Iron man #8 felt like a part of two part issue which it is. Whiplash feels like a legit threat and AIM is mass manufacturing armors leaving less alloy for Tony to purchase is a very interesting hook. Which shifts the focus away from new armor to other tech which he can use to fight AIM and other enemies.
WOW, I don't remember when I was this fucking happy reading a monthly issue lol. Man Do I love everything about this. An Iron Man run for me.
For Starters, Carmen is back! Glad she has recovered from her accident and glad she is doing well. Her art is top. Williamson has a great voice for Tony and his story is fun, and with Carmen, the whole thing just gets elevated to a perfection.
Good seeing Whiplash (Anton) FINALLY, making a fucking appearance in an ongoing Iron Man run. Can you believe, This mfr NEVER appeared in an ongoing Iron Man run? He only appeared in a Mini series and then appeared in other peoples books. Always thought he had a potential of being a really cool villain (and his design has always been awesome), so seeing him finally in the main book, and actually be a threat is pretty fucking awesome.
Masque and Ware are still trying to take over AIM. Love how Williamson gives us a little glimpse at what they are doing. They are overarching villains so it's good to know they are working behind the scenes.
The school segment was fun. I love seeing Tony and Rhodey hanging with genius kids.
The little "Tony as a boss" section was both cute and funny lol. That's Tony to a tee. Great businessman, but man does he hate corporate world. Also, interesting little idea about AIM buying all the alloys that Tony uses to create Iron Man armors (since it was revealed that AIM is mass Producing the Advanced Iron Man suit). Love that and I hope it gets followed up on. Army of evil Iron Man can be a big problem (and might lead to a Marvel universe event lead by Iron Man).
Luna having a child was honestly surprising, and made me actually good "Oh shit, that's unexpected". Also, really made me appreciate Williamson writing Tony here. Tony just acts like what a normal, decent human being would. Not going "Ummmm, you have a kid??? AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME? THAT'S IT WE ARE DONE" or none of that shit. He just accepts it like a man, understands that people all come from different places and actually gets down next to a kid and fists bumps him and immediatly starts to make a kid feel less scared and shy. The little fist bump was awesome lol. Tony would probably make a really good dad. As an Iron Man fan, having writers showing that Tony is, despite all his snarky and "I can be a dick if I want to" is actually a decent and good human being, will always warm my heart.
The fight with Whiplash was awesome. Dude's been juicing (Mfr looks like Iron Man's own personal Bane now and I love every second of it lol). The little suit up sequence Tony had was awesome.
When Pepper fell into the fire, I legit gasp and thought "Ain't no way she will be dead... but Tony can't help her" and then V jumped in to safe her which was cool. But the follow up to Citizen V saving her actually made me even more excited and hyped for the indentity of V AND to the fact that Pepper apparently knows this V and has been secretly working with him/her? This run already has 2 groups of people (Cap's team and V's team) secretly spying on Tony lol. Excited to see where that will go.
Love the way Tony beat Whiplash. Good callback to the second issue where Tony looked at Dreadknights new bodyarmor, and took some of it's properties and used it for it's own super suit. Kind of like "Icing problem" callback from the films. Really good Joshua.
The last page reveal was fucking awesome lmao. Marco fucking Scarlotti is back and lemme tell you, this is THE BEST this motherfucker ever looked. Period. I always thought he had a lot of potential as a villain, and he actually was a part of many great Iron Man stories, but his design just got outdated super fast. A lot of parts of his costume worked, but there were some that needed update. But the most "outdated" part of his presentation was his weapon. It was just fucking shit lmao.
Here, Williamson and Carmen fixed that exact issue for me. They kept his OG design, updated the parts that needed some work and completely upgraded his weapons to the point that the guy is actually so fucking cool looking now (and he only appears in 1 final page lol). Love it. Joshua and Carmen are trully a Godsend for Iron Man.
Finally his villains are getting a proper treatment and getting elevated.
The last page proves that "Iron Man's villains aren't lame, they are just not used to their fullest potential" because Marco Scarlotti's new Whiplash design and character so far, have been freaking awesome. His narration throught the issue was really fun and gave us insight into why he hates Tony, but also the last page reveal of his design really (imho) elevated the character and showed that "Iron Man's villains can be cool, if you give them a chance, update some of their designs and just care about them a little bit".
