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The Invincible Iron Man Omnibus, Volume 1 (2010)

by Matt Fraction(Favorite Author)

4.21 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0785142959 (ISBN13: 9780785142959)

languge

English

genre

Graphic Novels & Comics

publisher

Marvel

review 1: This collection gets four stars overall, even though the second storyline isn't as good as the first. There's a lot that's done very well.A passing knowledge of the Civil War and Secret Invasion storylines, at least, would be really helpful here, and it's set at the beginning of Dark Reign. Unfortunately, I dislike all of these storylines intensely. But I don't blame Fraction for that. None of this may have been his idea, after all. And one can read Dark Reign as Marvel's acknowledgement that maybe the whole Civil War thing wasn't that great of an idea after all.But back to the actual book at hand. Fraction does a good job of writing an action-packed story. He does a great job of putting Tony through the wringer, too. The first storyline features a plot to put Iron Man tec... moreh in the hands of terrorists. The mastermind is actually a credible threat, despite being a weak charactter. The second storyline is about Tony's efforts to keep the implausibly powerful Osborn from getting access to the registration list. By destroying his own brain. Watching Tony lose his one real superpower is really sad, and it goes a long way to rehabilitating his character. Remember, everything that Osborn has and does is Tony's fault.But Osborn is so plainly a mustache-twirling villain that I just can't buy him as actually having the supreme levels of power that he does here. He just isn't a credible threat to Tony, or really anyone, because his very position isn't credible. I don't believe the basic premise of the storyline, which will obviously drag it down a bit. Again, not Fraction's fault, but it's there.And then there's Pepper, who gets a random upgrade in the form of her own Iron Man-style suit. Sure, it's nice to see her taking an active role in the story, but did it have to be that active role? I'm unconvinced it was a great idea.
review 2: Matt Fraction's opening volume of Invincible Iron Man is a thought-provoking, modern take on the contemporary super human known as Tony Stark. The opening arc, which sees Stark battling Zeke Stane, the son of his old nemesis Obadiah aka the Iron Monger, shows Tony in complete control, using his formidable resources to track the terrorist serial bomber from corner to corner of the globe. Stark technology is at the forefront of the problem, and this is important to the collection's overall theme as Tony begins to pay for his sins. What makes Fraction's work enlightening is that the reader can very easily deem these sins necessary. By the time the book moves on to World's Most Wanted, the arc that is dominated by Dark Reign and the influence of Norman Osborn, Tony is deconstructing himself, and his life's work, so that it doesn't fall into the hands of a mad man. It was fascinating to see this reversal in fortune and attitude, as Fraction takes us back through Tony's past, suit by suit, armor by armor, and weapon by weapon. By the time we reach the Mark 0, Tony can barely walk, and the technology he is utilizing is so outdated it doesn't even have a navigation system. Look closely at the story's closing chapter and you can actually see Osborn's surprise at the lengths to which Tony has gone. Salvador Larroca does a great job painting this portrait through time; every panel that features armor is systematically placed until all that Tony has left are his co-workers Pepper Potts and Maria Hill. Like many other Marvel ongoings, Invincible Iron Man does suffer a bit from continuity. It will greatly help a reader to know the ins and outs of the Marvel universe but Fraction's stories are so straightforward and engaging that anyone looking for a classic superhero yarn won't be disappointed. less

Download links for: The Invincible Iron Man Omnibus, Volume 1

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