Invincible Iron Man Vol. 5: Stark Resilient, Book 1 [Hardcover]

Matt Fraction (Author), Salvador Larroca (Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: 4 and up

The Hammer Girls unleash DETROIT STEEL on a world hardly ready for that much metal and chrome, and God help anyone that gets in his way. Tony keeps sifting through the ashes of his old life and tries to rebuild who he is and what he does. Rhodey struggles to be a man of war in a peacetime empire.

COLLECTING:

Invincible Iron Man #25-28

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Marvel (September 22, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785145559
• ISBN-13: 978-0785145554
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.5 x 10.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #637,024 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Waitaminit, is this an Iron Man comic book... or a Forbes magazine?, November 7, 2010

By 

H. Bala "Me Too Can Read" (Just moved to posh Marina Del Rey, CA - where if you drop a quarter, why, you just keep on walking) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Invincible Iron Man Vol. 5: Stark Resilient, Book 1 (Hardcover)

This is as good a jumping on point as any for those new readers mulling over picking up this series. IRON MAN Vol. 5: STARK RESILIENT collects issues #25-28, and I'm with ya if you're grousing over the skimpy number of issues here. But Matt Fraction's storytelling kept my eyes pinned on the pages. Salvador Larroca's art also kept my eyes pinned on the pages. These guys have been doing that to me since this series began two years ago. My eyes hurt from getting pinned so much.

The trade kicks off with the 38-paged 25th issue. Fraction does a smooth job of incorporating what's gone down before into this current storyline so that new readers can easily get caught up. This "Stark Resilient" arc finds a Tony Stark finally with his marbles restored. But that's about it. Dude is broke. His assets, his corporation, his armory, all that is kaput. But this is nothing new for Tony. He quickly sets about reconstructing his company from the ground up, this time calling it "Stark Resilient," a name entirely in keeping with this man's make-up.

As Iron Man steps into Marvel's so-called Heroic Age, Tony Stark proclaims a new direction for Stark Resilient, much to the U.S. military's chagrin. Tony's vision revolves around the application of his repulsor technology towards providing the world an alternative source of energy, away from fossil fuels. It's an ambitious mission statement for someone as empty pocketed as Tony. But he begins recruiting business partners and key employees. Pepper Potts is willing to run his show. But she misses being a superhero.

With Stark opting out of the weaponizing industry, others are quick to fill the void. Justin Hammer's daughter thinks she's got what it takes and she begins to deploy her chess pieces. What she offers is the Detroit Steel, a manned suit of armor which towers over the Iron Man armor. Four issues into this arc, I'm still not sure where this is going. The Spymaster - who looks really, really spiffy - figures in here somewhere.

No-brainer that you'd be even more invested if you'd been following this series from the get-go. That 17-issue "World's Most Wanted" saga is what really made me like Iron Man (okay, Robert Downey, Jr. also had something to do with it). I liked the four issues in this trade, but you should know that it's predominantly talky-talk, slow on action, heavy on plot development. It focuses more on Tony Stark than on Iron Man, deals more with corporate shenanigans than hi-tech superheroics. I'm still not sure I approve of Tony's amnesia. I guess I accept that Tony nursed enough hubris that he didn't think it necessary to back himself up on a regular basis, copy his brain on a regular basis. But now what's happened is that, with this brain reboot, there's a gap in Tony's memory. Meaning, he doesn't recall all the jerk moves he'd pulled off from the Civil War onwards, and this is basically Fraction's way of giving Tony Stark a pass, a get-out-of-jail-free card. There was a time when I really disliked Tony Stark, and there's still a part of me that thinks he's getting off easy here.

Redemption, Stark's old pal. It's not enough that Tony Stark has rebranded his company. Even though he doesn't remember, Tony finds that there's a lot of people hating on him. So, in his own series and in other comic books, Tony goes around mending fences with his fellow heroes.

The new Iron Man armor is unveiled in issue #25 and it is sensational (I really think Larroca draws machines better than humans). I just wish we see more of it. I'm not sure if I buy Fraction's break-down of the pseudo-science involved, but I guess this is a logical extrapolation of the extremis technology. What's happened is that Stark's Iron Man armor is pretty much a real part of him now, the armor now residing in the hollow of his bones until summoned forth. It's actually a very cool concept, and when the armor shows up, it is dynamic.

Matt Fraction's writing maintains its high standards, even if the pace at times tends to be ponderous. Salvador Larroca keeps on laying down the sweet artwork, although there are a few panels in which he draws Thor looking Asian (what's up with that?). Frank D'Armata's colors add depth and tone, and you have got to peek at Larroca's pencil work in the bonus material section to understand how two-dimensional his stuff looks without D'Armata splashing in the rainbow. 3.5 out of 5 stars out of this one. This is Book One of the "Stark Resilient" arc. Maybe they should've waited and combined Books One & Two before releasing this volume. I'm sort of not down with the up-in-the-air finish...

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars stark & fraction back on track, September 18, 2010

By 

Chad R. Mclewin "Fat Mick" (Norfolk, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Invincible Iron Man Vol. 5: Stark Resilient, Book 1 (Hardcover)

yes, the cover is crappy. somebody should be ashamed, but because everything inside is great. after the mediocre (and worse) time lost in disassembled's rambling psychic journey inside tony's head this is Fraction doing what he has done best with Tony Stark. 10 years ago who would have thought of iron man as being as relevant and important as he is now? fraction & larroca have made iron man a must read for the adult comic community.

In Resilient we find Tony facing and dealing with the fears he stated back in the Five Nightmare. They are more than just plot points they are connecting to the past, but philosophic questions too. they are also dealing with a question that i've had since the movie. if you have this amazing power source should you do something more than just play hero with it? they've had this volume planned from the beginning and it's coming to a beautiful fruition.

he's building a new suit, a new company and rebuilding his frayed relationships with friends and heroes. The dialogue is sharp and interesting. the relational tensions are real, which is amazing considering the crazy soap opera amnesia contrivances they are working out of. how do they make it seem so real is the magic of it. i love how they are not using this mind wipe to absolve tony of everything he's done in the last decade.

i know larroca has some haters, but i think his art is spot on. he has a deft and subtle touch that makes all these crazy comic book colors real. there is one frame of dr. richards thinking real hard that is an amazing jem. i completely missed it on the 1st read, but was guaffing on the 2nd go round.

this is a great entry point into this series. i strongly recommend getting everything that has gone before, but if you've been hearing all the good praise thrown this way and are curious, this is a great place to start. Stark and Fraction are back!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars You'll need to be a resiliant reader to cope..., October 7, 2010

By 

Axel (St. Lucia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Invincible Iron Man Vol. 5: Stark Resilient, Book 1 (Hardcover)

This is an occasionally painstakingly slow story and at 13 plus dollars for only 4 issues, I would recommend waiting for all parts to be collected in trade or for a second Fraction/Larocca Omnibus. The issues here are plodding and, while still good product, will leave you feeling very unsatisfied after purchasing.