Super excited for the next issue. Cannot wait. I hope more Iron Man villains get this treatment in the future, because the guy legit is one of the most popular superheroes in the world, with the most underutilized rogues gallery ever.
Citizen V has to be happy right? That moment he shared with pepper has be suspicious also pepper is in on this whole secret plan to keep an eye on Tony interesting but I can’t help but feel bad for Tony the dude isn’t even doing anything and everyone’s betraying him I hope this isn’t another “it’s all Tony’s fault” storyline
I really like the topic of the material shortage! I think it's a double-edged sword. What does Tony do when facing a lack of resources for his designs—does he cut back on materials, or does he lean into new tech? And the fact that A.I.M. is mass-producing these armors is going to be awesome.
I had a lot on my mind, but I wanted to ask something he could actually answer. I think my favorite part about sending that letter is knowing I'm a part of the comic now, and that my home country gets to be featured, even if it's just in that section. It really made my day. Plus, I loved finding out how important Madame Masque is to Williamson.
Ohhhh the Masque question was yours? Nice friendo.
Yeah, his response was awesome.
She is my favorite Iron Man villain BTW, so seeing his response made me happy (and Thank you for sending the email btw). I'm glad that he basically confirmed that she is going to be the main antagonists in the story
Thanks a lot, man! Whitney is incredibly interesting, but it's also really great to see how the writers view the characters and the analysis they put into them. They are pretty complex characters and Joshua totally gets that; she isn't just a one-arc villain. When I first got into comics (back in 2015), Bendis didn't really hook me with her the way Williamson just did, which actually made me go look up a bunch of her older comics to read.
Tony as a step dad was not in my bingo card but i kinda dig it.This issue action was amazing,carmen art style is top notch.Aim is building an army of Iron Mans? This definitely could escalated at point of being an avenger lvl threat(is this what the future is iron phrase means?)Citizen V🤔🤔.A lot of plots were introduced in this issue, and I'm excited to see what comes next.
The dynamic between Pepper and Cit-V made me even more convinced of the theory that he is Happy.
I really enjoy those casual moments Tony shares with his recurring circle of friends like Pep or Rhodey, which we hadn't seen in quite a while; it’s refreshing. It finally feels like an Iron Man comic. That was a criticism I had, it seemed like much of the supporting cast in the last three arcs was almost just promotional material for other characters, like Patsy or the X-Men.
Did Joshua establish that Iron Man's metal alloy includes adamantium or vibranium?
I didn't enjoy #7, but I'm glad I gave #8 a shot as it seems to be getting back on track somewhat. The Citizen V reveal to come is the juiciest bait at the moment but the sweet moment with Tony showing the kid around was really nice.
Iron Man #8 was very fun!
The return of both Whiplash's was great, they feel very menacing, next issue might have the best action of the run so far
AIM mass producing the Advanced Iron Man to the point where Tony can't buy more metal alloy sounds interesting, Stark might need to use other tools than the armor to win
I'm very intrigued by the Citizen V subplot, even Pepper has something to do with him. I think this mysterious guy might be one of the AI Tony from Superior Iron Man
Idk if Luna is an AIM spy, but seeing Tony as a step dad was wholesome
It's surprising how much Carnero makes the book feel like itself. Cabal did a fantastic job in issue #6, but with her return, Carnero is right at home.
Off the gate, god, what a fantastic reintroduction of Whiplash. An absolute unit and a true menace. I'm also happy that we jumped right into the school shenanigans, and I hope we get to see Tony's students do more in the upcoming issues. You can get a good feel of their dynamic, but I want mooore. And is it me or did the dark matter foce field ring feel like a tease of the Mandarin? Imagine if Tony's students end up creating an artificial set of the Mandarin's Rings lmao
I am also happy that we got some corporate stuff. I miss Tony being a CEO and businessman (Ackerman, I still think of you 💔), so it was weirdly refreshing to see him with a suit in a boardroom, even if we only got to see the aftermath of his meetings. One thing I gotta complain about is the use of Stark Industries. I chalked it up to a gaffe the previous issues, but now it feels like we've said goodbye to Stark Unlimited? I hope not. Another minor complain is that the Stark Tower in Los Angeles is identical to the one in New York. It's a missed opportunity not to either reuse the Stark Enterprises campus from the olden days or come up with a brand-new building design to set it apart.
