Superior Iron Man #4

Written by: Tom Taylor
Art by: Yildiray Cinar, Cory Hamsher, Tom Palmer, and Guru-eFX

At this point, Tony Stark has become far more intersting for me than I ever thought he was.

He's manipulative, charming and self-serving. He's the Superior Iron Man to me, not just because it's the title of the book, but because this is shaping up to be an incredible run. Taylor has a way of making "good guys gone bad" far more interesting than it should be. The way Tony talks in this issue about what is basically totalitarianism is frightening, making the characters in the book feel as if Tony is truly looking after everyones best interests. But there is something dark hidden inside Tony that just keeps coming out of him. The way he smiles so casually as he chooses to control peoples lives (mostly without them even knowing) is one of the characteristics that have fascinated me with this new Tony Stark. is he truly evil? Do we know if his goodness will slip out once-in-a-while? We see hints of both throughout the issue, especially once Daredevil reappears to confront Tony about a major secret Tony has.

Taylor's script wouldn't be so effective if it wasn't for Yildiray Cinar's pencils. The skillful line work he provides, along with the shine the inkers and colorist provide, makes the book feel like a typical clean-cut super hero book at times, but it's only to analog this new Tony Stark. The darkness of it all shows up at just the right moments, usually appearing right when Tony's darkness is also beginning to appear. No amount of clean art can mask the smirk in Tony's face when he's at his most cunning. 

Out of all the "Avengers Now" books that have come out this fall, "Superior Iron Man" barely had my interest. It seemed like a gimmick at first, and despite liking Tom Taylor's DC work, I didn't have much faith in the book. This issue continues to prove that I should have, because as someone that isn't a big Iron Man fan, the fact that this is becoming my favorite Marvel ongoing speaks volumes about its quality.