Millar, Brian Michael Bendis, Orson Scott Card, J. Michael Straczynski etc. rather than the name of the book itself? On the Ultimate Iron Man hard cover trade paper back, in big gold letters is Orson Scott Card, taking up over half the cover and in a bigger font the character name / book title (thanks to Roger A. Ott II for pointing that tidbit out).

As I mentioned, many writers now are given the freedom to do what they want, the editors don’t really do any editing on their end. They pretty much give the name writers a thumbs up as if anything they turn in is gold because the writers can do no wrong. Never are they held accountable for a bad story, and Marvel finds excuses as to why people didn’t like them. Marvel editors need to man up and tell these guys not everything they write is good, and they need to strop screwing with everything just because it’s easier for them. Of course when you have an Editor like Joe Quesada who undoes two decades of Spiderman continuity because he personally didn’t like the idea of Spiderman being married, you can’t expect that to happen.

I can understand promoting a creative team, but not more so than the book itself. How often during the past Marvel-wide events have we heard “So and so writes this epic tale” or “this even brought to you by so and so”? It has become more important to promote the writer than the book, and that’s not good.

Final Thoughts
Now, I don’t want to come off as acting like as comics are bad right now. There are some good stories and writers out there, but the problem is it’s all becoming a convoluted mess. There are too many big changes, big events, Earth shattering revelations and the like going on. Civil War was barely over then World War Hulk started, and just as everything recovered the Secret Invasion is launching, and that doesn’t include event like Annihilation, Brand New Day and whatever the huge X-Men event is this month. There’s retconning left and right, politics are a main focus and realism is more important than interest. Much of Marvel’s big selling points are the big events, all the side issues involved and in general things being rammed down people’s throats. It’s a perfect case of quantity over quality.

The Movie' Possible Effects on the Comics

2008-03-11T07:57:00.001-04:00

With the upcoming Iron Man film, and from the buzz it’s impending success, there is bound to be some carry over from the film to the comics, especially if it is a hit. A primary reason for this is that the movie will draw in new fans that will know only what they saw in the movie, so to facilitate this crowd Marvel will more than likely let the movie influence the books as was the case with X-Men, Fantastic Four and Spiderman. How much will remain to be seen, but I think it is safe to assume that it will happen. In this article I will take a look at the different aspects of the comic that could be affected by the feature film.

The Armor

The armor is an obvious target for adjustment, but I think we know the changes won’t be major. For those that don’t know, Adi Granov, who designed the current Extremis armor, helped design the movie armor. As they are very similar, the majority of the difference residing in the helmet, gauntlets and boots since there are limits to what can be done for a wearable armor, unlike when you just draw it. I think you will see some of these aspects leak over so when new fans pick up the book they will see something similar. My guess is the helmets and boots will be the most affected, a little more bulky and less streamlined than before (and hopefully those two toe things on the boot will be gone, what are those anyways?)

Because the armor is so similar though, I don’t think it will be affected that greatly, but some changes will happen.

The Supporting Cast

Right now Iron Man’s supporting cast comprises mostly of Dum Dum Dugan, but the movie has the expected supporting cast of Rhodey and Pepper. As these were two of the more popular supporting characters throughout Iron Man’s history, I don’t think writers will have any problem with bringing them back. Pepper normally plays a role that doesn’t interfere too much with Iron Man going after the bad guys, rather supporting executive Tony more.

Pepper has been playing a more moral support role, and a secretary is always easy to add back in. She has made an appearance during the Civil War arc when she asked Tony to pull the plug on Happy’s life support. I think we will be seeing Pepper back for a regular role.

Rhodey always has his hands in both Tony and Iron Man’s affairs, and probably the best aspect of his character is that he always manages to take care of himself no matter the situation. Rhodey has been playing a supporting role in Marvel’s The Initiative, so he is already around, and with his own armor, and judging from an upcoming Initiative cover we will get to see him duke it out with Iron Man. While he may not be back in every issue, I think you can expect to see him pop up rather frequently as a recurring guest. If the Initiative comes to an end, which is very well possible with the upcoming Secret Invasion event, we could see Rhodey back in the pages of Iron Man as a supporting character once more.

Obadiah Stane will be the antagonist for the film. Last we saw in volume 1 issue 200, he took a rpeulsor to his head. I don’t think he’s coming back.

Extremis

One thing the movie wont have is Extremis, so that begs the question: will this be the end of Extremis for Tony Stark? While I’m sure many of us (myself included) are hoping this foul creation (does Warren Ellis ever think things out?) will be done away with prompting from the movie, Marvel has done quite a bit to pump up his newfound abilities from the nanotech virus, making it a key aspect of many of his recent victories, including tapping into satellites to end the Hulk’s rampage in World War Hulk.

