"Iron Man: The Future"

 

            The following is a review of the graphic novel “Iron Man: The Future” as presented in Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection format.

            The Mandarin and Ezekiel Stane began working together, along with Vibro, Firebrand, Chemistro, Blizzard, Titanium Man, Crimson Dynamo, Living Laser, Melter, Whirlwind, Mauler, and Firepower to commit terrorist attacks. Following the Serpent’s War, Tony Stark/Iron Man invited the elf Splitlip to join Stark Resilient. Tony and Splitlip also worked on getting sober. Tony was subpoenaed for the Iron Man armor’s biometric information for the prior thirty days after it was suspected he piloted the Iron Man armor drunk. Mandarin, Stane, Justine Hammer, and Sasha Hammer began plotting to take down Tony Stark. Tony piloting the armor drunk hit the news. Sasha Hammer was promoted to the head of the Detroit Steel Corps following the apparent death of Lieutenant Doug Johnson, the face of Detroit Steel. The Stark Resilient Board of Investors voiced their concerns over CEO Virginia “Pepper” Potts’ activities as the armored hero Rescue following a leaked photo of Pepper crying in Pepper’s office while in the Rescue armor. Stane discovered that Tony’s Repulsor Unit that kept Tony alive was damaged, and Mandarin sent Living Laser to attack Iron Man. Stark Resilient Head of Security Bethany Cabe revealed to Pepper that Cabe was the one who leaked the photo of Pepper crying so Cabe could make the money that Pepper was not providing Cabe. Justine Hammer secretly had Spymaster infiltrating Stark Resilient, and Justine planned to have Spymaster make a move against Stark Resilient. Living Laser compromised Tony’s Repulsor Unit further and put Tony in cardiac arrest. Stane discovered he and all the villains the Mandarin had recruited had been implanted with bombs. Tony was revived at Lenox Hill Hospital and physically resisted treatment from the doctors. Mandarin had Stane working on Dreadnought machines, and when Stane showed resistance, Mandarin revealed Mandarin was using one of the Mandarin’s rings to control Stane’s mind. General Babbage informed James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine, Stark Resilient’s liaison with the United States government, that Babbage felt Tony was unfit to pilot the Iron Man armor. Mandarin sent a fleet of Dreadnoughts to attack Three Gorges dam in China. Iron Man, War Machine, and the Chinese superhero team the Dynasty put a stop to the Dreadnoughts’ attack. In Paris, a deranged Doug Johnson, identifying as Detroit Steel, secured a path back to the United States. Tony provided the data on the Iron Man armor to the Feds. Tony was forced to wear a governing device on his Repulsor Unit that would allow Babbage and Justine Hammer control when Tony could be Iron Man and be able to deactivate the armor. Iron Man fought Whirlwind, but Iron Man was deactivated during the fight, and Whirlwind was able to escape. Melter attacked Downtown Los Angeles. War Machine fought him, and Whirlwind and Living Laser joined the fight. Tony discovered he could not remove the governing device after it was attached to his Repulsor Unit. Tony and Rhodey faked Rhodey’s death as part of Tony’s plan to fight back against the Mandarin.

            Iron Man fought Firebrand and Crimson Dynamo, but Iron Man was deactivated and Sasha Hammer and the Detroit Steel Corps were allowed to finish the fight. Tony told Steve Rogers/Captain America and Carol Danvers/Ms. Marvel that Tony was taking a leave of absence from the Avengers. Stane’s Dreadnoughts failed, much to the Mandarin’s displeasure. The Mandarin’s mole in Stark Resilient Leonard Pimacher/Spymaster violently attacked Stark Resilient employee Tim Cababa. Tony informed Babbage he would no longer be Iron Man and purged himself of the Iron Man armor. Stane removed the Mandarin’s bomb from Stane’s body. Spymaster attacked Stark Resilient employee Carson Wyche, but Cabe and Stark Resilient secretary Bambi Arbogast came to Wyche’s rescue. Firepower attacked internation waters near Somalia, and Rhodey arrived as the new Iron Man arrived to defeat Firepower. Tony publicly announced that he was no longer Iron Man. Johnson/Detroit Steel attacked Sasha Hammer and abducted her. Stane attacked Mandarin, furious that the Mandarin had been manipulating Stane, but Stane was easily stopped by the Mandarin. Cababa and Spymaster were taken to Seatle Medical Center to treat their injuries. Johnson brought Sasha to Hammer Industries, demanding a trade of her life for his old armor. Justine agreed, planning to detonate the armor as soon as Johnson climbed into it. Spymaster attacked the police in the hospital, and the police put Spymaster down for good. Tony removed himself from Stark Resilient. Iron Man and Rescue saved Tony from an attempt on Tony’s life. Johnson had overwritten Justine’s programming of the Detroit Steel and Johnson attacked the Hammer girls. Sasha fought back and ended Johnson. Tony discovered that the Mandarin was in Tony’s head and could control Tony.

