Of Steel and Blood

Today's lesson will be about a guy that Marvel dislikes yet has 0 problems into using as a second-rate cash cow or political sock puppet (in the comics. In the movies, they fuck him up DIFFERENTLY...). Which is a slightly better than Spider-man's situation as he's both a cash cow and the little bitch of the company (No, I am not refering to the last movie. See, I am refering to the last movie AND whatever they've been doing after the splendid totem storyline by JMS.)
You see, when people say an Iron Man /Spider-man team-up, I think of this www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdLDia…... Okay, not exactly, they sound english or french in my mind. When people hear of such a team-up this is what they mean www.bretthardin.com/bhmedia/wp…
                                               
                                             

Sooo I have recently binge-read several different Iron Man runs and a few revelations came to mind
* I am convinced that the Crossing happened due to editors discovering heroin...
* Disassembled really fucked the Avengers up the ass but Tony more or less survived it (well...LESS as a matter of fact as we will see...)
* We will go back to Civil War because there is ONE characteristic I want to point out about Tony as a character in it... but let us save this for later
* Matt Fraction's run is an interesting beast actually... He and the Knaufs kind of have a "2 sides of the same coin" issue to me. I have my issues with both BUT they also have undeniable qualities.
* The best things about Tony's adventures ? Well...
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Let us begin this lesson my good fellows. Oh and before I forget; any mention of Robert Downey Jr concerns the FIRST movie only. As the more observant people have pointed out, I am really not an MCU fan. First Phase was good and it's all downhill from there...

Anthony Edward Stark was the cool exec with a heart of steel. Which I find doubtful because ever since his initial story he's generally an amiable guy.
Son of Maria and Howard "Colossal Dickweed" Stark, Tony is a brilliant scientist, businessman and engineer with the superpower of gaining physical harm after physical harm leading him to pull off inventive (and hazardous) ways of healing or saving his life.
For the rest, you know the drill; Tony gets a shrapnel in his chest in 'nam and manages to build a mechanical armor with the help of the good Pr Yinsen... who then sacrifices himself so that Tony lives. Eventually, he will be rid of that piece of shrapnel in time but will be saddled with industrial spies... then alcoholism... then a bullet wound...then neural degeneration...then cybernetic possession ... overall shitty luck. Yeah, it's a good thing the guy is a billionnaire and a genius as I really don't know how he'd even be able to pay for these health bills.
After becoming Iron Man, he turned his company around and became very concerned with morality and making the world a better place, even in his civilian life. He is an extremely empathetic person, even to the point of self-harm and refuses to show weakness in front of his loved ones.
He's also a founding member of the Avengers.

Now, since I am aware that this is NOT really a revered or well-known series, here is a comprehensive list of the good people (and Carol Danvers. Cus she's always kinda sucked actually...) present here:

FRIDAY, Anton Vanko, Edwin Jarvis, Pr. Ho Yinsen, Carol Danvers, Century, Julia Carpenter, Wanda Maximoff, John Walker, Rumiko Fujikawa, Harold Hogan, Veronica Benning, Dr Erica Sondheim, Giulietta Nefaria, Clint Barton, Felix Alvarez, James Rupert Rhodes, Dr Su Yin, Natasha Romanoff, Bethany Cabe, Anthony Edward Stark, Virginia Potts, Bambi Arbogast, ULTIMO, Technovore, Pr Ted Slaght, Temugin, Kathy Dare, Boris Bullski, Blacklash, Basil Sandhurst, Melter, Blizzard, Unicorn, Spymaster, Justin Hammer, Victor Von Doom, Obadiah Stane, Arthur Parks, Ayisha , Crimson Dynamo, Fin Fang Foom, The Mandarin.  

It has to be understood that The Dude Lebowski, Peter Cushing and Jafar the Chinese Bureaucrat over there are what I call the Top BOSSES of this series. Not that the other foes don't have their moments or are harmless (far from it...the majority kill for cash while the one-shot ones can strike Tony where it hurts the most), but most of the time they are a facade, a hors-d'oeuvre before the main course.
The supporting characters MAKE this comic. they're fun, memorable and of course marvel fucked them over by forgetting their existence OR killing them in a very, very shitty way ... ONE death in particular made me want to hurl.


I TALES OF SUSPENSE AND GOOFINESS !

"I think I gave myself a dare. It was the height of the Cold War. The readers, the young readers, if there was one thing they hated, it was war, it was the military....So I got a hero who represented that to the hundredth degree. He was a weapons manufacturer, he was providing weapons for the Army, he was rich, he was an industrialist....I thought it would be fun to take the kind of character that nobody would like, none of our readers would like, and shove him down their throats and make them like him....And he became very popular."

