Iron Man #9

by lucstclair on May 01, 2013

Wanted for the crime of genocide, Iron Man, with the help of the massive bounty hunter named Death’s Head, hunt down the robot entity called 451. Used as a pawn in 451’s game, Tony takes these events very personally, but unbeknown to him, it’s about to get a hell of a lot more personal.
 

The Team

Written by Kieron Gillen (Uncanny X-Men by Kieron Gillen Vol. 1, Phonogram Vol. 1 : Rue Britannia) & illustrated by Dale Eaglesham (Red Hulk : Mayan Rule). Published by Marvel Comics.
 

The Pros & Cons

I love the fact that Marvel’s respecting continuity with Iron Man’s adventures. He’s temporarily a part of the Guardians of the Galaxy, which means this title parallels that title. Now it’s true he’s also on Earth within the pages of New Avengers, but 2 out of 3 ain’t bad. You could argue that the events in New Avengers take place after or even before the events in N.A. & I.M., but that’s neither here nor there. This issue is about payback, payback for an entire civilization at the hands of a mech who’s more than meets the eye and no he’s not a Transformer (see Iron Man #8).
 
It’s also a prologue to the next story arc entitled “The Secret Origin of Tony Stark”, which quite frankly, I thought we knew everything there is to know about Tony’s past. Is writer Kieron Gillen pulling a John Byrne here? By that I mean is he taking a beloved Marvel character and rewriting his history by going back 50 plus years or so by revealing something tragic or shocking. I can tell you from last page that whatever Gillen’s got planned, I’m totally on board.
 
A fun and larger than life supporting character is Death’s Head, he was fighting Iron Man just last issue in an alien arena of carnage and now he’s working for Tony. He’s a huge mercenary mech who like to finish his sentences with a “yes?” and I sure hope we see more of him in the pages of Iron Man or even the Guardians of the Galaxy. I think the reason I like this character is the fact that he reminds me of DC’s Lobo. Like Lobo, D.H’s an unstoppable bounty hunter/mercenary for hire who always gets the job done and doesn’t care how many skulls he has to crack to finish a contract. There will be bloodshed, yes?
 
Regular illustrator Greg Land takes a break, as Dale Eaglesham does the artwork. Eaglesham’s a fine illustrator, but with Guru eFX handling the colouring duties it makes the reader stare at the pages through rose coloured glasses. Every image is smooth like an oil painting and it looks absolutely gorgeous.
 

Favourite moment of dialogue

Death’s Head turns to Tony and says “You’re not one of those guys who has a code against killing “except for robots”? “I hate those krypto-fascists…”
 

Favourite illustration/panel

Greg Land’s cover of baby Tony in the very first Iron Man helmet is cute and funny.
 

The Outcome

We’re 2 days away from Iron Man 3 and while the character in the movies seems to be going forward, the character from the comic is going backwards. It’s not a complaint, but merely an observation.
 

Our Score:

8/10

A Look Inside