Weekly Comic Book Review

By Orson Scott Card (writer), Pasqual Ferry (artist), Dean White (colorist) VC’s Cory Petit (letterer)

This sequel to Ultimate Iron Man takes place right after the events of Volume 1. But don’t let the sequel status throw you off. Even though one may think it’s unaccessible to new readers, the first page synopsis does a good job on bringing you up to speed. The premise is simple: Tony Stark’s father has been framed in the murder of his corporation’s top competitor. Now, Tony has no choice but to take over in his father’s absence.

So far I really like the way the story’s progressing. Orson Scott Card does a good job of using an attack on Stark Industries to warrant Tony using his prototype armor to protect the building. He is severely injured (losing an arm), and has to sit out for a while to recover from the explosion. As Tony is in the hospital he monitors the news and the public’s reaction – they believe Stark’s Industries has a “robot” that may be a threat to the public.

As the issue continues, it’s revealed that there are other people involved with the attempt to destroy Stark’s building, while two government officials that resemble secret service meet with Tony. Their intention is for Tony to build them a robot (which is really Tony in his armor) by the weekend so that they might use it to eliminate a band of terrorists housed within a country that isn’t in a current state of war with the U.S.

Tony and James Rhodes (both in their prototype armor), finally get to use their suits for some real world tests. This sequence shows them learning how to control their flying and weapon systems. As the firefight (or slaughter) begins, Tony prevents Rhodes from taking any risks, as he can’t regenerate his body like Tony can.

After the killing stops, a boy is revealed and appears to have a bomb strapped to him while Rhodes warns Tony there may be a detonator around. The boy pleas for Tony and Rhodes not to kill his father who is reveled in the final panel in a struggle with another man. This puts them in the situation of who to kill and who not to kill.

The story’s strong in this debut issue – I really liked it. Because there’s not a lot of random chatter, Card is free to give the characters more personality. The art and colors are really done well and I can’t wait to see how the rest of this series plays out. Definitely worth a look in my book. (Grade B+)

-Matt Allen