Customer Reviews

Avengers Disassembled: Iron Man

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Iron Man Disassembled is the beginning of a steady return to greatness for the Marvel mainstay. The recent redirection of the Avengers and Avengers family of books are causing some controversy amongst fans. Personally, I think of it as a return to basics with these characters. Strip away the artifice, the past 15 years of "new directions", and rediscover what makes these characters resonate 40-odd years since their creation.

The Iron Man chapters are especially interesting because the creators (Ricketts, Harris, and others) understand that it's not the armor or technology that make the comic interesting, but Tony Stark himself. Tony is so insulated from the outside world, that when he puts up those iron walls, the people he cares about end up getting hurt, emotionally and/or physically. The subplot with Hap and Pepper points out especially well why Tony needs people, not just his super-brethren, as friends. He needs people to keep him grounded, and help him through anything life should throw at him, whether it be the villian du jour, or an alcoholic relapse scare.

The only drawback is that the artwork is not consistent in this book. I've always been a fan of Tony Harris's artwork; it's expressive, even when Tony's in the armor, and borders on realistic. Especially when it comes to the female form; when he draws women, they aren't the gravity-defying fantasies of lesser artists. Tony's girlfriend has a little bit of a poonch at the belly, her face creases when she smiles. Yet Scott Kolins artwork is sketchy, even ugly, and his work just looks like it lacks effort. I know some people like his artwork, but personally, I find it amateurish, and actually takes away from the impact of the climax. Kolins weak art is saved only by the writing, which I'm happy to say has been greatly improved in this title.

Very satisfying read, and an interesting side trip in the Avengers Disassembled storyline. I can't wait til Warren Ellis' and Orson Scott Card's Iron Man works are collected. This is a very exciting time for Shellhead, and this is where it starts.

this arc is ok, i dont really see how someone imitating iron man and murdering people can cause him to be 'disassembled' , because its happened before in one way or another, in the way the rest of the team was, or thor was, for that matter. but its still a good story, the artowrk is a little bland and lame for my taste. i'm so glad the arc after this (extremis, after the series gets re numbered) came out, that really changed the character for me. my whole life up to and including this arc, iron man was smart and cool but he was not always at teh top of my list of 'OH MY GOD new iron man this week!!!!" type of deal. now he is, good times!

This trade collects Iron Man #84-89, which is two different storylines that tie into the Avengers Disassembled event. The first arc is called "Turf War" and is written by John Jackson Miller (Knights of the Old Republic) and drawn by Jorge Lucas. To me this the better of the two storylines and the plot mainly resolves around a Senator enlisting Iron Man to cover up one of Stark's projects from his dad's era. I honestly don't see how it tied into Avengers Disassembled as it takes place before that event and it's just mainly a big fight with some politics thrown in there. Overall I did enjoy the story, the artwork was just ok. I did like the bad guy and also the appearance of Warbird before she took on the Ms. Marvel mantle but it was nothing too engaging. The second storyline was written by Mark Ricketts and drawn by Tony Harris and Scott Kolins (last issue). I couldn't stand this storyline, it was just boring, the bad guy was lame (just a guy who stole an Iron Man suit) and sad to see that these were the last issues of Iron Man till they rebooted him later on. So overall this collection wasn't a horrible read, I'm rating it more like 2.5 stars instead of 3. First story was fun and second sucked.

This trade was the collection that ended the Iron Man title. Now, that might sound bad and it is. The series didn't end because of these stories but these stories will never be thought in the pantheon of classic IM tales. The plot is flimsy. The dialogue is weak. The villain makes little to no sense and won't be see again due to his lack of creativity. The art was clunky. Overall, skipping this is your best bet!

It was fun to read Iron Man Disassembled but looking at it was a bore. The prologue artist was by far the most lazy, resembling no element of superhero style. As the book goes on the art starts to get ok, the best being the flashback of Avengers Disassembled, but It never gets great. The story and dialogue work, but they became clamped down by the lack of talented artwork. The fact that the artwork changed three times also was a factor in my appriciation level. The imposter storyline did feel a little stolen, but the third act justifies the entire plot. I felt like points of the writing may have lacked in certain areas, but the ending was rock solid and left me with satisfaction. The dialogue about how superheroes never take lives was classic, please take notice of this as you read. Also the little tidbit about the Avengers' Mansion was great. Little things like "how do the Avengers manage their trash" need to be explored. I love sci-fi stories that explain little things in an alternate universe. The writer of the prologue did some good exploration on this one.

It's worth it...kind of? You'll see some ugly art so just lower your expectations. The upside is that the trade has some good writing laced within its panels. It was definately a grade above Thor's disassembled sidestory.

With Brian Michael Bendis disassembling the Avengers, Mike Oeming killing Thor, and Robert Kirkman wreaking havoc on Captain America, Mark Ricketts got the assignment to disassemble Iron Man. Taking place after Tony Stark's tirade at the United Nations, Tony finds himself accused of murder after someone wearing Iron Man armor murders his board of directors. Eventually, it becomes clear that someone has got their hands on Tony's technology, culminating in a showdown between Iron Man and the murderer. Out of all the Disassembled storylines, this is probably the weakest. Ricketts' storytelling doesn't go anywhere, and the art by Scott Kolins is really nothing to write home about. The epilogue sets the stage for the Iron Man relaunch (yes, he's getting relaunched yet again) under the helm of Transmetropolitan and Hellblazer scribe Warren Ellis (and trust me, it's real, real good). Iron Man Disassembled isn't bad though, and it is worth a look at least.