http://fictivore.livejournal.com/ ([identity profile] fictivore.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] cap_ironman2011-01-30 12:26 am

Hi? Iron Man 500?

Umm.... So since there isn't really a Tony Stark community out there and I really really need some input on this. Help, guys?

I just read Invincible Iron Man #500 and apparently it's gone into reprint and everyone is really pleased with it. Umm, what did you think of it? Did you think he got Tony was right in what he would or would not do? Do you know anything about Fraction's future plans with Tony and what are your opinions about them?

Because I just read the issue, and... I can't get over it. I don't want to lead witness or whatever in the post so I'll put my opinions in the comments, but please, I really really need to get this off my chest. Thanks.

[identity profile] jane-says.livejournal.com 2011-01-29 09:12 pm (UTC)(link)
My "problem" with IM# 500 is basically the same as it's been the whole title since around Extremis in 2005; I don't know what the story is trying to accomplish. I get to the end of a story arc and can only wonder what the message was supposed to be. Sometimes I do in see where they were trying to go but it's ill suited to his overall tone.

#500 is no different. I don't hate it, I just really know what to make of it. I feel like there hasn't been for much forward motion in the Iron Man book or of Iron Man in the Marvel universe at large since Civil War. I'd held out hope that the movie would turn it around but that and the sequel have come and gone and it's moving slower, possibly even backwards, than ever.

As someone that's been "reading" Iron Man since before I could read I believe that Tony is a one of the easiest characters to mess up and just about the hardest to get back on track with. People that have been introduced to Iron Man post-Civil War don't seem to notice it as much.

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Edited for this little factoid I forgot to add:

Just to illustrate Marvel's general discare of Iron Man did you know that Invincible Iron Man #500 is mis-numbered? It's actually the 503rd issue. Iron Man v5 #31 released last October was the 500th issue.
Edited 2011-01-29 22:04 (UTC)

[identity profile] jane-says.livejournal.com 2011-01-30 02:54 am (UTC)(link)
Don't be sorry. I completely understand the need for a good rant. ^_^

I call Extremis the jumping off point into the era of Tony we have now. We had that conversation before about Extremis being the ultimate enabler. The first 14 issues volume 4; Extremis, Execute Program and the 2 issues of Civil War tie-in; are really the last push forward (and a fairly good one at that). But after Civil War I had to walk away from Marvel and comics and a lot of fandom in general, due more to the fans than the fandoms themselves … which is a long story worthy of a comic book itself where I had to accept certain sad truths about humankind and their interpretations of fiction reflecting it.

Back to #500 before I digress more. I think I've accepted that this is going to be the Iron Man we have until there is a restructuring of writer/art/direction not only in this title but Marvel overall or they acknowledge this is the low moment and we get that rebuilding momentum again. Tony has always been a character that when laid low gives some of the best opportunities to do something different.

Having only been a wee little fan-girl when IM #200 ended the Obidiah Stane arc I would have loved to experience it as it was happening over the course of the THREE YEARS it took to tell the story. I can only hope that if we ever get rebuilding it's half as good as those issues.

Looking back at the previous 100s issues I kind of want to do a retrospective post but I'm not really sure the best way to go about it.
penumbren: Jeremy Clarkson wearing a crown on QI (Default)

[personal profile] penumbren 2011-01-30 12:13 am (UTC)(link)
Iron Man v5 #31 released last October was the 500th issue.

And that's another peeve of mine about this whole "renumbering" thing: Cap is sitting at 600+ because they didn't start the numbering over for him when they ended Tales of Suspense... they just kept on with the ToS numbers. By all rights, IM should be at something like 568, and Cap at 514, or they should be the same. Or one off - I can't remember if the IM/Namor one-shot came out the same month as Cap #100 did.
muccamukk: Wanda walking away, surrounded by towering black trees, her red cloak bright. (Smile)

[personal profile] muccamukk 2011-01-30 01:11 am (UTC)(link)
But would you count in the Captain America Comics stuff? He is the older of the two characters.
penumbren: Jeremy Clarkson wearing a crown on QI (Default)

[personal profile] penumbren 2011-01-30 01:24 am (UTC)(link)
Probably not, for the same reason that Marvel didn't: They were published by a different company. Yes, I know that's splitting hairs what with the company rename, but still. ;)

[identity profile] jane-says.livejournal.com 2011-01-30 03:08 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah I never really understood Tales of Suspense basically becoming the Captain America title as he wasn't even in half of them but Iron Man (who basically took over that book in equal parts with Cap) started at #1.