But when new fans see this, they are going to be a bit perplexed as to what it is, what it does, and why in God’s name does the lower layer of the suit come out of his skin. Already it seems that the Knaufs are sowing the seeds of Extremis demise, and it may be in anticipation of the movie, or that Marvel actually listened to Iron Man fans who said it ruins the character, but I think I am going to go with the former.

New Iron Man Trailer

2008-03-03T12:07:00.001-05:00

Last week on Lost a new trailer for the Iron Man movie was released. Before this trailer there was some growing skepticism about the amount of action that would be in the movie. Much of what we had seen in the previous two or three trailers contained much plot with character development, background story and creation of the armors. If you pay enough attention to how movies play out based on their trailers, things were starting to point to a lot of story with not a lot of action.

With the release of the new trailer though, there seems to be quite a bit action that will be involved. We knew there was a battle when Stark escapes his captors, and the inevitable end battle between Iron Man and Iron Monger, so it was really the parts in between that were a question. With a recent showing of IM destroying a tank with a missile, and the tests of the Mark II things point to action in the middle segments of the movie.

As for the trailer itself it was a thing of beauty. Containing scenes mostly not seen yet we saw more about the testing of the suits plus some other glimpses of the armory. It was quite impressive to say the least, and the CGI was looking good.

Some of the excitement for the movie was seeming to die down, but this new trailer really got people pumped up again. We’ve got less than two months until we get the movie e have patiently waited a decade for. I’m sure I’m not the only one who cant wait until its release.

A Matter of Color

2008-02-25T11:24:00.000-05:00

We all have our likes and dislikes when it comes to art and comics are no different. Some like pastels while some like neon. Some like highly detailed styles while some like plain. Now I have no problem with people not liking the same as me, to each his own, but I have to say right now I am really disliking the coloring on the Iron Man DOS series.

Roberto De La Torre and Butch Guice have done the majority of the art since Patrick Zircher left, and I like their work. The only problem is their work looks better in black and white than color. Much better, and that shouldn’t be the case ever. Both have pretty good details, angles and know how to use shading. However, the drab colors that Dean White uses just kills the excitement of the work.

As I mentioned both artists make good use of details and shading. White’s coloring is so dull that it counteracts both, creating less definitive lines and shadows. It’s almost as if he puts a drop of color on the page then just smears it with his finger. The latest issue, #26, I felt was a muddled mess that took excitement away from the book like poor lighting for a movie set in the dark takes away from the visuals. Some frames it was hard to tell what was going on because the colors blended together so much.

And the thing I like the least? Tony Stark looks middle aged with a spare tire. His face outright looks fat and old, which we all know is not how he is supposed to look.

One of the things I am most looking forward to on the new monthly series is a colorist who doesn’t kill the artists work. I know some feel with the dark and gritty storyline the Knauf’s are going for his work compliments it, but I just cant agree. I normally don’t like being this harsh on an artist but I just feel White is really hurting the overall quality of the book.

The End of Extremis?

2008-02-18T12:25:00.000-05:00

It seems to be the consensus among Iron Man fans that Extremis has not been good for the character, especially for the man beneath the armor. But recently a few things have sprung up that are making me wonder if we are beginning to see the downfall of Extremis?

First is the current arc written by the Knauf’s with the Mandarin who is attempting to release and Extremis “plague” so to speak on the world population. As we all know once something bad happens with something Stark is using it sends him into a moral spiral where he debates if it should be used any longer period. This normally results in him deciding negatively and trying to destroy or shut down whatever the technology/substance/item is. A good case of this is the original Armor Wars saga where he went on a rampage destroying any Stark tech that wasn’t being used by himself.

So if Extremis does get released, even if it’s limited to one or two people, will it send Stark on yet another personal quest to wipe it out? If the Knauf’s know Stark (which they seem to unlike most Marvel writers in recent years) they may very well send him into an introverted state and then out into the world to wipe out all traces of Extremis, both those who have it and all the information on it (though I don’t expect him to go on a murderous rampage, more like an Extremis negator pack or a biological equivalent that will kill the virus but leave the person unharmed). Time will tell and as the arc is coming to an end we will find out soon.

Second is the release of the movie. The movie will have impact on the comics, how much though is unknown. One thing for certain is that new readers drawn in by the movie will be wondering what the hell the Extremis thing is. As it is somewhat of a long story and you cant really just mention everything behind it in a few frames, Marvel may well opt out to retcon it out in some way, or, and this is a stretch nowadays, actually write it out of the comic in the current continuity. Of course they could just do some back-story issues that used to occur in the 90’s that were basically a waste of an issue, but I don’t see them doing that.