I've read the early days of Tony out of curiosity. Honestly ? Out of all Stan Lee's initial creations, Iron Man is hands down my FAVORITE ! From hero to villains to supporting cast, this is Stan's best series. Stan wanted a character that the readers should by all accounts hate because he's "the Man", he crafted his most charming and likable superhero ! I take it over his most revered creations any day ! Fantastic 4 ? 3/4 of the heroes are ding dongs (Reed's a prick, Ben's a bitch and Johnny's a dullard ) and honestly, the villains definitely make that series. Spider-man ? It took the following writers that were themselves fans of Peter's growth to make me like him, then it took people who fucking cling voraciously to Stan's version to make me hate Arachnid boy.
So what did I learn from these campy 60's comics ? Well that they are the seeds of the greatness to come. It is the good kind of cheesy and a lot of heart went into them. Also, Don Heck, Gene Colan and Adam Austin ? Kudos to them ! Their artwork is pretty damn good...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EBar7…

* The origin story is a classic and will be re-visited over-time until 2004 happens...
* Harold Hogan has quite the ironic nickname since he does not really look happy most of the time. Does not diminish his courage in the least though. Happy is an admirable "pug" as he loquaciously.
* Pepper is nicknamed as such after her freckles... huh ! That makes sense !
* 60's Da Comrade femme fatale Black Widow >>>>> modern-dullasfuck ScarJobased Black Widow. See, Natasha Romanoff is one of those characters who works much better when you EMBRACE the cliché she's spawned from. And yeah, she is a femme fatale BUT proves to be quite nuanced as an antagonist and much more fun to read about than I ever anticipated. Hell she sounds like Katya Kasanova to me ! Granted her strategies are subjects to revision though (the fainting trick ? It's good once but afterwards...) and robbing a jewellery should be done more discretely and during week-ends (man, her salary must be crummy in those days...). Speaking of Antagonists...
* Hawkeye starts as an Iron Man foe and a rather competent one. No wonder Clint became an Avenger ! And his association turned friendship with Natasha ? That surprised me ! Kudos to Stan ! Clint and Tasha are more or less the Team Rocket of this run. Though I do wonder where Clint's numerous phDs went because he frigging does everything with arrows...
* Anton Vanko. What a courageous man ! What a honorable guy ! I am sure the MCU treated his character with the respect he deserves...
* Wong Chu took over Vietnam through the power of guns and pro-wrestling ! (kudos to Linkara for this one...)
* I love how Tony's metal plate has to be recharged through a plug to have his heart beating...
* Transistors FTW BITCH !
* The Mandarin ! He's one of Stan Lee's coolest villains, up there with Vic "barbecued face" Von Doom. People do not think so ? Well they see this guy cdn.flickeringmyth.com/wp-cont… as a great villain so they can blow me ! Anyway, our much underrated second coming of Genghis Khan and world's most visionary cosplayer (seriously, he wears Hawkeye's skullcap BEFORE Hawkeye was even invented ! GENIUS !) is one character that develops ALONG WITH Tony. Some ask, why is he considered Iron Man's arch foe ? Well, it is all a matter of knowing what Iron man truly stands for ; Tony proves that his essence as a person is all about empathy (sometimes to a fault as he does not want to share his problems even with his closest friends...) while Mandy has been raised primarily through misanthropy and individualism. He simply sees himself as the Man with THE plan, governments are all irrelevant in their present forms, only an ubermensch willing to break the shackles of the status quo is allowed to ensure the growth of mankind ! An updated system similar to that of the Khan will lead to the glory of mankind ! He has spent his family's fortune to hone himself intellectually and physically, ended up chased away by the communists (who he fucking LOATHES), discovered the Makluan technology and turned the motor-rings of said spaceship into his dreaded power rings. i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/f… There is no fucking magic here. True, Tony does fight supernatural things occasionally, but the Mandarin is more of a Sci-fi/Street Fighter kind of deal. Too unbelievable ? Yeah sure, the ubermensch with alien tech is so much of a stretch compared to the dude flying in a tin can at Mach One without turning into bolognese... dicks.
BTW, I LOVE how his very first fight with Iron Man went: instead of killing shellhead here and there with his rings, he decided to beat Tony like a Street Fighter Bonus Car level because he enjoys showing off his decades of martial arts mastery. Did not go as well as expected though...
You will hear a lot of people claiming that he's a racist character or some shit like that... he really is not. He has little to nothing in common with Fu Man Chu. So because he's chinese, he's not supposed to be a villain ? Oh sure, Chinese are not people and as such good or evil are not parameters that apply to them, eh ? Fuck off. I've seen actually cliched chinese characters in Japanese mangas and NO ONE even fucking dares to point that out.
The Mandarin is from the start a villain with a compelling if ruthless point of view on life and will even improve later on. His best is YET to come !
* The Scarecrow ( not Dr Crane, this is the Uncanny Umberto ) proves us that crime does not pay...if you pick the wrong place to rob !
* The Unicorn enters ! At this point I wonder why there's no Iron Man fighting game. His villains can sure as hell make for nice Video Game characters I must say.
* Ultimo the giant robot is pretty badass. I will also point out that in the same story, while The Mandarin really needs to invest in better home security (seriously, the red generals enter his house while he is busy with hith his computer...), he does invent post-9/11 airport security measures such as throwing Tony's briefcase out the window !
* Iron Man VS Titanium Man ! A fight for the ages man ! Boris Bullski is one nasty bastard and Happy Hogan puts his life on the line to grant Tony a fighting chance !

Captain America related bonus ! The Masterworks I've read featured the origin of the Red Skull (great character! Great villain ! What need I to add ?). Amusing detail aside from the Red Skull's attire (seriously, he looks like a nazi janitor!); the Marvel version of Adolf Hitler. It's far from the historically accurate one and much more like the Untergang parodies, "das ist la tomato qué ain't fraiche ya dopes", "In der Fuhrer face" Hitler. Basically, this guy www.youtube.com/watch?v=oojwhm… ! You're welcome !


