Written by: Kieron Gillen
Illustrations: Joe Bennet, Scott Hanna, Agustin Padilla
Coloring: GURU eFX
Publisher: Standaard Uitgeverij
Iron Man #007 – Comic Book Review
Last time, Tony Stark found out he has a brother, Arno, and that he himself is actually the Starks’ adopted child and thus this is the reason he could not pilot the Godkiller Armor that Recorded 451 put together. After some research he found out that his brother was actually a genius like him, but with a weakened body, thus constricted to an iron lung, he has been waiting until Tony showed up at his doorstep, or hospital bed in this case. Together they can do much good, and if time allows it, they will certainly try.
Tony is planning his next ambitious move, namely restoring Mandarin City to its former glory, albeit without an evil entity ruling its populace. Even though he claims it comes from the bottom of his heart, which is probably true to a certain extent, Pepper feels it’s also to compensate for learning he has a brother, and is actually not the actual child of the Starks, hoping to leave his mark in such a fashion. While getting rid of the triads and other scum is easy, things turn rather sour when all of a sudden the rings of the Mandarin resurface, with new hosts, and thus new powerful beings who want to thwart whatever Iron Man is doing. If this wasn’t enough on its own, it seems our planet is being pestered by a new virus that turns humans into cocoons, transforming them into a new race of human beings, the ‘Inhumans’.
Compared to the previous omnibus, things progress a tad faster, as there is a lot more action, and more story development than last time. With Tony and Arno’s attempts of cleaning up Mandarin City and the immediate conflict that arises from the ten Mandarin special rings, who seemingly became sentient, the story has a very nice flow to it. Kieron Gillen heads into an interesting direction after the conclusion of the story that took place in space.
Illustration wise pretty much nothing has changed, the rather stern appearance of the characters remains intact, with the necessary rough edges to make things a bit less daunting. This issue feels a bit darker than the previous issues perhaps, probably due to the new enemy that is hiding just beyond the horizon. Nonetheless, the darker tones give the story the necessary push and a certain direness for the things to come.
Conclusion
Iron Man #007 is the prelude of what is clearly to become an epic battle between good and the newly appointed forces of the deceased Mandarin. The world is changing rapidly, due to the encounters in outer space, but also because of a new ‘disease’ that transforms human beings into new creatures, and all of this combined makes for a hell of an issue.
Iron Man #007 – Comic Book Review,
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