Now this is pure speculation on my part; I could be completely wrong in my assessment, and I wont deny I may just be grasping at a fragile hope something I hate will be done away with. But I do think the seeds of Extremis destruction are very well being sewn in the current arc.

New Monthly Iron Man Series on the Way!!!

2008-02-11T12:28:00.000-05:00

It was announced today by Marvel that a new monthly series for good old Shellhead will be starting, going under the name of The Invincible Iron Man (which is what it should have always been but I digress).

The series will be written by Matt Fraction who worked on Iron Fist and drawn by long time Marvel artist Salvador Larrocca (who I think is a rather good artist). There aren’t a whole lot of details at the moment other than it what I’ve mentioned and it will debut in May to coincide with the movies release. It seems to be a supplement for the regular Director of Shield series and judging by the title would probably focus more on everything outside of Shield (you know, like it used to be… damnit there I go again!)

You can get more information here ate the Marvel.com article plus some preview art. http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.2534.EXCLUSIVE%3A_Fraction%7Eand%7ELarroca_on_Iron_Man

Also, Marvel has announced that this week will be Iron Man week at Marvel.

I have to say this comes as a pleasant surprise. You have to wonder how popular Iron man has truly gotten. I say this because it’s not clear whether IM has actually become popular enough to hold two titles of his own, a first for him (outside of “parallel” series like Marvel Adventures or Marvel Action Hour excluded) or Marvel is trying to soak up every little bit of revenue from his surge in popularity along with the hype for the film? I guess only time will reveal the answer to us common folks as we will know if one of the series is cancelled, but for now it is good to see a second title coming to our favorite character.

Lastly, please read the post below. I normally do one post a week, but I posted the Civil War article before this announcement was made. It was an article I put a good bit of thought and time into so please take the time to read it and comment if you wish.

Civil War: A Monumental Failure

2008-02-11T08:39:00.000-05:00

Marvel’s Civil War crossover was one of the most anticipated sagas in comics in recent years. The build up was huge, the material comprehensive and full of intrigue. But despite having all of this it was a monumental failure. Financially, yes, it did great, but that’s not what I’m talking about. Ironically, it can be summed up with the words that the battle ended with:
“Why are we surrendering? We’re winning!”
“Everything but the argument.”
Captain America always was a wise one.

Civil War’s tag line was “Whose side are you on?” Unfortunately, Mark Millar didn’t write it like that. He gave you the side to be on: Captain America’s anti-registration side. Cap became a freedom fighter battling the tyranny and oppression against superheroes. Iron Man became an evil entity hatching scheme after scheme involving lying, betrayal and criminal activities, all of which are completely out of character for him (but that’s Millar for you). Every action pointed to Cap’s side being right and moral, while Iron Man’s was wrong at every turn, caring more for the bottom line than showing any human decency. Millar wrote the whole story skewed, and the tag line would have been more fitting as “You’re on Cap’s side, see what happens!”

Mark Millar said: “The political allegory is only for those that are politically aware. Kids are going to read it and just see a big superhero fight.” Congratulations Mark, you once again proved why you are one of the worst writers in comics today. You just don’t get it. Comics are not about politics, especially your own political views. And that big fight you’re talking about? I think it’s referenced under “anticlimactic” in the dictionary now. Imagine if Rocky Balboa had beaten Ivan Drago with a few punches in the first round of Rocky IV: all build up and no substance. Civil War went out on a whimper and I felt outright robbed at the ending. Millar failed to create a politically impartial story and paired it with weak fights. Yes, Civil War had a few moments, but nothing that stuck out as particularly memorable.

Millar followed up on Civil War with this quote, saying it was “accidentally political because I just cannot help myself.” Well Mark, if you can’t help yourself, either 1) learn some damn control or 2) don’t write the damn thing. Personally, I’d rather the latter because that’s less tories for you to ruin. Good writers are able to set aside their bias and wants for the sake of the story, something Millar obviously isnt even remotely capable of doing.

Millar also ignored what characters were truly like in the process of butchering this event. Tony Stark was the bad guy, but Tony Stark wasn’t even in Civil War. Yeah he looked like Stark, he wore the armor, but the personality was nothing like Stark because Millar didn’t bother to get to know Stark. And also Reed Richards and Hank Pym, all whom had a major role on the pro-registration side, also ignored their principals and created clones and used criminals to hunt other heroes. I can’t picture any of these three ever doing these things, but because Millar wanted his side (yes, I do mean Millar’s side because of his own political views) to look good he ignored their characters and just wrote.

Millar did two idiotic things with the Civil War saga. His first was mistaking that people who read comics actually want them to be about politics. Look Mark, if we want politics we’ll pick up another magazine or follow the debates going on now. Comics are about fantasy, not politics. Second is that he completely ignored what the characters involved were really like. In addition to the aforementioned three, did it really seem like Cap in the saga? Would Peter Parker have revealed his secret identity (that they’ve already had to retcon because it was so idiotic and created so many problems)? The answer is no. But that doesn’t matter to Millar because he has his head so far up his own ass he’s blind to the fact he is a terrible comic book writer.