II TONY, WHITNEY, RHODEY, BETHANY, OBBIE AND MANDY... THE SHELLHEAD APEX

Now let us step up for the more dramatic stuff. These runs are a continuous winning score with very little filler in-between and the defining tales for the characters the title of this section refers to (cus I also love them...). Not as over-the-top as the preceding Tales of Suspense BUT just as heartfelt !
I have also found the perfect song to describe his character in the following runs www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClQcUy…

* Bill Mantlo

Aside from co-creating Rocket Racoon (and unfortunately the goddamn movies where trying is for shmucks...), the guy crafted stories like "Vengeance in Vietnam" where Tony does re-thinks what he has personally witnessed in Viet-Nam as Iron Man.
His main run though establishes the much gloomier Tony Stark that will be developped and perfected. He brings back the Mandarin from his "death" (who this time escaped a Flash Gordon convention and still believes in sabotage and sending nukes to save the world. Humanitarians.). Madame Masque is brought back as a sympathetic ally/antagonist (mostly the former here) and I do find their interactions pretty heartwarming. Plus it is nice of her to be there for him while he is tripping balls.
I will however admit that Mordecai Midas is one strange giant of a man ! But that's his business I suppose...
Also kudos to George Tuska. I like his style, old but expressive and dynamic. Really has a neat charm to it.

* David Michelinie / Bob Layton Part 1 - Demon In A Bottle

Ah David Michelinie ! It's good to see one of my heroes again ! After all, we are talking about the guy who made me realize Spider-man was worth a damn. Through readheads and depressed lunatics. And Bob Layton ? He started X-factor (which Louise Simonson perfected) and wrote minis starring Hercules, one of my Top 10 Avengers (SURPRISED ?). He also has the same opinion I had when it comes to the Iron Man movies.
This run has been compared to Claremont-Byrne's uncanny X-men in terms of legends. Which is bullshit because Dave and Bob's Iron Man is actually fucking GOOD. It is also good to see that Tony looks like Tom Selleck. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBIgXh…

- Bethany Cabe is FINALLY introduced ! You know, there are 3 main redheads I will remember in what I've read of Iron Man. The Good (Pepper Potts), The Awesome (Bethany here...) and the shitty one (which we will adress later...). But what can I say about Bethany, the lovable and tough (yes, it IS possible to write women that are genuinely both! Chew on that, kids !) bodyguard ? Also, she does put 2 and 2 together when it comes to the whole "Iron Man's just my bodyguard..." charade.
- James Rhodes is introduced ! At first he is a pilot and was not even supposed to be extremely significant. But much like Popeye in Thimble Theatre, they got attached to Rhodey and for good reason. The flashback that explains how he ended up working for Stark is a nice companion piece to "Tales of Suspense 39", detailing how he and the old Iron Man flew back to the US of A.
- Bambi Arbogast is introduced ! She just rules. Easily one of the best secretaries in all comics !
Though I have to be honest guys, all the employees left a pleasant impression on me ! Kudos to Dave and Bob again !
- Justin Hammer... what can I say ? He is classy. He is distinguished. He is ruthless. And even polite to a fault. He is also Peter Cushing so that is already terrifying.
- Demon In a Bottle... Now people constantly call it the best ever, BUT it is simply ONE of the best. It is ONE facet of Tony's whole character. In fact, what makes it effective is that it is the pay-off to a whole arc where Tony STARTED drinking to the point of heavily abusing his body. Beforehand, he only drank occasionally. But here ? Along with the machinations of Hammer ? Yikes. Thankfully, people who care about him are there to help him. It's great stuff (but NOT the end of his problem with liquor...).
- Hulk fights depression by eating fruits...I think he anticipates when he'll become grey and thus a better character. I miss Ed Norton...
- Hey, what do you know Scott Lang is here !
- The Titanium Man attacks with a vengeance the decadent Capitalist pigs yet again ! www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrU1hZ…
- Man does Rhodey kill it at Dance Dance Revolution !
- Madame Masque comes back ! With a vengeance !
- Sunturion: a short-arc about the paradoxes between progress and morality
- Issue 145 And now I get why they picked Paul Rudd for the role of Scott Lang...
- Blacklash kills Mr Martinelli's dog.... WHY THE HELL AM I SO SAD ?!
- The Doom trilogy starts ! And yes, Victor Von Doom is till a colossal douchebag ! I would not love classic Doom if he were not such an asshole ! Anyway, Vic and Tony's EXCELLENT adventure involes time-travel shenanigans and Doom hypnotizing servants to the point of brain damage to get directions. They fight Angelina Jolie in Camelot. Man do I LOVE this stuff !
- Bethany's past catches up with her, leading her to reveal to Tony that she knew his secret... but she has to leave in order to help her ex-husband.

* Dennis O'Neil

Oooh boy. This is easily one whole lengthy story-arc in the vein of Knightfall. Seriously; the actions of the new main antagonist hit the classic hero so hard that an acquaintance has to replace, leading to an in-depth character exploration for both of them and an action-packed finale !
If you expect the witty Tony here, just don't. This is the darkest Iron Man run ever despite its hopeful conclusion. He's really at his lowest and his alcoholism has come back to hit him HARD ! His recovery eventually happens in the last third of this run BUT O'Neil does NOT rush things to get there. Bear in mind that Tony would've let himself die in a blizzard had there not been a newborn baby to protect...
Rhodey replaces Tony as Iron Man and risks his life (even fights the Mandarin who has been cosplaying as Shao Kahn lately...) several times. So much that he ends obsessing over keeping the armor and the position AS Iron Man !
Their friendship with the Irwin twins (Clymenestra and Morley) is pretty heartwarming and crucial in the development of James and Tony for the tasks and hardships to come. Tony's recovery, once again, is not rushed in the least as he comes around from his depression.
Obadiah Stane is every bit as deceitful, heartless and ambitious as what you saw in the movie BUT there is an additional trait: game. You see, Obadiah sees life as a game where one cannot afford to lose , he selected Tony as a target because he craves a good challenge. He also dresses like a rock star and has his henchmen dress as chess pieces before wearing his business suit so there is that too. More Obbie goodness ? www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvM6zw… I simply can't believe that THIS was deleted ! Wonder what the audience reaction would be if they kept his death comics accurate though... Because, YIKES !
Even after his death, he has left Tony with a nasty surprise concerning Madame Masque and Bethany Cabe.

