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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
This is Iron Man?, September 3, 2007
This review is from: Ultimate Iron Man - Volume 1 (Paperback)
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.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Interesting and Fictional Take on Ultimate Iron Man's Origin, November 28, 2011
This review is from: Ultimate Iron Man - Volume 1 (Paperback)
Ultimate Iron Man I and II are not 1610 (Ultimate) Anthony Stark's definitive origin story. It was revealed in Ultimate Comics: Ultimate Avengers vs New Ultimates that these two miniseries depict a comic version of a Japanese anime about Tony's early life. This isn't the true origin story of Iron Man.
Ultimate Iron Man I is a five issue miniseries written by Orson Scott Card with art by Andy Kubert. There is a heavy focus on sci-fi elements from Card, which gives this book less of a Marvel "feel." Which isn't exactly a bad thing. Card weaves together a fantastic and intelligent origin story. It's a shame that all his hard work was retconned to be nothing more than a fantastical tale. Kubert's art is excellent. Attention to body language, settings, and background are astonishing. The miniseries starts out by revealing the accident that gave Tony Stark such a genius mind. It should be noted that the first two issues focus heavily on Howard Stark, Tony's father. Ultimate Iron Man I includes extreme sci-fi and political elements. Such as Tony's physiology being altered in his mother's womb or Zebediah Stane making a play to wrest control of Stark's company from him. Readers not familiar with these types of subplots might be turned off by this. I personally loved it and felt it added a unique depth to Tony that I honestly didn't expect from this miniseries. We'll see Ultimate versions of Obidiah Stane and Jim Rhodes introduced and the final issue ends in a cliffhanger that leads into the sequel miniseries.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I respectfully disagree..., July 31, 2007
This review is from: Ultimate Iron Man - Volume 1 (Paperback)
The Ultimate Universe has resulted in some truly unique treasures, jewels in the glittering crown of Marvel Comics, but sadly this is not one of them.
For both the casual and dedicated fan, I recommend Iron Man: Extremis by Warren Ellis instead of this book. It is without question the book this should have been -- and in continuity to boot!
While I don't want to say that Ultimate Iron Man *ruins* or conflicts with anything essential in the Iron Man character, I will say that this ought to have been the third or fourth trade in the Ultimate Iron Man series.
Why? because it asks us to devote an extraordinary amount of time and effort to a story whose conclusion we already know without adding anything substantive -- at least nothing substantive that couldn't have been handled in Lost-style flashbacks to greater effect.
In an Ultimate Universe that I prize for its forward-looking stance on its characters, this book mires itself in the past and cannot seem to escape a story that, honestly, didnt really even need to be told.
Again, for your Iron Man fix, check out Extremis. Great dialogue, solid story, amazing art.
- r
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