            Tony went to Mandarin City in China to work for the Mandarin. Resilient announced their plan to launch their new product, the Swarm. Rescue teamed up with the new Iron Man to defeat Vibro. Tony worked with a mentally damaged Zeke Stane on Mandarin’s Dreadnoughts. Justine Hammer took Babbage off the board. Tony and Melter got in a fight in Mandarin City Mess Hall. Mandarin attempted to detonate Melter’s implant, but Tony saved Melter, much to Mandarin’s displeasure. Tony gave Mandarin a list of needs for building the Dreadnoughts. Mandarin sent the villains out to get the items, who came into conflict with Iron Man and Rescue. Tony operated on Stane to restore his cognitive functions. Mandarin revealed to Tony that the rings were living aliens and Mandarin planned to implant the aliens in the Dreadnoughts. Rescue fought the new Iron Man and deduced that Iron Man was Rhodey. Mandarin began implanting the aliens in the Dreadnoughts. Tony tried to incite the supervillains to fight against Mandarin. Pepper began to believe the J.A.R.V.I.S. AI in Pepper’s armor was compromised. When Pepper and Wyche tried to fix J.A.R.V.I.S., the AI attacked Pepper and Wyche. Tony built a new Iron Man armor in secret. Rhodey/Iron Man came to Pepper and Wyche’s rescue. The Resilient employees used the Swarm to locate Tony. Justine Hammer, now in Babbage’s position, refused to send aid to Tony. Iron Man, Blizzard, Living Laser, Whirlwind, and Stane united against Mandarin. Pepper turned to Triumph Division and the Dynasty to rescue Tony. Mandarin revealed he planned to destroy the Earth. Pepper destroyed the Rescue armor and the J.A.R.V.I.S. AI. Iron Man and his allies had a final battle with Mandarin and the Dreadnoughts for the fate of the world. Tony took heat from S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Maria Hill. Tony planned what Tony wanted to do for his future.

            Okay, now we have the plot synopsis out of the way, let’s move on to my individual segments. So, as I always do in my reviews, I’m going to start with my own personal opinions on the book. I will say that I really enjoyed the stories. The running plotlines were really entertaining to me. I liked how the whole book focused on the Mandarin and his machinations against Tony/Iron Man. Some of the reveals were really great. The Mandarin being in Stane and Tony’s heads, the rings being living aliens, the identity of the mole in Stark Resilient, Cabe being the leak on the picture of Pepper crying in armor in her office, Johnson having survived being turned to stone, there were some really good plot twists and surprises in this book. The gaggle of villains added to the entertainment value, with so many great foes for Tony, Rhodey and Pepper to fight. The whole back and forth between Tony and Mandarin was exciting, with each making their moves, including Rhodey faking his death. Stane’s arc was interesting, going from being a villain to ally and his part in the final battle with the Mandarin and the conclusion of Stane’s story. The Hammer girls were entertaining antagonists as well, and the Detroit Steel story was enjoyable to read. Overall, I found this to be a fun, exciting, intriguing read. However, this is a graphic novel, and I will say that the graphics were not enjoyable for me. Some of my regular readers may recall my grievances with Salvador Larroca, I’ve brought him up several times in other reviews. This whole book was illustrated by him, and I just did not like the work he did on this book. I don’t like the way Larroca draws faces, so looking at the artwork detracted from the entertainment of the experience of consuming this book. I would like to share my opinion on the title as well. This collection contains eighteen issues, making three story arcs, each issue having its own subtitle, so technically, there were twenty-one choices for a title for this collection. “The Future” was one of the storylines, lasting for seven issues, and it was the longest storyline in the collection. As far as choices for titles go, I feel like this was a good pick. We’re also going to talk about the cover. It shows Iron Man flying. It’s simple, yet it’s still perfect. Was it the only cover that could work for this collection? No. But it still works as a representation for this book, and it does deliver on its promise, so I feel like it’s totally appropriate for this book. This book was an entertaining read, and I feel like it delivered on what it advertised, but the artwork was difficult to enjoy.