* Michelinie/Layton Part 2 - The Armor Wars

Tony's back in business ...but in need of cash. And HOLY SHIT ! CLY ?! WHY ?! Damn you Obadiah Stane !
-The Ghost, professional saboteur and devious murderer...kills Spymaster ! and what a kill !
- Hammer's band of ruffians doesn't take kindly to runaways. Looking at you Clay Wilson...
- "It's time for lives to mean more than rules." I want you to burn this in your memories. This is Tony's ideology expressed here and the reason the "Armor Wars" kicks in. Remember it for later !
- The Controller established his new HQ in a tanning salon. The fiend !
- Rae Delacoste. I love this lady. Funny how different Dave and Bob's initial intentions were for her though...
- As fun Armors Wars was, the epilogue is the best part of the whole arc.
- Oh, Gwyneth Paltro... I mean Kathy Dare is introduced. Sure there is nothing nefarious about it. Sure she's a clingy stalker but, women can't be harmful clingy stalkers now, can they ?
- Spider-man fights the Radioactive man
- Mr Paul St-Pierre ! Talk about art capturing real life !
- In Dead Space, no one hears you conspire !
- The Ghost is back ! And Tony has to team up with Blizzard, Blacklash and Boomerang to take the bastard down ! Well that is if they can let go of their grudges for 5 minutes...
- The Mandarin is back ! Yeah , he was being busy having amnesia and establishing himself as the Don of Hong Kong. Lab explosions do that to a man, making him UNSETTLING for some reason. He also wears his Shredder armor to challenge Iron Man (who he has forgotten as a foe) in a Tekken match. Tony manages to win (thankful that Mandy only has half his rings on himself, having given the other 5 to 5 separate agents ) but a nasty surprise awaits him...
- Kathy Dare comes back...and shoots Tony ! He was not even the first guy she got revenge on, as she burnt down the mansion of a previous boyfriend and her psychiatrist had recommended that she be institutionalized. But hey, when you have the best lawyers...
- Tony might be crippled for now, but that won't stop him from using his armor. The damages though are more psychological than anything else but nothing a good legal trial cannot fix.
- Doom and Tony back to Camelot... IN DA FUTURE ! A worthy follow-up to the former where Vic and Tony will , this time around, fight for the survival of future Camelot.

This is however NOT quite the end of the Michelinie/Layton saga of Iron Man. Three mini-series conclude their version: "Bad Blood" which is the final scheme of the insidous Justn Hammer, "Legacy Of Doom" is the final round of the Iron Man VS Doom trilogy (and kudos to them ! Each installement was fun and dynamic !) then "Iron Man: The End". A lot of people complained about the last one but honestly ? I like it because it is a calm day in the life of an older Tony Stark. And he hooked up with Bethany Cabe ! Good call there Tony !

* John Byrne

So the duo left and the Byrne take over... which is good since there is an important guy who needs an overhaul.

"As I was told at the time, Michelinie and Layton bailed on IRON MAN rather unexpectedly, so when I was asked to write the book it was with the provision that the first story I did had to have this title. I said okay, as long as it could be a completely different story. Michelinie and Layton may have been content to repeat themselves, but I certainly didn't want to start out imitating them."

And different it was. See, Byrne's short run actually focuses on the Mandarin rather than Anthony Stark since it is time to dust him off and bring him back in the limelights ! "Armor Wars II" start and it is in 2 parallel sections:
- A dude named  Kearson DeWitt believed that Tony Stark stole his father's designs without giving credit and sought revenge. While Stark was undergoing surgery after being shot by aPsycho Gwyneth Paltro..eerrr...Kathy Dare, DeWitt had him infected with a techno-organic parasite that enabled him to hijack Stark's central nervous system. When Stark donned an Iron Man suit that negated the parasite's influence, DeWitt donned an experimental warsuit to take the fight to Iron Man personally. He is defeated, but Tony never got why this dude hated him. His neural system however is pretty much FUBAR. When I said this was Tony's superpower...
- In the meantime, The Mandarin discovers that one of his agents sold the ring he was entrusted with, betraying his trust ! After killing the traitor, Mandy discovers the lost ring at the shop of that old man from Gremlins. And things got big from there ! Chen Hsu, the old guy in question, knows a LOT about those rings. Intrigued , the Mandarin accepts to follow the old man's advices. This awards him with the services of FIN FANG FOOM ! With the aid of FIN FANG FOOM, he is given a third of China... the next two thirds will be delivered in a week !
Despite this operation's success, The Mandarin remains very cautious of the ol man's true nature. More is given about Mandy's mindset as well as another section that expands upon "Tales of Suspense 39"; it so happens that Mandy was the one pulling Wong Chu's strings and was very unhappy with Yinsen's demise.
Later, the Dragon Seed Saga kicks and everything is revealed ! The old guy was a Makluan (a dragon-looking alien species of which FIN FANG FOOM is part of...he was their naviguator...) and during the fight against Iron Man, the conversation goes something like this:
" Serve us Mandarin, the Earth will belong to us Dragons !"
" I refuse ! Enemy to mankind that I may be, but a traitor to my species ? NEVER ! Where the Mandarin Rules, he rules alone..."
" OK. Can we have the rings back ?"
" NO THEY'RE MINE NOW !"
The unexpected happens and Iron Man teams up WITH the Mandarin to fend off the aliens ! They succeed but the Mandarin FINALLY develops a PERSONAL hatred of Iron Man... because Tony may have exploded his hands to kingdom come... Ouch... Well he still has that L'oréal mane of silky hair and his flashy robes so not all is lost.


