Infamous Iron Man #11 Review

Victor Von Doom’s mother has returned from death, only to reveal that she’s not alone.  Can the new Iron Man overcome his hatred of his oldest frenemy?  Your Major Spoilers review of Infamous Iron Man #11 awaits!

INFAMOUS IRON MAN #11

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Aritst: Alex Maleev
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99

Previously in Infamous Iron Man: “Victor Von Doom recently discovered that his mother, the dark arts master Cynthia Von Doom, was alive and wanted to rekindled their relationship — but there’s a dark version of Reed Richards whispering in her ear at every turn, and his motives are still unknown.  This version of Reed also approached Ben Grimm, AKA The Thing, and asked him to kill the man who was Doctor Doom.  When Victor was captured by SHIELD, his mother came to his aid, but when she whisked him away to safety, he quickly discovered that she was not who she claimed to be.  Before he could act on his realization, Reed Richards appeared and did something so horrifying that it sent Victor Von Doom himself running in fear.”

INVERSION

This issue opens at Project Pegasus, where Peggy Carter is holding Victor Von Doom.  She has called in The Thing for support, but more than that, she has consulted with Doctor Strange, who arrives to have a conversation with Victor in secret.  There’s a lot of circular conversation back and forth, but what comes to the forefront is that Victor is unsure that his mother is even actually back.  At the same time, outside the compound, The Thing is confronted with what seems to be his best friend Reed Richards, only for the battle to reveal someone else, wearing Reed’s (possibly dead) face.  Doctors Strange and Doom realize what is happening, just in time for Sharon to remand Doom into Strange’s custody so that they can meet the creature behind all of Doom’s recent suffering: The demon called Mephisto!

I REALLY *HATE* BENDIS’ DOCTOR STRANGE

Certain Marvel characters created by Stan Lee have a reputation for locquaciousness and a particular way of speaking, and Brian Bendis simply cannot do those characters justice with his meandering, pedestrian back-and-forth dialogues.  This issue lost me when Doctor Strange began to meditate and told Doom “Shh!  I’m in the zone….  Autozone.”  It’s a silly, dumb throwaway line that should never come from the mouth of Doctor Strange, as far as I’m concerned, and it describes my problems with the issue perfectly.  Oddly, Bendis’ Doom is solidly written throughout the issue, and Maleev’s art is note-perfect to the tone of the script with it’s quiet pronouncements of evil and the sudden reveal at the end.

THE BOTTOM LINE: IT ALL KIND OF SHAKES OUT IN THE END

When you break it all down, this is a pretty okay issue with some fundamental flaws in how the creator approaches one of the main characters, but it’s really Doom’s book, and seeing Reed and Ben in antagonistic roles here is honestly kind of fun.  Infamous Iron Man #11 is well-drawn and has some clever bits of dialogue in it, and the final reveal is effective, leading to 3 out of 5 stars overall.  I can complain all I want about the irreverent and inconsistent Dr. Strange, but even with those flaws, this issue still manages to hold together and entertain…

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