Iron Man 2.0 is here - and Tony Stark isn't the one who made him! Ezekiel Stane is on the scene and fixated on avenging the death of his father, Obadiah. Every bit as ruthless and ten times as smart, the younger Stane is all five of Stark's nightmares rolled into one - and his perversion of Stark's technology into a weapon capable of slaying hundreds of innocents at a time starts the clock ticking on a chess game Iron Man must win! Then, Tony goes on the run from Norman Osborn! Osborn now has all the power he ever wanted minus the most important ingredient, the registration database, which is stored in the only place Stark could guarantee its safe keeping - inside his Extremis-enhanced brain. Collects Invincible Iron Man #1-19.
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More About the Author
Before joining Marvel Comics, writer Matt Fraction had already established his reputation as an emerging new talent with his work on Last of the Independents. Fraction's tale of a bank robbery gone wrong earned him a coveted "A" grade from Entertainment Weekly, as well as interest from Marvel. After taking on a short story assignment in the anthology title X-Men Unlimited, Fraction was handpicked to launch two of Marvel's biggest projects for 2006: Punisher War Journal with artist Ariel Olivetti, and Immortal Iron Fist, with co-writer Ed Brubaker and artist David Aja. Both series met with overwhelming critical and fan acclaim, selling out their respective first issues within days of release. This led to two even bigger projects: The launching of Invincible Iron Man, a high-profile first issue premiering the same month as the blockbuster film; and Uncanny X-Men, written in tandem with Immortal Iron Fist partner Brubaker. In addition to his Marvel work, Fraction writes Casanova, an off-beat series illustrated by Gabriel Bá which recently moved to Marvel's Icon imprint. He is also a talented filmmaker and graphic designer, heading up the MK12 firm with a worldwide client base that includes Adidas, MTV and Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Fraction remains one of Marvel's most popular writers; other credits include The Order and Thor: Ages of Thunder.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 33 people found the following review helpful
By Uthor
Format:Hardcover
19 issues in a nice hardcover. There's basically two story arcs here. The first seven issues take place before Secret Invasion where Stark's tech gets out into the hands of terrorists. It's about his fears that the Iron Man tech gets used for evil and the sacrifices he makes to stop it. It reminds me a bit of an early Authority story.
The next 12 issues are post-SI, with Stark being kicked out of S.H.I.E.L.D. (S.H.I.E.L.D. itself becoming H.A.M.M.E.R.) and being replaced by Osborn. Stark has all the important security info stored in his brain, which he has to erase so Osborn doesn't get his hands on it. It's a story about the world's richest man on the run, going from hideout to hideout and scavenging tech, all the while slowly losing his mind, his memories, and his abilities to function. There's a cool parallel with Stark's devolving mind and him using progressively more simple Iron Man suits, eventually completely loosing his mind as he makes his way to the original gray Iron Man mk I suit. I liked this second arc better.
There's also two stories going on at the same time. One is of Pepper Potts learning to use Rescue, a defensive only Iron Man suit. The other is a spy story featuring Maria Hill as she tries to get some info to Capt. America and that eventually involves Black Widow.
The only thing I don't like about this volume is the coloring. It looks airbrushed and, especially early on, gives everything an unnatural sheen. It gets mellowed out by the end.
The next 12 issues are post-SI, with Stark being kicked out of S.H.I.E.L.D. (S.H.I.E.L.D. itself becoming H.A.M.M.E.R.) and being replaced by Osborn. Stark has all the important security info stored in his brain, which he has to erase so Osborn doesn't get his hands on it. It's a story about the world's richest man on the run, going from hideout to hideout and scavenging tech, all the while slowly losing his mind, his memories, and his abilities to function. There's a cool parallel with Stark's devolving mind and him using progressively more simple Iron Man suits, eventually completely loosing his mind as he makes his way to the original gray Iron Man mk I suit. I liked this second arc better.
There's also two stories going on at the same time. One is of Pepper Potts learning to use Rescue, a defensive only Iron Man suit. The other is a spy story featuring Maria Hill as she tries to get some info to Capt. America and that eventually involves Black Widow.
The only thing I don't like about this volume is the coloring. It looks airbrushed and, especially early on, gives everything an unnatural sheen. It gets mellowed out by the end.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Soren K.
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you're one of the people who has been spitting on effigies of Iron Man since the close of the Civil War, prepare to make the transition spit-shining his image.