* Len Kaminski

THIS is hands down my favorite Iron Man run ever ! THIS is the level of excellence, dynamism and variety that Tony, his friends and foes deserve ! Kaminski, Kev Hopgood and Tom Morgan took elements from their predecessors and added them to their own creativity ! Please bear in mind, his task was NOT easy. His first issues occured DURING a huge crossover (Operation Galactic Storm) and yet Len handled them like a champ ! And when his actual run started, he was ON FIRE. There is not a single dull moment in it.

- The Masters of silence working for good old Justin Hammer (nice of him to start the festivities !). They are mostly an excuse for the introduction of the badass War Machine Model !
- The Death of Tony Stark ? Tony has finally found a tactic to regain his full mobility... but it will involve him mascarading for dead and pushing Rhodey into wearing the War Machine armor so that Iron Man can keep on fighting for hope in a world gone mad ! Rhodey does one hell of a job, fighting the Atom Smasher and even trapping (much to his own regret) the Living Laser by sending him into outer space. He also starts a relation with Rae Delacoste.
Before awakening though, Tony reminisces about his life, successes and faults. And how much of a douche his daddy was... Also he wakes up BUT the operation has one very grating side effect. His body barely responds to orders and has to be reeducated and quick !
Of course when Rhodey (who will earn his own solo series !) learns that he's been manipulated, this causes a rift between both of them.
- On happier news, Kathy Dare blows her brains out.
- Veronica Benning is hired to reeducate Tony and help him through his therapy ! And it saddens me that you won't hear from her after this run...
- Tony eventually discovers that The Controller is in an even more miserable state than his.
- Technovore will eat you !
- " I believe that scientific method is humanity's most powerful tool. And that through the will to knowledge, man can achieve his own transcendence without bowing to gods with the manners of spoiled children."__ Anthony Stark, Winning.
- Ultimo is back ! So it's up to Rhodey, Bethany, Happy, Eddie March, Carl Walker and Mike O'Brien  to fend him off while wearing the other armors. This marks Tony making progresses in his therapy and wearing his latest modular armor himself instead of controlling them by distance.
- Iron Man goes through one hell of a gauntlet: Deathlok, Venom, The New Warriors (the GOOD ones...), Thunderstrike and the Hulk (which gives Hopgood the occasion to sgow us the Hulkbuster model !)
- Vor/Tex is a fucking creep ! He fucking predicted the rise of rule 34 !
- In the meantime, Rhodey has his hands full leading his Worldwatch organization.
- " HANDS OF THE MANDARIN"
man had I known of this story before, I would have put it among my favorite Marvel events. Oh well let's treat it as such anyway...
Theme Song: Destroyed City (MKX OST)
This is a continuation of the fullblown ferocity John Byrne gave to the Mandarin. Kaminski skillfully takes him from there and aims to have the Mandarin give one severe bite to Tony. So what happens ? Well it turns out that the bloody stumps he was left with regenerated and gave him Makluan hands (with claws, scales and all baby !). Thus, in another pilgrimmage to get his scattered rings back from the mountain, he finds one strange alien device (man, he should work with the MIB at this point !): The Thuviskaroth of Cataphylaxis, a 20000 years old reality warper. After fighting his past personas to prove himself worthy of such might, The Mandarin synchronises himself with the device, warping China gradually back to the age of the Khan and WITHOUT technology (aside from the Makluan rings and the reality warper he's using here, but that's neither here nor there...). And rocking the Shang Tsung look, he sends powerful elemental avatars to wreck shit around !
This is where I saw the Mandarin as an Avengers-level threat as the deck is totally stacked in his favor and when he finally unmasks Tony, he has this little bit of wisdom:"In both your guises, you are the embodiment of all that must be destroyed. We are linked, you and I, by the strands of fate. We are yin and yang, East and West, black science and mystic purity. The living...and the dying."
I also love how Century's involvement proves to be key to Rhodey's survival as well as the clue to Mandarin's new weaknesses (which, once again, Tony devices from his past experiences...). Kudos to the new alien guy ! Shame they did not do more with Century. He'd have totally fit in Busiek's run...
So what can I add ? Great story, Great protagonist, Great antagonist and cool fellows (I enjoy the entire team !) all around. This is tailor-made for me and why I read this stuff !
- The Black Widow is still a fun character here. Good work Len, Good work ! Also, making Titanium Man of all people a tragic figure ? Kudos again !
- Exploring the bloodstream of Captain America... For great Justice !
- Ted Slaght, the teacher who had a huge impact on a young and cynical Tony.
- If you ask me; the perfect conclusion to this whole run is in War Machine #11.