Finally, and possibly the worst aspect of Civil War when you think about it is this: Civil War is not about the Marvel Universe dealing with super hero registration. Civil War is about what our, the readers, the real world would do if there were super heroes. Civil War doesn’t take place in the Marvel Universe, it’s meant to take place in ours. Do you know why Civil War hasn’t been done in all the decades of Marvel despite this fact being in the back of everyone’s minds? Because Marvel is a world of fantasy. It’s a world where a gamma bomb turns you into a green monster instead of killing you. Where a simple injection turns you from a scrawny kid into a super soldier. Where being bite by a radioactive spider gives you it’s powers instead of putting you in the hospital. Do these things sound realistic? Not at all, yet Millar tried to make a story based on realistic political responses.

So what should have been a gut wrenching saga that made you think and choose who you sided with was nothing more than the writer’s idea of how he think things should have been. This story had so much potential it was ridiculous, but all in all wasn’t a whole lot better than what happened in the Crossing. Millar took an idea that hadn’t been sued for a reason, and showed exactly why it should be. It’s not about how our world react to a situation like this, that’s non-fiction. Millar and anyone else involved with writing and approving the story, apparently doesn’t know the difference.

The Return of Thor

2008-02-07T09:01:00.001-05:00

Last year Marvel finally returned one of it’s most powerful, and popular heroes in the Asgardian Thunder God Thor. His return was inevitable, but one had to wonder what he would be like when he did. The answer was a more classic Thor: being merged with Donald Blake so he could walk among humans also. Blake was also the first host that comes to everyone’s mind when Thor is mentioned, so it was a smart move.

To me Thor’s return is a good thing for multiple of reasons, and Marvel was going to do it for sheer economic reasons if nothing else. So let me explain why I like his return.

Earth has its most powerful hero back
To me Thor is one of the most powerful characters in Marvel, and the most powerful on Earth all things considered. If you look at the other heroes/villains of space, think about who there is. Gladiator of the Shi’Ar (who he defeated while Eric Masterson, a.k.a. Thunderstrike, was still new to the whole thing), Silver Surfer who roams space, Thanos of the Titans, Super Skrull of the Skrulls, Ronan of the Kree. All extremely powerful beings that only the heavy hitters could hope to defeat. But how many characters does Earth have like that? Comparing him to the other most powerful characters on Earth as I see things:

Sentry- incredibly powerful, but a head case to say the least. Sentry has power that rivals even the cosmic characters, if not even greater, but his head isn’t in the game so to speak. He’s always at odds with himself and the Void who gave him his powers, so he is constantly holding back and not always reliable.

Hulk- Hulk is one of the most powerful beings if nothing else for his strength and durability. But Hulk is also a loner and rarely agrees to fight along side anyone. Despite Marvel’s attempts to portray him as having unlimited power, I don’t think anyone outside of Hulk fans, the Marvel big wigs (a.k.a. idiots) see things that way. If it comes to betting on Hulk or the Thanos or Surfer, Hulk isn’t getting my vote.

Iron Man- despite being one of the most powerful heroes, Marvel refuses to write him that way. He peaked in the 90’s before the dreadful Crossing saga, and hasn’t been portrayed as powerful since. Every suit seems to be less powerful than the last for some reason. That and just about every Marvel writer is using him as a punching bag anymore (refer back to the “idiots” comment).

Phoenix- Dead (or not, who knows, she may be alive this weak and dead the next again)

Wolverine- despite Marvel’s best attempts at making him an uber-powerful character that can survive anything and kill anyone, I don’t think anyone will ever see him that way except fanboys who have no common sense.

Most of the other super powers are villains like Magneto or Apocalypse, who rarely fight on the side of good. So enters Thor, the unlimited power of a God and the mind to wield it.

Also, since his return, Thor has the powers of both Odin and Gaea, making him even more powerful than before. Plus, after the fiasco of Ragnarok is quite mad and isn’t holding back like he used to.

The Return of Asgard and the Asgardians
Though never a major player normally, Asgard and the Asgardians have always been there in their own world, ready to do some damage. Loki of course is back (as inevitable as Thor’s return) and the rest are returning from their human forms. Though rarely used outside of Thor or the Avengers comics, it adds more options for the writers are Marvel, and could always lead to a major event. Not to forget that Odin was considered a major force in the cosmic scene, and that can’t be ignored.

