Tony Stark has had a crazy time dealing with magic, Asgardians, and fusions of multiple people. When trying to seperate Wonder Man and Vision, evil lurks around the corner that risks Tony Stark’s humanity. Find out what happens in Tony Stark: Iron Man #16 by Marvel Comics!

Tony Stark: Iron Man #16

Writer: Dan Slott and Jim Zub
Artist: Valerio Schiti
Colorist: Edgar Delgado
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Editor: Tim Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 18th, 2019

Previously in Tony Stark Iron Man: Part one of Ultron Agenda begins with Janet (the Wasp) having been kidnapped and Tony Stark trying to prevent a Machine uprising from happening. Tony has to try and save his girlfriend from  her captors are and stop Machine Man from starting the Robot Uprising before it is too late. Will he be able to do both?

BATTLE LINES ARE PLACED

This book starts with Jocasta being operated on by Arno Stark, Tony’s brother, to make her less of a robot and more human. This operation is halted by Ultron Pym, who has the best parts of Hank Pym and the robot Ultron. Meanwhile, Tony Stark is trying to seperate Vision and Wonder Man (whom I will now deem Wonder Vision)  and also using it as a torture method to try and figure out where Wonder Vision took The Wasp. The interrogation led to Tony Stark wanting to find Jocasta and realizing Ultron is behind everything. To find Jocasta, Tony Stark recruits Machine Man from a robot bar and finds the destruction of Abel Stark’s lab. Arno reveals that Ultron is at Avenger’s mansions and has taken Jocasta. 

Tony calls in the Avengers for help and arrives in Avenger’s mansion to what is surely a trap. Machine Man and Iron Man find Jocasta and Janet in a molecular fusion chamber and Ultron Pym seems to be trying to fuse the two people into one being; a being that is worthy of both the Hank Pym and the Ultron aspects of him. Outside Avenger’s Mansion, Bethany Cabe and Rhodey (War Machine) begin to be attacked by cyborg creatures and triggers Rhodey’s PTSD. Machine Man and Tony Stark are able to confuse Ultron Pym by trying to play on Pym’s love for Janet and Ultron’s love for Jocasta as separate entities. Tony Stark is able to rescue both Janet and Jocasta but not before the fusion tank explodes and fuses Tony Stark to his Armor.

EDGE OF MY SEAT

When I review a comic book, I read through the book three times. During the first read, I was on the figurative edge of my seat through the encounter with Ultron Pym. I love the idea of Ultron Pym trying to find love and the conversation about humanity and what it means to be human. Most of these characters are robots that have a degree of humanity or humans that are always on the verge of losing their humanity. This idea is shown pretty clearly through Ultron Pym who is trying to create the perfect wife. An inhumane action for a humane reason. This clashing of ideas is a great story point and really shines a light on Tony Stark as a character. Tony Stark has obsessions for a lot of good humane reasons but often this obsession leads to a certain numbness to reality. Often it is the role of the supporting cast to bring him back down to reality.

I also appreciate the idea of a drunk Machine Man through most of the issue. There is a tension between robot life and humanoid life and I think having the leader being a robot alcoholic was an interesting touch. This adds to the human element for the machine persona. However, the entire element of the Robotic War seems to have been neglected and seemingly brushed under the rug. I wonder how they are going to handle this in future issues especially considering Tony Stark’s state.

BOTTOM LINE: A THRILLING STORYLINE

I enjoyed this issue. I admit I have a soft spot for Tony Stark story because he is someone I can relate too and reminds me of myself sometimes. Well not the genius or the money part, but I understand the idea of always trying to fix things and getting so stuck in a project that you neglect yourself and others around you. I’m interested to see what this new cyborg-esque Iron Man is going to do for the character and how it is going to affect his psyche. 3.5 out of 5 for me.