It really saddens me that THIS run has not been collected entirely (Including the Kamniski/Benson issues of War Machine). It nailed the essence of Iron Man AND his world and pays tribute to the Tales of Suspense era AND the works of its predecessors with which it can hang with without any problem !
It concludes the best era of Iron Man properly. Because...


... what happens is the crossing and it is bullshit. I have NO idea where the idea for this thing came from. I mean, I have my suspicions but...THANKFULLY, it does not last long since it's only 2 years at most and Heroes Return sets the clock straight for Iron Man, but still... why the fuck did it need to happen ? Oh well, it's not like things will get worse for the Avengers once that misstep is solved eh ? Eh ?


III BACK WITH A VENGEANCE... AND A FINISH...

Is the damage fixed ? Yup ! Now let's kick this off with a new theme song www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK0P1B…

* Kurt Busiek

So Busiek brings Tony back to basics (seriously, it's heavily based on Tales of Suspense!) and starts off his legendary Avengers run... so this is a good companion piece (Hell the Madame Masque plotline starts here and ends up as Avengers arc !). Well, parts are written by Roger Stern since Kurt's health issues at the time and I suppose it could have been longer. With that said, it is a pretty good bunch of stories. And the art ? Hoo boy ! Sean Chen and Patrick Zircher simply OWN !

- Sure the whole "Ms Marvel/Warbird is an alcoholic" depends on your tolerance of Carol Danvers but Busiek's version is thankfully not as grating as Chris Claremont so that is a start. Don't you give me lip, I know what I am talking about !
- Nice fight against the dreaded dreadnoughts.
-  Whiplash is back and manages to be an actual threat to Tony!
- The Mandarin comes after his stint as a janitor (yes, it happened), in control of a gigantic robotic dragon ! After a particularly violent fight, Tony is left heavily injured and with various questions. Mandy here is pretty laid-back and relaxed to the point of eeriness, almost as if he were high ! Could this mean that something is brewing later ? (YES.)
- Rumiko Fujikawa. Tony's new girlfriend...and I was actually surprised. She proved more interesting than anticipated and even helps him sabotage the Controller's scheme.
- Iron Man defeats Nitro by exploding him over and over.
- Fin Fang Foom comes back ! For scaly justice !
- Ultimo's final tale and the giant looks even better than before !
- The Iron Age. Brilliant flashback tales told from the perspectives of Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts. Busiek knocks it out of the park !

* Mike Grell

And now I am bound to lose the comic fans of Iron Man...well fuck it, it's my show ! Grell's run has been a curiosity and ... It is pretty good. His Tony is just as likable as the ones I've mentioned beforehand. I was amazed to learn that this was the focus of complaints and how people ragged on them. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Grell introduced some new characters (I love how Temugin, the Mandarin's son, is completely different from his egomaniacal daddy. He's just as experienced in martial arts but has none of this whole conqueror mindset... but he was offered his father's hands with therings and thus has an obligation to daddy dearest.), developped Rumiko and Tony's relationship and had Tony reveal his secret. That did not bother me. I will add that Ayisha remains the most disturbing, tragic and underused of all of Tony's antagonists (what she did to Pepper...) and that her arc was unfortunately left in the open.
Anyway, "Manhunt" , which was finished by Robin Laws, is the ideal way to end classic "Vietnam or origin" Anthony Stark's adventures. I hope you liked him folks (I certainly did !) because the following stories are somewhat forgettable and ignorable...then fucking "Disassembled" happened.


IV BASICALLY WHERE THE KHAN SAVES US AND PREVENTS US FROM STRANGLING THE EDITORS

OH GAWD... So.
Joe Quesada did not give 2 fucks about non-street heroes THUS anything X-men, Avengers related is hurt on the skull hard. Why ? Well Quesada, Bendis,Millar and Morrison whiped their butts with the characters, the past and what made the series great because they have a more REAL and EDGY vision.
The cosmic side of Marvel on the other hand is left off scott-free of course because as Giffen mentionned "No one cared what we were doing...". Guess which part was eye-gougingly awful and which one was phenomenal ?
So by 2004, Iron Man is rebooted. And I mean REBOOTED. Some people think it is extremely important,I really DON'T. Give me decent stories and then fuck off at the very least. Fuck your real-world implications because it is FICTION so you play by ITS rules when writing it.
The story everybody touts as great and revolutionnary is EXTREMIS; the story that brought Iron Man to greatness and all and... NO. JUST NO ! I have read Extremis. The thing is 6 issues where 80% of the panels are Adi Granov's portfolio and the other 20% are the "plot". And I am being generous because I could swear Warren Ellis wrote this shit on a napkin between 2 bottles of Jacks. I know Ellis CAN be good (loved his Counter X comics and Nextwave for the most part) but that he can be ungodly LAZY (Thunderbolts anyone ? fuck that shit).
What is the Extremis concept ? Well basically it's a component that is injected and rewrites the body's composition turning the subject into an enhanced mutate (with a variety of physical abilities and superpowers). Of course it has 97.5% chance of fucking up extraordinarily and have the subject bleed from all his holes. And it is rendered ineffective and useless when exposed to intense cold ... I do apologize if I do not seem impressed but viruses that turn the infected person into cyborgs ? DOES THAT SOUND FAMILIAR ?! devilkais.deviantart.com/art/T…
The concept is NOTHING new really BUT I could've forgiven it...if the story was not SHIT !
- Tony is basically written as a fucking dumb dullard in this story. Granov's art is REALLY NOT FIT for human expressions !
- Sal Kennedy... fucking Hippie and I'd bet 10 bucks it's one of Ellis self-inserts! "...Aside from beating Fin Fang Foom." Hey, Ellis , you don't get to talk shit about Makluan dragons when the shitheel villain you defecated for this story is contrived as fuck and would not last against the Iron Man your betters wrote beforehand. So STFU !
- Maya Hansen is a cunt...and an idiot. There, the Redhead trilogy is over ! The Good (Pepper), The Awesome (Bethany) and The Shitheel (Maya). Don't bother , I'll never draw her...
- Mallen...THIS makes it in the list of best Iron Man villains ? THIS ?! THIS guy is why Tony chose pretty willy nilly to have himself injected with something as dangerous as Extremis ? It would be like if I chose to use dynamite on a rock that I found on my way !Iron Man couldn't handle THIS GUY ? Yeah right! The ones I drew here are far more dangerous than KKK guy over here ! I fucking miss Wong Chu now... Wong Chu, Please come back ! You can even lead your own wrestling team if you want!
- The new origin... more or less the same except with islamists instead of commies and without the heart, charm or humanity of "Tales of Suspense 39". Seriously, I can't help but think Ellis half-assed this revision in a day ! It's very sad that the 00's believe that "REALISTIC" means dull, bland and devoid of any spark or joy.