A Personality as tough as the guy who has it
When it comes to most of the heroes, they always hold back. Whether they don’t want to severely hurt someone or kill them, fear their powers may go out of control or lose their sanity, few actually let loose. Thor has not been like this much. He has always been tough as nails in mind and body, and rarely holds back. He had the mental toughness to do anything and the raw power to carry it out. Plus he always had an aggressive edge to him: he was overwhelming powerful, fought as such and had little trouble wanting to deal that final blow. Few heroes have this attribute (Punisher, Hulk and Wolverine are the only ones that come to mind) and though a ton aren’t needed, there need to be more than just a few.

Now, where the return of Thor going to lead to? Only time will tell that, but I think you can expect big things from him in the future, and for him to play a major role in the upcoming Secret Invasion saga (which Marvel hopefully wont screw up like Civil War and World War Hulk). Rereading Thor #1, Donald Blake shows Thor a world where he doesn’t come back, which is a ruined city landscape piled up with bodies. This could have been an actual hint he will have a serious impact on Secret invasion, but of course it all also just be an in general statement.

Finally, I want to say I am a fan of the new costume. The recent trend of things, not just at Marvel, but in society in general, is having a modern look of a retro item (think the new muscles cars, Cyclops uniform in comics just as a few examples). Thor’s costume fits right in, looking like his original costume with the silver disks on the chest, winged hat and boots. I think the black and silver scheme looks a lot better than the blue and gold scheme though, giving it a more serious tone. The base costume looks t be a chain mail of sort, with small cubic plating on most likely a mesh or cloth base.

The only thing I don’t really like though are the wristbands. There is too much silver on the arms, making it distract from the rest of the costume. The only design change I would make would be either to enlarge the bands to go closer towards his elbow, or create new gauntlets for him along the style of the boots. That way there is no drastic change in the appearance, but it would correct the small problem.

Iron Man Short Films

2008-01-28T08:24:00.001-05:00

For those that have not noticed, the big screen movie of Iron Man isn’t the only IM film that is making it’s way to the public. There are two instances where he has made more appearances in the form of videos, one courtesy of Marvel itself, and another of a fan.

The first is a three part installment on Marvel Kids found here: http://www.marvelkids.com/videos These CGI videos feature Iron Man as the primary hero, but also has Spiderman and the Hulk making prominent appearances. The graphics are quite good, about the level of cut scenes in gaming consoles. If you look closely you’ll seem some neat little additions like Stark Tower with the Sentry’s watchtower in the background.

The best thing about this video is not that it is more promotion for Iron Man, but it’s that the writers have shown the ability to get all three heroes personalities down pat, something most of Marvel’s book writers have failed miserably at doing. For the first time in a long time you feel like you’re actually seeing Tony Stark there with his quick witted responses and nonchalant attitude. Spiderman is wise cracking and quirky, and the Hulk, well, smashes. Though made for kids, it was really what the old comics were about and it was refreshing to see something like that again.

Next up we have a fan film from a guy by the name of David Guivant that you can find here with more background information. http://screenrant.com/archives/exclusive-new-iron-man-fan-fil-1274.html (This site is run by Vic Holtreman, who currently runs the Advanced Iron site). This is a very well put together piece with actors who really look the role of the characters. Plus, David did an excellent job of getting the high tech feel down that Iron Man portrays, something that seems to be sorely missing from the character anymore.

If you’ve looked at the links on the side bar, you will see one to Advanced Iron. I frequent this site’s forum under the same name, and in the following thread David himself was nice enough to give some background information on the film and answer some questions people had, and I’m sure would still be willing to do so. This is the best Iron Man forum I have come across on the internet, and would urge people to join and discuss with other long time other man fans, and not just fan boys. You can get some really good in depth and opinionated, but more importantly reasoned arguments on this site.

http://www.advancediron.org/forums/index.php/topic,1238.0.html

Least Favorite Armors

2008-01-21T11:58:00.001-05:00

Now that I’ve gone over my favorite armors, I’ll move on to the next logical step: listing my least favorite armors. This list will include specialty and alternate armors also, and will be the third and final installment for this series. Though there were a lot of Iron Man armors out there, splitting them into three separate entries made the pool pretty shallow. So let’s go tow hat I think are the armors that never should have been for the Golden Avenger.

5) Tin Man / Prometheum 2 Armor Mark III- Jorge Lucas Variant

This rendition of the armor was just plain bad. Looking like hundreds of wielded or connected plates like knight armor instead of magnetized mesh, this monstrosity looked like it was designed with medieval technology more so than modern. The terminator faceplate tried to give off a menacing look, and it was scary, but unfortunately it was scary bad. Oh yeah, and the waist was as wide as the chest, so he looked like a middle-aged football fan with a huge beer gut. Bleh. The only good version of this I saw was Pat Lee’s, which can be found in the bottom right of this blog.