            Next up, we’re going to discuss accessibility. Now, even though I’ve gone over this over seven dozen times before, I know there are always those new people who have never read a Tim Cubbin review before and don’t know what I mean when I say accessibility when I apply it to media, so I shall have to explain it once again. If you already know what I’m about to say, please bear with me while I explain to the newbs. So, I’m asking if this book is accessible, and I’m asking if a person who had never heard of Iron Man before can obtain this book, read it, and understand everything they have just read based solely on the content in this book alone. I will say that answer is no. This volume is marketed as Vol. 6. This volume continues directly where the last story left off, and builds on stories collected in the three previous volumes of the series. However, this volume only contains issues from one series and does not tie into any events or crossover into any other storylines, so the story is self-contained to this volume. Following this series’ previous three volumes requires a requisite knowledge of the Marvel Universe from the time-period, so this series is not a beginner’s series. If you are looking into starting to read Marvel Comics, I would not only say that this volume is not a good place to start, but I would also say starting at Vol. 3 and reading through to this point probably isn’t the best place for Marvel beginners.

            Next up on our list of topics to discuss, we’ve gotten to my numeric score. My scoring system is extremely basic and simple to understand. I score on a scale of exact whole numbers ranging from one through ten. One is the lowest score I can give, and that means that this book is so horrible it should be avoided at all costs. Ten, however, is my highest score, reserved only for absolute perfection, and I do not give out a lot of those, but that means it’s one of the best things I’ve ever read and if you get me started talking about it, I will not stop for several hours. When I score a graphic novel, I’m scoring the quality of the story and the artwork, and the appropriateness of the title and cover. I will say that I thought the story was fantastic, but it wasn’t absolutely perfect and if this weren’t a graphic novel, it wouldn’t get a ten. The art was very much to my displeasure. The title was a good choice, and the cover was adequate. So, combining all these factors together, mixing everything up thoroughly, the score we’re looking at is… a six! Despite loving the story, I had to deduct points for the artwork, but the title and cover were just fine and did not require any point deductions.

            Next up is my recommendation segment. This segment has two foci: to tell you if I give this book the Tim Cubbin seal of approval and would personally recommend and tell you to read this book; and regardless of if I condone this book or not, who do I think the best audience for this book would be, based on the characteristics of the book itself and topics readers enjoy, and not based on fans of Iron Man, Marvel Comics, or fans of the creative team? To address the first topic, I would very much recommend this book to you, my readers. If you’re reading this review and are now interested in reading this graphic novel based solely on the words you’ve spent the past few minutes reading, I would tell you to get your hands on this book as soon as you can and read it, head to your favorite bookstore, comic shop, online retailer, local library, or see if any of your friends have this, and hopefully you enjoy reading it. As for whom I believe a good audience would be, I feel people who enjoy stories about people recovering from addiction, or people who are actually doing so themselves, could find Tony’s predicament sympathetic or even relatable. People who enjoy stories about technology would enjoy this book. And people who enjoy stories about industrial espionage could find this book enjoyable.

            Well, I think we’re getting to the point where we’re getting ready to wrap things up. There are some more things I need to discuss before I log off. I’ve been working on this blog for almost six years at the present. I’ve compiled over 190 posts, including short stories, poems, essays, articles, editorials, and over seven dozen reviews, so if you liked this post, feel free to keep browsing timcubbin.blogspot.com for plenty more content. I’ve reviewed prose novels, comic events, manga, and over seven dozen other graphic novels just like this one. The current main focus of this blog is reviewing Marvel Modern Era Epic Collections and Ultimate Epic Collections. If you enjoyed this particular review and have some free time, you’re invited to check out my reviews of “Iron Man: World’s Most Wanted” “Iron Man: Stark Disassembled” and “Iron Man: The New Iron Age” for more Iron Man content. I purchase every Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection and Ultimate Epic Collection as soon as I can after it is released and try to post a review if possible, so I post on a rather frequent basis. My next review is going to be “Star Wars: The Screaming Citadel” which should be up in the next two months following the date of this posting, so if you want to see more of my new content, keep checking back for it. If you have anything to say about this post, feel free to leave a comment, and please follow, like, share, retweet, spread the word to your friends, interact with me and get the word out. I would love to hear from you, my readers. Everything posted inside of these posts is all just my opinion. I welcome you all to feel differently than me on anything and to call me out on it if you do, or if you agree with me and want me to know, please let me. I value you guys and want to know what I can do to improve this blog for all of you, and I can’t do that unless you let me know. I hope you come back for more of my work, and if you read all the way to this point, you are THE BEST! Please keep coming back for more, I will be doing this blog for as long as I can, so you can expect that to be for quite a while. Thank you so much for reading. All I have to say for now is until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!