Customer Reviews

Iron Man: Armor Wars

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While the "Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle" storyline tends to get the most attention, the Armor Wars saga remains my all-time favorite Iron Man storyline. The Armor Wars ran in issues 225-232 of the original Iron Man series, and featured the creative team of David Michelenie, Mark Bright, and Bob Layton. This team was responsible for a particularly good run of issues, of which Armor Wars was the highlight.

In this storyline, Tony Stark discovers that some of his Iron Man technology was stolen and passed on to various armored villains. Agonized at the thought that his technology was used to cause the suffering and death of others, Stark dons the Iron Man armor and starts hunting down these villains and destroying their armor. It seems simple enough, but what about the technology he provided to the government, such as SHIELD's Mandroids or the Guardians at the Vault? Iron Man's quest soon has him taking on friends and allies like Stingray and even Captain America, and ends up costing him his Avengers membership (though to be fair, it was just the West Coast Avengers, and they hardly count).

This is a fantastic tale of obsession, guilt, and justice, not to mention a seriously cool chance to see Iron Man taking down a whole bunch of armored bad guys. It's about as good a tale as you're likely to find in an 80's mainstream comic book. Michelenie does a great job with the story, and the artwork by Bright and Layton remains the standard by which I judge all other Iron Man artists. The chilling epilogue by the legendary Barry Windsor-Smith ends things on the perfect note, and may be the best modern single-issue Iron Man tale ever.

If you're an Iron Man fan, this is a must-have trade paperback. Marvel fans in general should check it out as well.

This was the first time Tony Stark went against the grain and attacked other superheroes in the pursuit of his own justice. This is a well done and under appreciated story that lays the groundwork of Tony's personality in the current Civil War/ Post Civil War stories.

Iron Man has always been my favorite and the Armored Wars was one of the main reasons. I loved this when it first came out, I read those comics so many times it's kind of scary so when it was out I had to get it.

The story, while pretty simple, is still fun. There's just something enjoyable about seeing Iron Man kick the butts of other armored characters. The battle with the Guardsmen was always my favorite, watching him tose them around like ragdolls never got boring even after several reads. I'm happy that the story still held up, for the most part, since I first read it when I was younger.

I recommend it for anyone who is an Iron Man fan and who missed it the first time it was release. Although I kind of wished they included the Captain America cross over that was also part of Armored Wars. Guess they're saving that for the Omibus addition.

The Arwen

Iron Man in the mid-80's!

With the success of Iron Man's 1st hit movie, I've been interested in reading defining stories for the character, and this paperback in particular represents one of the best I've seen.

Highlights here for me...
*Issue 225- Stark Wars! This 1st great issue sets up the entire storyline nicely. Stark discovers that many of his armored enemies are using technology he developed, and he wants his concepts back. Enemies mentioned include Stilt-Man, the Beetle, Shockwave, Controller, Crimson Dynamo, the Mauler, Professor Power, the Raiders, and Titanium Man.
*Issues 226 to 228- Iron Man vs. enemies & friends. Stark realizes friends like Stingray, SHIELD Mandroids, and the Guardsmen are also using his technology, and he sets out to destroy what they know. His west coast Avenging teammates & Captain America may just stand in his way.
*Issue 229- Stealth armor. Shellhead uses specialized methods to catch up with Titanium Man & Crimson Dynamo, and he loses his status as an Avenger in the process!
*Issues 230 & 231- Firepower! The U.S. government has issues with Shellhead, and their answers just might be nuclear. These great issues mark a transition in Iron Man's life, and a new direction for the character.

I love Iron Man's 80's, silver & red armor here, as well as *all* the great armor designs in this. The artwork is lively & colorful, and it's some of the best I've seen from M.D. Bright & Layton.

If you like mid-80's Marvel art, you might want to check this out. As far as I'm concerned, this is one of Shell-head's best, defining, story lines ever. It's a personal favorite at least. 5 stars!

I had so much fun reading it. It's really the definitive story of Iron man

From the Michelinie/Layton team that gave Tony Stark his alcoholism comes what's possibly the most thrilling and important Iron Man story. Tony Stark must face the reality that armored villains have been using his technology to commit their crimes making him feel indirectly guilty for all the damage they've done. As Iron Man, Stark hunts down these villains (and later heroes)to put a stop to the abuse of his technology.

The intention of the plot, on the corporate level, was to thin out some of Marvel's armored villains though the final product is a great look at the morality of Tony Stark (giving excellent insight to why he acts the way he acts during Civil War.) Iron Man goes rogue and is forced to walk on the wrong side of the law as Stark's obsession is taken too far. The entire collection is great, but the grand finale puts it over the top.

It's simply a classic, no Iron Man fan should be without it.

Well, not really. I'm sure I've read random reprints of Iron Man's early issues and such, but this is the first time I've ever bought an entire storyline to read. I wasn't disappointed, this is a really great story, with good action sequences and twists and turns. I'll be looking for other Iron Man yarns, but it'll be tough to beat this one.

Set up to be an epic tale, Armor Wars falls short. For one thing, there's little here beyond a series of iron-on-iron fights that Iron Man ultimately -- and often very easily -- wins. It grows tiresome fairly quickly. Also, one wonders -- if it's so easy for the hero to find and subdue these various armor-powered bad guys -- why he didn't do it sooner.

Besides, since Tony Stark in his civilian identity as a defense contractor sold the technology to the government, he actually does cross the line and become a crook when he takes it back, causing untold damage and injury in the process. Of course, you just know Stark is going to find a way to escape any kind of real penalty for his wrongs.

A lot of folks point to this episode as a thrilling climax in Iron Man's ongoing storyline, but it falls flat for me. The battles are monotonous, Stark's tortured inner monologue -- often recited ad nauseum to chum Jim Rhodes just so readers can be reminded every few pages why he's doing this -- is tedious, and the lack of any real consequence for his crimes is disappointing.

by Tom Knapp, the Rambles. NET guy