This story arch details Stark's own failure to run the world as head of SHIELD as his past confronts him and almost undoes him. Then, after the Krull siege, Stark loses everything to Osbourne. The Invincible Iron Man has taken a licking and now that he's the underdog again, we can root for him. Better yet, he's fighting on the right side this time.
If you're a Libertarian or even liberty-minded, this series will continue to terrify and infuriate you with your worst nightmares of shady government organizations with unlimited power and clandestine processes. Finally, Iron Man is digging in and going to war with Uncle Sam's tyrannical offspring.
Excellently written, fantastically drawn. My only complaint and reason to subtract a star is that the action, at times, can be a bit of a blur. The entire concept of the novel can at times become overwhelming and a sense of hopelessness grasps the reader. Comics have come a long way since the Man of Steel lazily snapped his fingers, flew around the world, and turned back time. The complexity of characters in the ever-expanding Marvel universe has become impressive and stands to compete with the depth and grit of Garth Ennis' more adult-oriented lines such as The Boys and Preacher (of course minus the nudity and ultra-violence, although this novel does contain more than a few provocative glimpses of Black Widow, Pepper, and Maria Hill showing some skin). Strap yourselves in for an incredible story. This novel will tear at you. Be prepared for the ultimate emotional investment.
This story arch details Stark's own failure to run the world as head of SHIELD as his past confronts him and almost undoes him. Then, after the Krull siege, Stark loses everything to Osbourne. The Invincible Iron Man has taken a licking and now that he's the underdog again, we can root for him. Better yet, he's fighting on the right side this time.
If you're a Libertarian or even liberty-minded, this series will continue to terrify and infuriate you with your worst nightmares of shady government organizations with unlimited power and clandestine processes. Finally, Iron Man is digging in and going to war with Uncle Sam's tyrannical offspring.
Excellently written, fantastically drawn. My only complaint and reason to subtract a star is that the action, at times, can be a bit of a blur. The entire concept of the novel can at times become overwhelming and a sense of hopelessness grasps the reader. Comics have come a long way since the Man of Steel lazily snapped his fingers, flew around the world, and turned back time. The complexity of characters in the ever-expanding Marvel universe has become impressive and stands to compete with the depth and grit of Garth Ennis' more adult-oriented lines such as The Boys and Preacher (of course minus the nudity and ultra-violence, although this novel does contain more than a few provocative glimpses of Black Widow, Pepper, and Maria Hill showing some skin). Strap yourselves in for an incredible story. This novel will tear at you. Be prepared for the ultimate emotional investment.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
No one likes a high and mighty know-it-all. Even Classius Clay didn't become the people's champion until he lost his first fight. In the Marvel universe Tony Stark, the world's foremost futurist, is probably the most smug smart guy around. He wasn't ever my favorite costumed crimefighter, but then the live action movie came along and made me like him and then I picked up Matt Fraction's run and he made me like him even more. Drat.
This is the INVINCIBLE IRON MAN Omnibus and it collects the first 19 issues of the new series, and it's unputdownable enough that it won the Eisner award for Best New Series. If, like me, you're not caught up with everything that Tony Stark has been up to, well, it's fine, because Matt Fraction catches you up enough with the requisite backstory.
This first arc here covers Tony Stark's end stint as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. as he tangles with global terrorism and with Ezekiel Stane, the homicidal genius son of Obadiah Stane (who had been Stark's nemesis). Young and insane Ezekiel Stane is converting men into walking repulsor bombs, and the kicker is that the technology used is clearly lifted from Tony Stark's design. It's only one element of Ezekiel's murderous vendetta against our favorite superhero industrialist.
The second arc is epic and it comprises the bulk of this collection, and it takes us past the events of the Skrull invasion, and it finds Tony Stark discredited and ousted as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. on grounds of royally bollocksing stuff up during the invasion. And maybe, just maybe, part of it too is repercussion from his sanctimonious deeds in the Civil War. S.H.I.E.L.D. is shut down, H.A.M.M.E.R. established in its place, with Norman Osborn now running things. The public, of course, doesn't have the slightest that Osborn is a giggling psychopath.
