Customer Reviews

Ultimate Iron Man, Vol. 1 (v. 1)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I'm a big fan of Marvel's Ultimate line, and Iron Man is one of my all-time favorite characters, so when I heard about the Ultimate Iron Man limited series I was more than a little excited. After seeing how well Tony Stark's character was handled in the Ultimates, I was looking forward to seeing him in the spotlight here.

Marvel pulled off quite the coup in getting bestselling sci-fi author Orson Scott Card to write this series. Unfortunately it doesn't really pay off. I'm not familiar with Card's previous work, but he seems ill-suited to this particular task. I'll try not to give too much away here, but some of the plot points are just not right for Iron Man. Everyone can accept Tony Stark the boy genius. But Tony Stark the blue-skinned science mutant with weird powers? That is not what Iron Man is all about. A big part of Iron Man's appeal is that he had no superpowers. He used his intellect to create the Iron Man armor and hold his own among gods, mutants, and other super-heroes.

The story had some good points. The Stark/Stane corporate rivalry was handled well, and the secret government school for science prodigies (the same one from Ultimate Fantastic Four I assume) was a good setting for the young Tony Stark. I just wish it was explored a bit more. The dialogue between characters is awkward, and the supporting cast never seems to gel, especially compared to the other Ultimate books.

I'm sure Card is a good writer, but I think his talents would have been better utilized elsewhere (perhaps in the regular Marvel Universe). There is a certain standard in the Ultimate line established by writers like Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Millar, and Warren Ellis, and Orson Scott Card just doesn't live up to that standard.

Andy Kubert's artwork is as always, quite good, and in this case is the book's only saving grace. It would have been nice if he had managed to finish the entire series, but Mark Bagley does a decent job on the book's closing chapter.

I suppose I was going to be disappointed with an Ultimate Marvel book eventually, I just wish it wasn't Ultimate Iron Man.

[...] I really looked forward to this storyline, hoping that it would have the same kind of emotional pull and realism (as real as comics can be anyway) of other Ultimate lines such as The Ultimates and Ultimate Spider-Man. While I'm not disappointed in the Iron Man storyline, I'm not exactly thrilled either. I agree - the story moves WAY too fast. That's my biggest gripe - granted its a comic book, but exposition and character development does count for something. Spend a page or two developing these characters more - it can't hurt. I learned more about Iron Man and Tony Stark by reading the one page dossier at the end of the book than I did by reading the comics!

What I did like about the book was the explanation behind the development of the armor in the first place. I can only imagine how tough the premise has to be - why would a billionaire playboy develop a suit of killer armor? I'm ok with the explanation and rationale here. Its a little freaky, but it works. I also like the fact that Rhodey is introduced so early and that he's not just a gung-ho, "T.C." type of character, a la the original Iron Man series. He's a smart kid with a lot of potential but seems to have a bit of a temper problem. That's a good mix! But again, more development would be nice.

Overall, not bad - but not the best either. I'm sure things will develop nicely as time goes by, so I'm not too worried about IM. I'm just glad the armor ends up looking like it does with the Ulitimates and not at the end of this book. Looks too much like the "Iron Giant".

Excelsior!

Don't get me wrong, Orson Scott Card is an exceptional writer -- in addition to the Ender series, his book "How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy" is incredible. But I think he was ill-suited to write this particular piece. He seemed to make all the same mistakes Ang Lee made on the Hulk movie -- turning the Story of Tony Stark into a kind of S-F greek tragedy. Now, admittedly, Iron Man has never been one of my favorite characters (and my opinion of him has dropped even further since this Civil War debacle), and his sixties origin is a product of its time; but in today's political climate, I think something comparable could be worked out if a writer wanted to update it (I understand an Iron Man movie is soon due out which also abandons his traditional Viet-Nam origin). The bottom line is, I felt this book just missed the point. The Iron Man armor in an action situation doesn't show up until the last few pages and then, worst of all, the story ends right in the middle. I am unsure a continuation is forthcoming. Nor am I sure Iron Man fans would care if it was.

I love Kubert's art on this one. I collect all of the Ultimate line, and for the most part they are really good reads. I was expecting a lot from this series after the big announcement that Orson Scott Card would be writing it. While I think it is a solid story, it is a bit of a letdown because of the caliber of the writer penning the tale. To be fair, this is his first comic script attempt. I would pick this one up, just don't prepare to be blown away by it.

