Review: Invincible Iron Man #21

Or – “”The Mask In The Iron Man…”

The aftermath of the superhuman civil war left Tony Stark in a precarious position, one where he single-handedly shouldered the burden of superhuman affairs in the Marvel Universe all by himself.  SHIELD came apart a bit at a time, and the Skrull invasion revealed the weaknesses in Iron Man’s facade, leaving Norman Osborn in a perfect position to seize the unprecedented position of power Tony had created.  On the run from nearly the entire government, Stark has forcibly erased his own mind to keep sensitive information out of the hands of Norman and others, and now lies comatose.  But, he has a contingency plan, presuming that his best friends (the recently returned Thunder God and the time-lost super-soldier) haven’t given up on him completely…

Invincible Iron Man #21

WRITER: Matt Fraction
COVER AND PENCILS: Salvador Larroca

Previously, in Invincible Iron Man:  Back during the reign of Herr Gruppenfuhrer Stark, Anthony Stark created a database containined the real names and personal information of all the registered superhumans in the United States, from Aegis to Yellowjacket (since no heros’ names start with z, and Simon Garth never registered.)  When Norman Osborn took over SHIELD and transformed it into the truly fascist organization called HAMMER, Tony wasn’t about to let that information fall into the hands of the Green @$#$ing Goblin, and downloaded it into his own Extremis-enhanced brain.  Taking it on the run, Tony then implanted a virus in his brain that would slowly wipe out the information in the database, but would have the secondary effect of erasing his own personality and memories.  The effect was successful, but being ever-resourceful, Stark put together a secondary plan to save his life, with a little help from Pepper Potts, and Doctor Donald Blake (known to us as Thor.)  As with any plan, though, it has some slight flaws, not the least of which comes from his ex-girlfriend Whitny Frost, aka Madama Masque.  Of course, Tony is in a coma, and has no idea what’s going on, trapped as he is in a recursive dream of some strange significance…

That dream  continues now, as Tony once again finds himself digging in the sand to find something very important, something that he can’t identify…  With help from the spectres of his deceased parents, he finds an Iron Man chestplate (old-school version, not the current hideous thing from the movies) buried in the sand.  “Careful,” he warns, as they unearth it, “It’s so heavy only I can lift it.”  HIs father chides him that weight is weight, and that kind of thinking will get Tony killed.  In the real world, Madame Masque has enlisted the help of another who hates Iron Man, the former corporate espionage agent known as The Ghost, late of Norman Osborn’s Thunderbolts.  Ghost and Masque come up with a plan, using a phone that will allow him to transport himself through a phone line.  In Broxton, Oklahoma, a frustrated Pepper Potts writes a letter to Tony raging about her current situation, tearfully reminiscing about the loss of her husband, her career, and the “flaming wreckage that was my life.”  Before she finishes her letter, though, the arrival of an old friend gives her an upturn as Steve Rogers arrives in full Captain America garb.  “Iron Man is in trouble,” says Steve.  “And we’re all going to bring him back.”

The plan (narrated by a recording of Tony himself) involves invasive surgery, taking the repulsor generator from Pepper’s chest (apparently something that Tony did to save her life some time ago, allowing her to be an armored superhero called Rescue.)  The “electronic repulsor battery” is implanted in Tony’s chest (something that everyone who has seen the Iron Man movie can clearly identify, as it is the same device from the movie, visually) but without a power source, it’s useless.  (Tony has destroyed all existing repulsor generators to keep Norman and Obadiah Stane from getting their hands on ’em.)  In his dream state, Tony’s mind dreams that he puts on the unearthed armor, but he won’t be able to turn on all the switches without help.  Once again, Howard reminds his son of an unpleasant truth: “Knowing you need it and ASKING for help are two different things.”  Tony accepts his help, but the armor doesn’t power up, and monstrous robots again come to kill them all.  While Pepper gets her heart torn out again (literally) Rhodey disassembles her new armor to help rebuild Tony’s heart.  Once implanted, the only way to get sufficient power is for theem to hook Captain America’s indestructible shield up to cables and have Thor STRIKE IT WITH LIGHTNING.  This doesn’t seem like a good idea to me…  As his body is struck by unimaginable energies, dream-Tony’s armor does something, and he collapses.  Not far away, at a low-rent Oklahoma motel, a woman answers her phone to find that no one is on the other end.  As she hangs up, we hear the quiet laugh of the Ghost…

I have been quietly impressed with Matt Fraction’s take on the Marvel Universe for a while now, as he has made Emma Frost relatable, Wolverine likable, and Cyclops badass, but his Iron Man is a revelation.  He manages to maintain the hubris that created the entire Civil War mess, while adding a human touch and even a sense of humor to make Stark much more likable.  Salvador Larocca delivers a wonderful art job (although I was of the belief that Rhodey was now a half-human cyborg thing over in the War Machine title?)  Pepper Potts Hogan’s desperation is perfectly rendered, and her palpable relief at seeing Captain America is beautifully rendered.  It’s a very nice issue, proving that Tony really is a futurist, and not just when it makes him look like a jerk or allows him to beat up Spider-Man after forcing him to reveal his secret identity to the world.  Invincible Iron Man #21 does wonders for my dislike of Iron Man over the last couple years, earning a very impressive 4 out of 5 stars overall…  If Fraction keeps this up, Iron Man may actually become one of my favorite heroes again.  (Still miss the Silver Centurion armor, though.)