This is about as low as we've ever seen Tony Stark, discounting his time in the '80s as a raging alcoholic, which inarguably was Stark at lowest ebb. Stark Enterprises is gutted, and when Tony refuses to cooperate (ie: hand over the Superhero Registration Act database), he becomes a wanted man. But here's the key element to this whole arc, that which makes this story so gripping: the database is now kept solely in Tony's brain and so, to make sure that Osborn doesn't gain access to it and other secrets, Tony puts into motion a comprehensive program which will hack into his brain and into the Extremis bio-electronics package in his body (the Extremis which, by the way, governs Tony's interfacing with the Iron Man armor). The result is a gradual erosion of Tony's memory and intellect and even his core personality. All this so that Osborn couldn't get into his head. Because Osborn is that dangerous.
Matt Fraction spins a breakneck, edge-of-the-seat tale of suspense, espionage, drama, and high tech skirmishes. It's crazy just how Stark becomes this utterly rootable character as he goes on the run, pressing on even as he loses bits of himself along the way, his smarts and his memory. As his intellect devolves, Tony not only finds it suddenly more challenging to survive Osborn's relentless attacks but he begins having trouble operating the sophisticated Iron Man armor and he's soon forced to rely on the older models. If you pay attention, you get to see the different incarnations of Iron Man, except in reverse chronology. As you get deeper in the pages, you can't help but note that the progressive decay of Tony's smarts and memory obversely parallels Fraction's humanizing of Tony Stark. A down and out Iron Man, I've never liked him more.
Supporting characters, Fraction gives them opportunities to shine. Pepper Potts goes thru a life-changing event and emerges as a hero in her own right. Maria Hill, whom I've never really cared about, endures some horrifying stuff and proves her mettle as a secret agent. The Black Widow surfaces in the later issues, and I like her tough as nails attitude. And there's even a team-up between the ol' Shellhead and the unregistered but incredibly helpful Spider-Man. But where Matt Fraction really lets loose is on Norman Osborn and his big bowl of crazy. In Fraction's hands Osborn comes off as possibly the worst case scenario EVER of a bad guy getting the remote control to the universe. The Goblin's insanity creeps me out and curdles the blood. It's gotten to the point now where I really can't wait for him to get what's coming to him. And I never thought I'd say this but, because of what he's put Tony thru, I won't even mind if it's Iron Man, rather than Spidey, who takes him down.
As ever, I'm digging on Salvador Larroca's sleek art, even though, yeah, the coloring on the characters' faces tend to take on this muddy look. On the other hand, the colorist is fantastic at adding texture and nuance to Larroca's pencils (check out the six pages of Larroca's penciled stuff at the back of the trade, and then compare that with the finished product).
I'm kinda curious to see more of the Triumph Division, the Philippines' preeminent superhero squad, although the first incarnation we see did go down pretty easy. But those are some pretty intriguing superhero code names.
This is the INVINCIBLE IRON MAN Omnibus and it collects the first 19 issues of the new series, and it's unputdownable enough that it won the Eisner award for Best New Series. If, like me, you're not caught up with everything that Tony Stark has been up to, well, it's fine, because Matt Fraction catches you up enough with the requisite backstory.
This first arc here covers Tony Stark's end stint as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. as he tangles with global terrorism and with Ezekiel Stane, the homicidal genius son of Obadiah Stane (who had been Stark's nemesis). Young and insane Ezekiel Stane is converting men into walking repulsor bombs, and the kicker is that the technology used is clearly lifted from Tony Stark's design. It's only one element of Ezekiel's murderous vendetta against our favorite superhero industrialist.
The second arc is epic and it comprises the bulk of this collection, and it takes us past the events of the Skrull invasion, and it finds Tony Stark discredited and ousted as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. on grounds of royally bollocksing stuff up during the invasion. And maybe, just maybe, part of it too is repercussion from his sanctimonious deeds in the Civil War. S.H.I.E.L.D. is shut down, H.A.M.M.E.R. established in its place, with Norman Osborn now running things. The public, of course, doesn't have the slightest that Osborn is a giggling psychopath.
This is about as low as we've ever seen Tony Stark, discounting his time in the '80s as a raging alcoholic, which inarguably was Stark at lowest ebb. Stark Enterprises is gutted, and when Tony refuses to cooperate (ie: hand over the Superhero Registration Act database), he becomes a wanted man. But here's the key element to this whole arc, that which makes this story so gripping: the database is now kept solely in Tony's brain and so, to make sure that Osborn doesn't gain access to it and other secrets, Tony puts into motion a comprehensive program which will hack into his brain and into the Extremis bio-electronics package in his body (the Extremis which, by the way, governs Tony's interfacing with the Iron Man armor). The result is a gradual erosion of Tony's memory and intellect and even his core personality. All this so that Osborn couldn't get into his head. Because Osborn is that dangerous.