4) S.K.I.N. Armor

I’m not sure I need to explain this one really. Nothing good including the concept, and the most disliked Iron Man artist in recent memory didn’t help things either. Kudos to Mike Ryan when he took over the book for drawing it well enough to make it look “just plain bad” instead of “absolutely horrid”. It was one of the shortest lived armors for a reason.

3) Ultimate Iron Man Armor

I understand that the Ultimates are supposed to look different, but good god. This ugly, low tech, blocky, goggle eyed suit is just embarrassing to look at. It’s more robot than armor and is the least advanced looking suit since the original Grey. They really need to change it, especially the eyes.

2) Every incarnation of the Teen Tony Armor

It followed the theme of the Retro Classic armor: god awful. It changed every issue even after it was completed, and not one ever looked good. Plain, boring and even the guy inside sucked so that was salt in the wound. Though at least we got to see its power in the final issues before Heroes Reborn, and it was somewhat impressive, easily manhandling a sentinel. But it wasn’t enough to make up for the lame design.

1) Retro classic Armor

I’m not sure what was worse for me about this design: that it was just so awful looking or that it followed my favorite armor the Modular. Really, there is nothing good that can be said about this thing, and I still remember all the letters at the end of the issues about people saying how bad it was. While I was never a fan of the classic armor (aesthetically) those that were felt this was a butchering of that design. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad. Let me count the ways: the gauntlets, the boots, the rivets, the one piece torso/hip design… well, you get the picture.

Favorite Specialty Armors

2008-01-14T09:52:00.000-05:00

Like I promised, I am doing my five favorite specialty armors. For the sake of variety, and that there isn’t enough to really do two different entries, I will be including alternate universe armors in this selection also. I base my selections on the functionality and appearance of the armor, not so much the impact they had. The next entry will be my least favorite armors.

5) Stealth Armor Marks I and II

The stealth armor was a neat concept, not just because it was made at a time where we didn’t have stealth bombers and fighters, but also because it carried no weapons, forcing Stark to outwit his opponents even more than normal. The black (or blue, it doesn’t seem to be decided really) paint and red eyes and mouth slits further add to the effect of the armor. A job well done.

4) Space Armor Mark I

This was an interesting concept at the time, both aesthetically and functionally. It featured the first mouth-less faceplate and triangular uni-beam design, plus a bulkier build for additional life support and thrusters. It featured nuclear based boot jets to escape the atmosphere and the gauntlets could be launched as grapplers. A very neat design for the time.

3) Hydro Armor

The Hydro armor was a pretty neat design, but what was interesting was the weapons of the suit. To deal with underwater threats, Tony used proven human technology and mixed it with sea creature’s natural defenses like electricity (eels) and ink (squids). While not the most advanced feel, you can immediately tell what it was designed for.

2) Heavy Metal Armor

If you don’t know the armor, it was from the two issue Iron Man – XO Man of War cross over back in the 90’s. Though we didn’t get to see much of this armor’s capabilities, what we did see it seemed to be able to more than hold its own. The design itself was interesting, kind of a mating between the Modular and Retro armor that preceded it, but luckily more of the former. It had a more classic helmet and uni-beam, but had more of a Modular layout with the legs, torso and arms. The gauntlets were a bit odd, but I liked them. If this suit had followed the Modular I wouldn’t have minded.

1) Hulk Buster I

This hulking (pun intended) suit was really an attachment onto the modular armor instead of a stand alone, but it’s enough to be classified as a specialty. Meant to battle the green goliath at his own game, the armor did just that, allowing Stark to deal blow for blow while still maintaining more speed and agility. Personally, I think Iron Man was winning the battle, but since they stopped fighting and started talking, we’ll never know who would have won. The armor itself did look extremely tough with the enhanced legs, arms and shoulders, but I wasn’t a fan of the Juggernaught style helmet. Still, it comes in at #1 for my favorite specialty armors.

Favorite Armors

2008-01-07T12:30:00.000-05:00

If you took the time to peruse Bob Layton’s site like I suggested in my last entry, his one special feature this month are his favorite armors. Since the blog (I really don’t like that word) is still pretty young, I figured it would be another good starting entry as it helps others to get to know what I like some more. So, here are my top five standard Iron Man armors, I will do an entry next on the top five specialty armors.

5) Heroes Reborn / Prometheum Armor

I know a lot of people don’t like this armor because it was so out there, but I thought it was pretty neat. The smoke stacks were a cool addition, and I thought the thigh-pad things were too. The faceplate had a more “human” feel to it so to speak as it did not have the normal eye slits and a more contoured curvature. It was a lot different look with the tubing base and detached upper layers, but one I think worked. Though this had to be the most non-universally drawn armor ever.

