Invincible Iron Man #503Invincible Iron Man #503 is one of the very few times that a final chapter in an arc crosses over into a tie-in for another thing going on elsewhere. I’m not sure I can readily remember another comic ever being especially a part of two different stories at the same time like this one is. The real question, though… Does it work?
Otto Octavius has Tony Stark by the balls. He’s set off the timer for a small nuclear device that threatens to blow up a chunk of the city. His petty jealousy and hatred for Stark is driven him to the point that he doesn’t care about how many innocents get in the way as long as Tony pays for being a smug bastard when they first met at some symposium for technology. Octavius, in his own eyes, just wants to see Stark humbled. Tony caves into Octavius’ demands and is told the device that Tony believes is a bomb really isn’t. He just wanted to screw with Tony. In the end, Tony is left with some doubt about a few things Octavius said about having a spy or saboteur in the fold, but he pushes forward to get the deal made with Thor to have Stark Resilient rebuild Asgard. Shortly after, both Stark’s best engineers and Octavius witness a strange site in the skies.
I’m really torn on this issue. I’m not sure if the conclusion to this arc was just anti-climatic or actually brilliant. I really like Matt Fraction, but I really dislike Octavius. I’m not sure if the book feels oddly constructed to get to what we see at the beginning of Fear Itself or if the pacing and the structure was natural.
As much as I liked the idea that Octavius was just trying to worm his way into Stark’s brain and make him sweat a little bit and maybe, just maybe, feel a little paranoia about those around them, it seemed a bit of a drag that there was never any real threat. Maybe I wanted to look at this as I would have as a kid because I wanted the bomb to be real. I wanted the hero to have to legitimately save people from disaster. As a mature reader, I appreciate the (excuse my French) mindfuck of the whole thing. Octavius is just a sick, old man with a serious brain for designing things that can kill and maim so many and an even worse grudge against the privileged Tony Stark. The kid in me was let down, but the more critical thinking adult smiled at the idea that all this was done to get Tony to say “you were always smarter” to Octavius.
I can see this issue creating a problem for a small set of people. As a reader of the series, this issue is yet another issue I’ll read in connection with what came before it. For those who want to read all the books with Fear Itself across the top of the cover, they will likely be disappointed. This issue really only has about four pages of tie-in. The rest of it will probably leave others scratching their heads wondering what’s wrong with Doctor Octopus, why he has Iron Man dealing with a bomb, and why Stark is arguing with a madman when he could very easily just blast the crap out of him. One thing they shouldn’t be complaining about is the gorgeous Salvador Larroca art. That aside, having a final part to one arc to be tied into something that started as well as Fear Itself and getting people interesting in other books with the title on it is a little confusing for the lay reader. I’m not saying it’s a total fail or completely disastrous, it’s just a strange play.
Overall, it’s not a bad issue if you don’t take the first impression of the book. Read it and think about it for a little bit and you’ll realize there really is some cool stuff going on. If you can’t get past that first impression, then you’re likely disappointed in this book. At least now, Fraction and Larroca can jump into the Fear Itself tie-in arc in earnest.
A COMIC BOOK BLOG RATINGProsConsFraction creates a story that the more you think about it, the more you'll like what he did. Octavius is a turd for sure, but he's also completely insane and a complete wild card when he's out there walking the streets.First impression will not exactly help this issue. New readers coming in with the tie-in will have no idea what's going on and will be a bit disappointed with the minimal tie to Fear Itself. Rating70% You might also like...
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Invincible Iron Man #28 ReviewBy BlogsdnaTagged with: Fear Itself Invincible Iron Man Iron Man Matt Fraction Salvador LarrocaLeave a ReplyClick here to cancel replyYour name (Required)
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This post was added on 20 Apr 2011, 19:06 by Geoff Arbuckle who has contributed 378 posts to this blog.
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