Matt Fraction spins a breakneck, edge-of-the-seat tale of suspense, espionage, drama, and high tech skirmishes. It's crazy just how Stark becomes this utterly rootable character as he goes on the run, pressing on even as he loses bits of himself along the way, his smarts and his memory. As his intellect devolves, Tony not only finds it suddenly more challenging to survive Osborn's relentless attacks but he begins having trouble operating the sophisticated Iron Man armor and he's soon forced to rely on the older models. If you pay attention, you get to see the different incarnations of Iron Man, except in reverse chronology. As you get deeper in the pages, you can't help but note that the progressive decay of Tony's smarts and memory obversely parallels Fraction's humanizing of Tony Stark. A down and out Iron Man, I've never liked him more.
Supporting characters, Fraction gives them opportunities to shine. Pepper Potts goes thru a life-changing event and emerges as a hero in her own right. Maria Hill, whom I've never really cared about, endures some horrifying stuff and proves her mettle as a secret agent. The Black Widow surfaces in the later issues, and I like her tough as nails attitude. And there's even a team-up between the ol' Shellhead and the unregistered but incredibly helpful Spider-Man. But where Matt Fraction really lets loose is on Norman Osborn and his big bowl of crazy. In Fraction's hands Osborn comes off as possibly the worst case scenario EVER of a bad guy getting the remote control to the universe. The Goblin's insanity creeps me out and curdles the blood. It's gotten to the point now where I really can't wait for him to get what's coming to him. And I never thought I'd say this but, because of what he's put Tony thru, I won't even mind if it's Iron Man, rather than Spidey, who takes him down.
As ever, I'm digging on Salvador Larroca's sleek art, even though, yeah, the coloring on the characters' faces tend to take on this muddy look. On the other hand, the colorist is fantastic at adding texture and nuance to Larroca's pencils (check out the six pages of Larroca's penciled stuff at the back of the trade, and then compare that with the finished product).
I'm kinda curious to see more of the Triumph Division, the Philippines' preeminent superhero squad, although the first incarnation we see did go down pretty easy. But those are some pretty intriguing superhero code names.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Matt Fraction is at his best!
Matt Fraction creates an Invincible Iron Man. This 'Omnibus' contains the first 19 comics/volumes 1-3 of the books. Read more
Published 5 days ago by Tookie
4.0 out of 5 stars
Secondary book
While I enjoyed the book, you can't help but feel that it's secondary to the Marvel Crossovers that are happening at the time (particularly Secret War). Read more
Published 16 days ago by Brian B
5.0 out of 5 stars
Came packaged well, really pleased with Chuck's for sending it
As far as I can tell, this was a great book to pick up. It was a gift for my boyfriend, and he LOVES Iron Man, and was really excited to get it. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Samantha Styers
5.0 out of 5 stars
what is not to like?
I haven't completed it yet but the stories are as compelling as you'd think, if you're an iron man fan. As for the quality of the book itself I am quite impressed. Read more
Published 4 months ago by N. Fritz
4.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing story - not so amazing art.
Loved the story these collected issues tell, the cliffhanger ending is just perfect in the momentum. Read more
Published 4 months ago by niRty
5.0 out of 5 stars
Got me hooked on reading iron man
Ever since I started reading this book, I havent stopped reading Iron man at all. I bought the 2nd volume less than a week after reading this one, and I have spent over $50 in... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Lucas Lecompte
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great starting off point for anyone trying to get into Iron Man.
This Omnibus is a great collection for the beginning run Matt Fraction continues to have on Iron Man. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Emaverick
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing book!
Iron Man has been my favorite comic book character since I was 5 years old and have enjoyed many great stories. Read more
Published 12 months ago by The 10th Doctor
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fantastic start to a new series!
Title: Invincible Iron Man Omnibus Volume 1
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artists: Salvador Larroca (pencils, inks) Frank D'Armata & Stephane Peru... Read more
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artists: Salvador Larroca (pencils, inks) Frank D'Armata & Stephane Peru... Read more
Published 15 months ago by N. Beitler
4.0 out of 5 stars
Give it a try
This is my first Iron man book although I collect Marvel comics for over 10 years. The only reason for buying this book is Salvador's artwork because I adore his work. Read more
Published 19 months ago by storm
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