4) Grell / Tinman Armor (Mark II)

Sometimes called the Grell armor, Tinman armor or even Prometheum 2 armor, this armor too over for the short lived (and rightfully so) SKIN armor. This armor was like a mating between the Prometheum and Neo Classic armors, with it’s more form fitting and detached style. The Mark II (at least by my designation) is the one without the tubes on the legs. I thought it was an interesting concept with the heavy duty feet and large shoulders. Though this armor was written to be quite weak (a building fire over heating it? Are you serious?) in terms of looks it was really cool.

3) Silver Centurion

When I first saw this armor, I was in awe. So much more powerful the previous design (and the greatest leap in power from one suit to another in my mind), the Silver Centurion gave a whole new look to Iron Man both aesthetically and in terms of power. A new color scheme, triangular uni-beam and large shoulder pads made it stick out immediately, and a cloaking device, pulse bolts and new repulsors showed it meant business. It was really a leap ahead in so many ways that it’s never really been tried again.

For first place I actually have a tie between two suits who I cant really make up my mind on.

1) War Machine

While it can bee seen as a specialty, the fact that Rhodes wore it after Tony died makes me label it as a regular. But honestly, what is there not to like about this suit? The most menacing looking with it’s faceplate, cold gray and white color scheme and covered with weapons, the War Machine lived up to it’s name. After his old suit got man handled by the Masters of Silence, the War Machine was able to hold off all three, then tore threw everything Justin hammer threw it at. It’s a testament that if Tony wants to go in guns blazing and kick the crap out of something he can.

1) Modular Armor

The thing I loved about it was how modern and advanced it looked. Part of Marvel’s redesigns in the 90’s, the Modular Armor had a lot of neat new design aspects such as the pentagon uni-beam, “pants” look instead of the “underwear and boots” look (the former being light years better than the latter in my opinion), and most of all, no mouth on the faceplate for a menacing look. The concept of replacing the various parts for mission specific ones was a great concept, but sadly never really utilized. This armor was way too short lived, especially seeing it’s replacement. The times we saw this suit in action it did look quite powerful.

Iron Man vs Doctor Doom: Round 3

2008-01-02T12:16:00.000-05:00

First, let me apologize for the delay in getting an entry up. I will try to do one a week, but between the computer going into the shop and the holidays it has been severely delayed.

For those that don’t know, Bob Layton and Dave Michelinie, long time Iron Man fans and artist/writers on the book are doing a third (and final) installment of the Iron Man / Doctor Doom Camelot saga’s originally played out in Volume 1 issues 150-151 and 250-251. Both have said they originally planned a third installment, but never had the chance to do it until now, possibly due to the recent surge in Iron Man’s popularity.

The great thing about this saga is that the people helming it are big fans of Iron Man and have written the book before, arguably during one of the best periods of Iron Man comics, so you know you are in for a quality read. Plus, the artist for this book will be long time Marvel artist Ron Lim. (For samples of the upcoming saga please check out bob Layton’s site www.boblayton.com it’s worth while to explore it also). For those that know me from the Advanced Iron boards (under the same name) I am quite peculiar with my art, so it’s rare to see me exciting for an artist to be on board.

For those that are unfamiliar with Lim, he has worked on many Marvel books, including the later issues of Infinity Gauntlet. His art is very clear and concise, and has a “classic” style so to speak, but one that is also detailed and modern. The sample pages on Layton’s site have been rather impressive in my opinion.

So as far as I am seeing things, we are in for a treat with this series. The pages suggest Stark and Doom are once again transported back to Camelot, where they take their respective sides among the legends and battle it out. Whether or not we will get the armored slugfest I have been hoping for since I first read the past encounters, I don’t know. But even if we don’t, I have faith the story will be good enough it isn’t really needed.

Extremis Killed Tony Stark

2007-12-12T20:16:00.000-05:00

Extremis.

What is it according to Marvel? A nanotech virus that enhances Tony Stark’s physical capabilities including a healing factor. It allows him to patch directly into electronics and multitask like a super computer. It was supposed to “reinvent” the character.

What is it to us readers, us true Iron Man fans who have read the character for decades? It’s what took away the character we loved. It is what killed Tony Stark.

In an interview with Brian Michael Bendis from Newsarama, this was a portion of the article:

Bendis related a question that was posed at a Marvel Editorial retreat a few years back of, “what is the point of Iron Man?”