I am a huge fan of Orson Scott Card, but I know very little about "Iron Man." (I'm more of a Batman fan.) So I'm not sure if this Iron Man backstory existed prior to OSC's involvement or not, but this is so similar to his own "Ender's Game" and "Ender's Shadow" novels that I have to think he crafted it all. You have the exceptional child torn away from his parents (in this case, his mother), sent away to a school for the exceptionally gifted (in New York instead of out in space), and there he meets his arch-nemesis.

Getting away from the Ender similarities, though, this is a very good read. Exceptional writers have been getting involved with superheroes lately (Straczynski's writing of Spider-Man is brilliant), and OSC's writing works great. The story will keep you turning pages -- I didn't put it down until I reached the end.

Also included is some backstory of Iron Man's involvement with the Ultimates, as well as some concept art and original script from Card. Definitely worth the money, and I can't wait for the next installment.

...this isn't going to knock your socks off. Ultimate Iron Man is a solid sci-fi story. A cool origin story for one of my favorite Ultimates characters. However, on the other hand, it's not the great story that I thought it would be. When I heard that they were bring Orson Scott Card on to write Iron Man, I was stoked. Ender's Game, the Alvin Journeymaker series, his novelization of The Abyss... Card's a solid writer. While it was fun it wasn't amazing. Which, I guess, is what I expected. It was a good read but not worth the money of the hardcover. I found the fist Ultimate Fantastic Four to be a better and more exciting read. I think Card is a great writer but he needs to log in some more time writing comic books. He's just not there yet...

Orson Scott Card is a premiere science fiction writer, which is one reason my expectations for Ultimate Iron Man were so high. Ultimate Iron Man tells us the origin of billionaire industrialist Tony Stark, which is probably as far as you could have come to expect it to be. Turns out Tony is a blue-skinned mutant genius who has a way with machines, and is being pointed in the inevitable direction we know he's going to go in by his father. Now I know the whole point of Marvel's Ultimate universe is to be different from the set and classic continuity, but it doesn't always work here. Previous writers on other Ultimate titles, like Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Millar, and Warren Ellis among others, have made the comic book universe more believable (note I said that word and not realistic, that in itself would be an incredible feat) with their settings and characterizations, and while Card is an excellent author in his own right, his interpretation of Iron Man in the Ultimate universe just doesn't seem right given the groundwork laid out before and after it. Andy Kubert, who provides most of the artwork throughout this TPB (Ultimate Spider-Man artist Mark Bagley fills in for the final issue) does some wonderful work, and despite all my nitpicking, Card does weave an interesting story. All in all, Ultimate Iron Man may be worth a look for Iron Man, Ultimate universe, or even Card fans, but don't expect anything spectacular in the least.

I'm a huge fan of the Ultimates and the Ultimate line of comics, but the Ultimate Iron is just terrible.

Everything about it undoes everything you liked about the iconic Iron Man. Instead of being a genius who built an Iron Man suit with all sorts of powers, we find out that Tony was born with a strange skin disease. Oh - and he's blue and always in pain.

And the kids bully him and put him in a furnace and burn his legs off... which he regenerates.

This is the exact opposite oh what Iron Man fans want to see. Rather than having a super hero with a technology based origin, we are given some sort of blue mutant who can regenerate. It really feels like it has nothing to do with Iron Man at all.

I'm so disappointed with this story because now it's going to have to be integrated with the rest of the Ultimate Universe... when it really should be put away and never referenced again.

Orson Scott Card really brought new life to Iron Man for me. For any reader of super-hero comics, especially those who have waited for an interesting Iron Man outside of Avengers, here is your book. Card reinvents the character to make his motivation more reasoning and believable. Delve into Tony Stark's youth for an Ultimate look at a once again great character.

Thank You Mr. Card.

The Ultimate Iron Man ought to have been a coup by Marvel. They began by signing on a superstar writer, Orson Scott Card, great artist, Andy Kubert, and placing it in the Marvel Ultimates line. Everything started so well.

Maybe it's that Card didn't do his homework, or maybe he felt he was good enough to reverse Iron Man's creation story. In this tale he's a mutant with genetic abilities and an enhanced IQ. Why? There wasn't any need.

Tony Stark has always been the everyman hero. Someone smart enough to invent the enhancements necessary to take on villains of any power, and brave enough to enter the elite pinnacle of superheroes.

Frankly, Card's story is weak. He forces the character building in order to mold the reactions he must get, and he switches from scene to scene so quickly that no continuity is possible. For example, pages are devoted to the machinations required to steal Stark's company from his wealthy father, but only a couple panels are necessary to frame him for murder and send him to prison. Bleh!

On the other hand, the artwork is stunning, almost beautiful enough to make one forget the trite storyline and weak personalities.

- CV Rick