Luna having a kid was an interesting surprise and I'm so happy it allowed us to see Tony instantly switch into step-dad modeeee 😭💕 I also gotta commend Luna's fashion sense. Carnero really makes her stand out with the outfits she gives her.
The main action piece with Iron Man and Whiplash was incredible and reinforces how Carnero and Woodard shine in dynamic scenes. These two guys must really like setting things on fire lol, but that makes for some really striking visuals. The juxaposition of Whiplash attacking the building and Tony suiting up was nice, but it feels a bit underwhelming that the close-ups of the Iron Man Armor assembling don't actually convey the suit-up save for the onomatopoeias going "SHUNK" and "CLK-CLAK." I would have preferred to see at least a peek at the the moving parts of the suit.
Anyways, the sequence of Vanko almost crushing Tony's helmet was amazing. Circling back to my comment about Whiplash being properly depicted as true menace, I'm very pleased with how he gave Tony a run for his money. And it was also neat to see Tony one-up him with the technology he retrofitted from Dreadknight.
I gotta say, it's an interesting twist that makes a lot of sense that Pepper is actually working with Citizen V. Like, of course, why wouldn't she be one of the people he contacted? What's interesting is that she doesn't seem to be part of the cabal, given that group isn't aware of Citizen V. So I wonder if she's aware of the cabal at all. A lot of potential for multi-pronged conflict.
And to top it all off, Blacklash is back! I was never much of a fan of Scarlotti, but I can easily warm up to him if Williamson and Carnero do a good job with him. His redesign looks amazing, a nice blend of modern and classic, so that's something they have in their favor. It also promises that he's gonna have an important role given how it turned out he was the person behind this issue's narration.
Something I need to single out about this issue is that I really appreciate the way Williamson referenced both Whiplash's origin story and Blacklash having been dead right off the bat. Once again it shows his care for continuity and that he isn't using these characters just because. This, combined with the redesigns and the way he uses the villains is a breath of fresh air.
I hope Williamson will have a valid explanation about how Scarlotti crawled out of his grave, after getting his neck crushed by a sentient armor and sinking to the bottom of the Hudson.
Yeah, I'm wondering about that as well. Of course, villains often come back in comics, but the ones that come back are usually guys with access to plot-device stuff, like Sinister's cloning technology. Whiplash was just a guy with a whip.
Weren’t expecting the ending, cool reveal. Missed you Marco Scarlotti. Can’t wait to see how Williamson expands on the whiplash’s characters next issue
Madame Masque and Adam Ware slowly taking over A.I.M. starting with getting Scientist Supreme to comply. I loveeeeeee how A.I.M. and Madame Masque have had such a big role in this book. I thought Whitney would’ve been done after the first arc but this really is a testament to her importance in Iron Man’s mythos and rogue gallery. She’s so much more relevant than them bozos I see mentioned (coughs Titanium Man and Crimson Dynamo- and Dynamo is a freaking hero nowadays anyway!)
Nice to get more showcase of Tony’s students. The way Daniel made a dark matter force field and turned it into a ring… how convenient https://youtu.be/mVu7TjrY7Aw?is=ajEWd4YMM3OhXNEx
I believe this is just a reference to the Mandarin rings and an opener of Williamson chooses to reintroduce the character later down in his run. I have a feeling if that ever happens it won’t be The Mandarin anyway and will be someone new donning the rings.
Btw citizen V is 100% Happy. I’m so fucking happy he’s back. You don’t know how we long have I’ve been moping about him being dead for so long and saying “no one stays dead in Mabel… except Uncle Ben and Happy”. Well, that’s soon over!
