It is Saturday morning so you know what that means. I’m all hopped up on Cafe Bustelo and ready for some reviews! The Revolution was less than pleased when we saw there was yet another writer change on Iron Man. This title has suffered from a lack of one constant writer. Such a lack of continuity can really damage a title. Usually, there is a lack of a unified direction and vision for the title. Instead, the title is constantly being “re-vamped” every time the new writer takes over.
Daniel Knauf was the creator and screenwriter of the HBO show Carnivale. Charles is Daniel’s son. Now, the Revolution was a huge fan of Carnivale. However, that show is a totally different genre from Iron Man. Also, the Knaufs only signed a 12 issue deal. It seems that Iron Man is doomed to not have a consistent writer on this title. With yet another new creative team at the helm, The Revolution hopes for the best.
Creative Team
Writer: Daniel & Charles Knauf
Penciler: Patrick Zircher
Inker: Scott Hanna
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10.
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Total Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: The issue starts in London with a hooded man killing a man getting off the Underground. The hooded man goes to an internet café, goes online with his laptop and signs in that Andrei Gorolovich has been executed.
We then shift to Sofia, Bulgaria. A guy is buying some drugs. We see that he is being monitored by someone in stealth armor. The guy goes back to his apartment and gives the drugs to his drug addict hooker. Suddenly the power goes out and an unknown figure enters and blasts the guy to death.
We then see the police interrogating the hooker about who killed her man, Andrei. The hooker says it was the American, Iron Man.
With that we cut to New York, where Iron Man is locking horns with Crimson Dynamo. It’s official! It’s a braaaaaawwl! Iron Man shows off that his armor with Tony’s new upgrade from the Extremis virus is now vastly superior to Crimson Dynamo. Iron Man absolutely whoops ass on Crimson Dynamo. Iron Man blasts Crimson Dynamo to death. Iron Man then puts his hand to Crimson Dynamo’s chest and sends two electrical pulses into him re-starting his heart and bringing Crimson Dynamo back to life.
The Avengers then arrive on the scene. Captain America is less than happy that Tony stopped Crimson Dynamo’s heart. Captain America says that technically Tony killed Crimson Dynamo. Tony says he brought him back to life and that it was the most expedient way to solve the crisis. Captain America replies “Expedient, Tony? Or interesting?” With that Tony takes off for a meeting. Luke Cage then tells Captain America that Iron Man is a “ball hog” and needs a “good ass-whoopin’.” Captain America tells Luke Cage to shut up and that Iron man can hear every word that Luke is saying. Luke suddenly gets a very scared look on his face. Classic!
We then cut to a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier where Tony is meeting with Nick Fury and Dum Dum Dugan. Dugan thinks that Tony has undergone a complete personality change and must be watched. Tony then enters the room and Nick dismisses Dugan. Nick asks Tony if he is overworked trying to shoulder too much. Tony says he can handle it. Nick asks if that is Tony talking or the Extremis virus. Tony snaps. Tony says should he start operating at 50% so everyone else can feel good about themselves. Tony says that war, crime, terrorism were obsolete. That he can bring about world peace. Nick then asks Tony about Project Argonaut. Tony feigns ignorance about the project.
We then cut to Iron Man flying back to his lab. Tony showers and thinks that Nick doesn’t trust him. That Tony hasn’t changed, everyone else has changed. That S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers are so busy fighting battles that they can’t see that we can win the war. Tony then enters his armory and says to win a war you need shock an awe. We see an army of Iron Men being constructed.
We then shift back over to London, where the hooded man from earlier in the issue executes another person from his list of names.
We then go to Charles De Gaulle Airport someone in armor is targeting a businessman. End of issue.
Comments
The Good: I was pleasantly surprised. This was a great issue! The Knaufs’ crafted a great first issue to kick off their tour of duty on Iron Man. I don’t know which one had a greater hand in writing the issue, but I would suspect Daniel. There is no doubt that Daniel Knauf can write, but that doesn’t mean he would make the transition from Carnivale to Iron Man.
The Knaufs’ have a great feel for Tony Stark’s character. I am glad to see that they are building off of what Warren Ellis created rather than doing what many writers do and totally ignore what the writer before them created. The Extremis virus has obviously changed Tony. Tony has always had an ego and confidence. Now they are pushed to all new highs. I like this new Tony. I like that he feels only he knows what needs to be done and only he can accomplish it. Everyone else is just so slow and dumb that they need to stay out of his way and not to question his actions.
I enjoyed Iron Man’s interaction with both Captain America and Nick Fury. These men know each other very well and Cap and Nick know that Tony has changed. The scene with Luke Cage was just hilarious!
The Knaufs’ write some pretty good dialogue. Each character has their own voice and the dialogue-heavy scenes are actually more interesting than the action scenes. Of course, the fight scene between Iron Man and Crimson Dynamo was perfect. It showed off just how amazingly powerful Iron Man has become. Iron Man is now arguably the most powerful super-hero in the Marvel Universe.
We have a couple of new storylines. The hooded assassin killing people in London and this armored attacker killing people in Europe. I’m interested to see where the Knaufs’ go with these storylines. We also have the storylines involving Tony and his army of Iron Men and just what exactly is Project Argonaut and why is Tony keeping it a secret from Nick Fury? So many questions. The Knaufs have planted many seeds for some interesting stories during their 12 issue run.
The Knaufs are clearly gearing up for the upcoming Civil War and placing Tony in a prominent position during this conflict. I was very impressed with the Knaufs’ writing on their debut issue. I have a feeling that we are in for a great 12 issue run on Iron Man. I just wish the Knaufs would stick around a little longer.
Patrick Zircher and Scott Hanna’s art is pretty solid stuff. I have no complaints. It isn’t the best art out there, but it is good and makes the comic enjoyable to read. Zircher draws a nice Iron Man and an even better Tony Stark. If not drawn right, Stark can look too boring and conservative with his generic short “white guy” haircut or too cheesy with that little mustache. Zircher draws Tony with more length on his hair and gives him a goatee. Tony must always have a goatee. No more mustache.
The Bad: I honestly have no complaints. For the first time in a good long time, I really enjoyed reading Iron Man.