So there you go. Tony is now some supercomputer man...wooptee-fucking-doo I suppose. Will it get dumber ? Because Suddenly Mordecai Midas became absolutely plausible in my mind ! Changed Iron Man forever ? Yeah, cretinism DOES affect a man on the long-term...

Charles and Daniel Knauf take over AND at the very fucking least, they do love Tony as a character. The problem ? They have to fucking write saddled with Extremis (ok, ok...it can be used better, and they will find a neat way to do so...), that goddamn new origin, The shitty New Avengers (fuck you Bendis...) AND CIVIL FUCKING WAR.
Did I mention that I hate Civil War ? Did I mention that I really want to strangle those who supported this masturbatory POS drivel with their own intestines ?! We will get to that. But unlike the Crossing, the damages CAN NOT/ WILL NOT be fucking repaired and there are characters that I threw away cold turkey...

The first part of the Knaufs run is... simply atrocious. It makes no sense, it is built on one HUGE coincidence.  
So basically some kid uses a bullshit invention that even the 60's comics would call far-fetched and uses them to control Tony's other armors so that they can kill a list of some assholes you won't care about ? And the kid happens to be Pr Yinsen's son , SAY WHAT ?! Oh and Tony concludes that this would have never happened if his armors have been registered like guns are. Seriously ? That's the pro-registration argument ? You know, in a world where Cletus Kasady is strolling around and slicing people off or where Kang The Conqueror destroyed an entire city, registration should not even be an idea you idiots !
If anything, Registration will give Supervillains EASIER ways to fulfill their plans if they find ways to infiltrate governments. But I suppose that's impossible  *coughRedskullcough*, *coughCameronHodgecough*, sorry bit of a coughing fit here. Another thing ? THE FORMER TONY STARK WOULD JUST WORK TO FIND WAYS TO IMPROVE SECURITY AROUND HIS INVENTIONS ! ARMOR WARS ANYONE ?! It's at best POINTLESS, at worst a moronic idea. But by all means, go and send Hulk to space.... YES, because of ALL the fuckers to send there, Bruce fucking Banner is the obvious choice ! CRETINS ! How the fuck did Bendis get this writing gig ?!

Next arc? Happy Hogan dies stopping the new Spymaster (more on this one later...). No funerals, no one-shot to reminisce about Harold "pug-face" Hogan. One of Tony's oldest and best friends, the guy who saved Tony from a race that nearly blew up in his first appearance. One of the most lovable guys of the series. He's just dead like that. No appearance by Tony's other friends (yeah, those great supporting characters I've mentioned before ? FORGOTTEN ! ZILCH !). Barely any mourning. I kinda threw up in my mouth there...

So far, you're asking yourselves "why is he even bothering at this point ?". Well , I never praise anything blindly, so I had to take a good look at the Knaufs whole run to get the truthful idea. Despite my hatred of S.H.I.E.L.D., despite my loathing of Civil War, it's thankfully made up for by the amazingly awesome villain that makes the mother of all come-backs !
Kareem Mahwash Najeeb...pffAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA ! No seriously ? That's the dude's name ? It basically is tunisian argotic for "Kareem ain't that bright" ! PRICELESS !
Anyway this dude, an islamist disguised as a peacemaker (you know, in a world where Apocalypse exists, I think those fuckers would be kinda IRRELEVANT on the scale of emergency!) sent his rough and tough agent, Darius Faraz, to find the 10 rings that Temugin scattered a while ago. He also managed to find what happened to our dear Master Khan since Kurt Busiek's run and since his hands have been cut in Mike Grell's run. It turns out he's been meditating about his past failures and how he acted prior to Busiek's version. Oh and Kareem gets shot like a moron but it was in his name. It pleases me that Darius has the same raging boner I have when it comes to supervillains 2.bp.blogspot.com/-CwznjYf3Bb4…
So what's the plot then ? Well let's have Tony explain how the state secretary fucked up !
"You bundled the services of a bio-engineering genius...millions of tax-funded dollars...AND--Just for giggles -- the extremis enhancile and handed them over to the most notorious, megalomaniacal psychopath to ever draw breath and walk on two legs -- The Mandarin."
YUP ! And the Mandarin's new look in this story is RADICAL ! I mean DAMN ! He looks sexy 2.bp.blogspot.com/-X9M_XncCQCc… Kudos to Roberto de La Torre and Jackson Guice for their exquisite work here ! Even Tony looks like Timothy Dalton (which is also the basis for mine...).
Hell I even have the PERFECT song for the fights in this arc www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCky8b…
AS SUCH, despite the fact that I want to see the Mandarin rip Maria Hill's jaw and beat her like the bitch she is with it. Despite the fact that I wanna see him punch a doughnut hole in Norman Osborn to show what a TRUE Marvel Villain BOSS is like? Despite the fact that I found Extremis to be a dumb concept that Ellis crapped out of laziness... Charles and Daniel Knauf FINALLY get write a Tony Stark ON PAR with the best and it breaks my heart they had to work with such a shitty status quo because their story deserves to be directly after "Manhunt". It deserved a better supporting cast (the Stark Entreprise employees for starters ! The only one I can stand in SHIELD is Timothy Dugan ! Nick Fury ? Screw Fury, he's basically some fucking zombie or a hive or whatever...) and I thank them for actually USING the previous stories for their take on the Mandarin ! In fact, they show how scarier he is once he discovered empathy and that his rings perfectly work even when grafted on his spine!