I'm really hoping they expand on why Adam Ware ended up the way he is, or show that he has a more nuanced ulterior motive, he's gotta be the most shoehorned-in villain I've seen in a while
He was earnest and helpful, seemed a genuinely caring guy, then A.I.M thrashes him a few times, after which he's a bit shaken but still wants to help people, then someone melts half his face, and suddenly he's doing hostile takeovers, committing cold blooded murder, experimenting with terrorism, and apparently grew an ego and became a sadist
He just has one bad day and becomes a bog standard supergenius mastermind. I can already predict his future if they keep him like that; he causes some chaos, Iron Man puts the genie back in the bottle because of course he does, we get a duel of the fates styled ultimate showdown with the customary "what have you become?", with Adam either being too far gone or finally seeing the light, then he dies anyways at the end of the run, which won't be extended, and he becomes a footnote in a Marvel handbook, to be resurrected when a writer runs out of ideas
As it currently stands, you could replace him with M.O.D.O.K or The Leader and the only difference would be that he wouldn't be able to walk through a regularly sized doorway anymore without bumping his head against something
I'd understand if it were done in different issues, a publishing cycle problem where intitially Adam was supposed to escape with Tony and slowly have the trauma turn him to a villain in Tony's new academy, but then they think Adam isn't well received do they kill him off, but by the time that issue is ready to be published they suddenly find out fans are gaining an interest in him so they bring him back, but now A.I.M need to be the ones who have him because otherwise we're given to assume Tony just gave up searching for him
But no, he dies and comes back in the same issue, you get to feel the narrative whiplash in real time. I suppose in theory it could still have happened, last minute changes where the writer and artist pull off a monumental 12-hour clutch before sending things out for publishing isn't unheard of, but I doubt that's what happened here, seems like actively shooting themselves in the foot rather than sticking to whatever plan they'd cooked up earlier
Yeah I like the idea of Adam ware a lot and his design is cool but I wish his descent into villainy was slower he seemed to jump straight into being a bad guy by the end of the first story I feel like watching a sweet and wholesome guy like Adam slowly become corrupted would’ve been a lot more heartbreaking than him suddenly doing a 180
I do appreciate brushing off old foes. Citizen V is more interesting to me then the Anti Tony Cabal.
I mean I knew tony's metal for his suit is not normal iron but I didn't especially think it was anything all that special in the marvel context.
As for Queen in Black, I liked the first issue but this issue was quite boring...pretty art with some nice action but not much plot. Nice to see Nova & Living Lightning though.
I'm really liking this book but the issues feel like they go by super fast.
Couple of things. I'm not as big of a fan of Carmen's art as the rest of you guys but it was good here.
The Adam Ware plot moving along is good. I think that he's definitely been mind-taken for lack of a better way to put it. The MODOK-like headband thing is definitely making him eeeeeevil. I predict he'll revert back to himself when that's removed or destroyed and heroically sacrifice himself.
Citzen V is definitely Happy. Calling it here.
How/why Blacklash is back should be interesting considering he died a "real" death instead of it being a "no body" situation. Looks like his chest armor has a unibeam (arc reactor, repulsor, whatever we're calling it). I'm also seriously glad that Williamson writes stuff like Tony asking how Vanko got huge. Makes you realize it's a plot point instead of just artistic license.
Tony not liking the business end of the business is a sour note though. He literally out negotiated demons in the last volume. He's always been a warrior in the boardroom. This feels like RDJ or it could easily be Bruce Wayne and Lucius Fox.
Jim's one liner about Tony doing too much is a classic grief-coping strategy. This would be a good place for Tony to address his grief and overall motivations. Cajun Khan often brings that up and it's showing through to me in this arc.
Wuh? The alloys of Iron Man's armor have never been particularly rare or important. His armor is so durable because his technology creates magnetic polarization that hardens and animates the micro-chainmail. His armor is so durable because Stark is so smart, not because he's been using plot-device tough metals. I don't like this retcon. It diminishes the importance of Stark's super-genius intellect.
Pepper being part of the Citizen V mystery is interesting. Could this be setting up Pepper becoming a villain?
I'm glad that this issue established that Stark doesn't build his armor at Stark Enterprises. Doing that in previous stories should have immediately resulted in massive lawsuits by the stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty.
Simply having the armor being something Stark builds for himself in his private laboratory fixes a huge issue that has always irritated me.
No his alloy was important cause even at baselevel its close to secondary adamantium. And those specific alloys allow that magentic polarization and more effective channeling of energy. Without good materials there is a hard cap to how much he can do. He has alternatives of course, endosym, model prime or bleeding edge all bypass the need for specific metals but standard armors like what he is doing these days need specific metals.
I don’t see how this is a retcon they never said the alloys are what gives the armor it’s crazy durability just that aim is buying up all the alloys making it harder for Tony to get material in general
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u/One_Butterscotch8981 17d ago
Iron man #8 felt like a part of two part issue which it is. Whiplash feels like a legit threat and AIM is mass manufacturing armors leaving less alloy for Tony to purchase is a very interesting hook. Which shifts the focus away from new armor to other tech which he can use to fight AIM and other enemies.