“From there, seeds were sown which started in Warren Ellis’ run and reinventing his powers for the modern day

This really irks me. The point of Iron Man has always been there, it's just that Marvel completely lost touched with it. They saw the problem as Tony being a stale character. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was the writers at Marvel didn’t know who Tony was and how to write him. They mistook their lack of ability to delve into human nature and it’s limitations for seeing the character as not having enough interesting about him. So instead of just going back and reading the pre-Crossing days, they just came up with some "improvements." Laziness seems to be the way to go at Marvel anymore. But Stark didn’t need to be reinvented, he didn’t need super powers; he needed a good writer! His "reinvention" taken away from what was originally intended for his character. Tony Stark was a man. A playboy, an inventor, a genius, a risk taker and flawed in his own ways. But he was a man, and that’s what was great about him. He had a broken heart that while was fixed later on had left the impression needed for the character so that the issue had become more bothersome than anything.

Tony didn’t need to be in the Iron Man suit and be a hero. He chose to be a hero. He wasn’t given powers that required him to do the greater good or cast him into a specific group like mutants, he chose that on his own. He’s just a man in a suit. And anyone one of us could be in that suit. There was a level of connection there that few characters have. He didn’t need a super serum, bit by a spider, bombarded with gamma rays. Everyone of us could say “I could be Iron Man.”

But now that is gone. Now the lower layer of the suit resides in his bones and oozes out. Now he can communicate and control computers world wide. Now he is no longer just a man in a suit. He’s now an enhanced human who is the only one capable on the planet of doing what he does.

How was Tony written since Warren Ellis destroyed... err, excuse me, “improved” his character? As a cold, detached man driven by the bottom line of his ideals.

I’m sorry, who is this we’re talking about?

Sadly, it is in fact Tony Stark. Gone is our moralistic businessman who cared more for his employees and the world than his own ideas becoming reality. Gone is the man who tried to minimize damage while doing the best for everyone, rather than sticking to an ideal and using himself as a blunt instrument of delivery.

In one issue Tony Stark said “You know what it took to make me human again? War.” The REAL Tony Stark would have never forgotten what it was to be human. After all, he knows very well about being all too human, as he once stated “Hero. Would the world really think that if they knew the story of the frail man inside the armor?” To Marvel that answer is “no” because otherwise there would be no extremis.

And don’t be mistaken. Iron Man is not popular now due to his newfound abilities. It’s because he has been put in the limelight as the pro-registration leader during the Civil War event and more recently as a prime target of the Hulk as one of the Illuminati in Marvel’s Hulk Hard-on event (which they refer to as the World War Hulk event).

It’s not the powers of the man inside the suit has that made Iron Man interesting. It was the man inside the suit that made Iron Man interesting, but Marvel doesn’t realize that. They thought he needed updating. Tony Stark was fine, the problem was the writers didn’t understand who Tony Stark is and what drove him.

So with these thoughts I can honestly say, Extremis killed Tony Stark. All we are left with is a pale imitator to the original.

I miss the moralistic and personable Tony, and I definitely miss the idea it is the man in the armor that defines the character, not the powers the man has.

Why Iron Man?

2007-12-03T22:08:00.000-05:00

Of all the characters out there, why is it that Iron Man is my favorite?

Personally, I think one of the things we like about comic characters is that there is a sense of one in particular is who we want to be like, or in some ways our opposites, so there is that immediate attraction to their persona in that sense.

Take me for example. I'm quiet, shy, reserved and cant understand engineering to save my life. What is Tony Stark? Playboy industrialist and inventor who can get ladies at the speed of Bond. Quite the difference, and I admit I wish I was like that. I know some Hulk fans wish that when someone pisses them off they could just morph into a nearly unstoppable creature.

But that's not the only thing. I've always liked technology. Robots, spaceships, all that stuff, and Iron Man always provided a technological aspect to the story through Tony and the armor (especially during Len Kaminski's run with a lot of tech talk and plot). The Iron Man armor is the pinnacle of human innovation, and let's face it, it definitely can be real one day, just most likely not in our lifetime.

The other thing I love about Iron Man is that he's realistic in the sense that anyone can be him (well, pre-extremis bullshit that is, but that's a post for another time). It was just a man, a frail and flawed man, in a technological wonder. He didn't need a healing factor, telepathic powers, gamma radiation or a super serum to turn him into a hero. It's just a man in an armor he invented.

Lastly, Stark isn't one to win through sheer brute force, though he is more than capable of that. If you read the comics over his history, few times has he gotten into a slugfest and just beat the hell out of someone. Instead he uses his brain to beat them, using what he knows about the enemy or their weapons and what is around him. Though the few times he has, in particular the few issues where Stark donned the War Machine armor, he beat the hell out of anything that got in his way, so he is more than capable of doing it.

So that's really why I like Iron Man the most in a basic summation. Both the armor and the man inside of it are appealing, and that realistic sense to the character and his powers (again, pre-extremis) serve to better draw you in.

Test Post

2007-12-03T20:47:00.000-05:00

Iron Man
Thor
Omega Red
Captain America
Wolverine
Thanos