I will also add 3 mini-series that were published around that time and that are a) Good companions to "Haunted" b) WAY FUCKING BETTER than Ellis' lazy dumbfuckery of a story that is lauded by moronic critics.

"Enter The Mandarin": Great cartoony art by Joe Canete and great revision by Joe Casey. Casey clearly loves Iron man and it shows. This is a rather faithful to the first appearances of The Mandarin and the creativity of Tales of Suspense but re-written as more complex spy-thrillers. Simply beautiful.

" The Inevitable": Again, kudos to Casey. Though Frazier Irving's art is very lacking, he draws costumes well. This is a nice throwback to the Michelinie-Layton days as the new Spymaster, Sinclair Abbott finally claims the mantle ! And he's the best of all three ! The Ghost comes back in a pretty new slick costume (and sharing my political positions, good to know...) and the Living Laser is freed from his sad fate back in the great Kaminski run. Point is, THIS was a cool ride and a welcome back to 3 dastardly foes.

" Hypervelocity": This one is an odd yet fun little story. Then again Adam Warren, with Empowered, Gen13 and Dirty Pair under his belt, is pretty good at these quirky tales. This onereminded me of the Vor/Tex arc in Kaminski's run.
Tony is injured by terrorists, his armor begins an experimental fail-safe designed to upload his mind and personality into the Iron Man armor to preserve himself even after death. This rogue armor now believes itself to be Tony Stark, while the actual one is comatose in the hospital. To add to the fun, a virus has been uploaded into the armor's systems making this rogue armor a target for extermination. Yes it is insane.

Now I know you me to end this on what I thought of Matt Fraction's Iron Man. OK, I heard good things about his Hawkeye run and his Immortal Iron Fist. That's reassuring. I also know that his x-men run was shit BUT I now KNOW with infinite CERTAINTY that no one will ever top the Lobdell/Nicieza Era any way.
My views on His Iron Man run are conflicted. It starts with handicaps like fucking Norman Osborn not being shot in the head repeatedly by Madame Masque or not having his corpse urinated on by The Ghost.
PAST THAT, it is good BUT it is definitely its own beast. I considered as sort of an Ultimate Iron Man (IF Ultimate Iron Man did not suck on toast...). If you see it in the same way as X-men Evolution (the essence is there, the presentation is different), it totally works. I dig Salvador Larroca's art here and it is waaaay better than his shitty stint with Milligan (where he clearly was not motivated...). Like Ellis, his stuff does NOT really gel with the past. UNLIKE Ellis, he has enough respect towards the series that EVEN IF it's a very different/alternate take, there IS some effort and passion behind it. Hell the Bleeding Edge Armor is a much better idea than the Extremis BS ! Thankfully Tony purges that shit out of his system !
I said that his run was equal to the Knauffs in Pros and Cons. They had a shitty/forgettable supporting cast, he had the GOOD SENSE to bring back the wonderful folks that are Bethany Cabe, Bambi Arbogast, James Rhodes and Pepper (though the Rescue armor is a bit forced, but I'll forgive it). He has a somewhat less compelling take on The Mandarin, theirs is both up there with the John Byrne/Len Kaminski one and a logical follow-up to what Busiek and Grell set up in their runs. Fraction's Mandarin sometimes tries too hard to be everything dark and wrong in China's history. He uselessly rewrote the origin of the guy (also, a Mao supporter ? Bullshit, Mandy is a staunch anti-government except for the Khan's !)  and even the technology behind the rings (which makes him wish for the creation of the Titanomechs...). With that said, he's still entertaining in an evil CEO way and way better than what they've done to Doom after Unthinkable (no, they can't top that masterpiece.).
Both have Mariah Hill. Why is that cunt not dead yet I fail to understand...
Ezekiel Stane kinda makes me roll my eyes and solidifies my argument that this whole thing is its own beast. The son of Obadiah ? Yeah right... With that said, I am glad to see that Tony's rogues gallery is there for a Foes festival ! With neat redesigns !


So there. I've said my piece on Iron Man. Unfortunately I was a fool and rushed this drawing. I should have gone for something more epic, added more of the wonderful characters that I've neglected to draw the firsttime around. I mourn the missed opportunity. But time was not a factor.
Oh well, now that I've aged , I will figure out a better illustration. A more epic and personal one that might satisfy my ego...