schmevil: (iron man)
schmevil ([personal profile] schmevil) wrote2008-03-26 10:25 pm

Three things Iron Man

1.
You can find the whole story behind this panel in She-Hulk #27. I've posted 11 pages at [livejournal.com profile] scans_daily.

2. Also check out the new Iron Man Movie tv spot. Ganked from [livejournal.com profile] pandanoai.

3. And finally, a new interview with Matt Fraction on Invincible Iron Man.

NRAMA: Tony has everything...well, 96% of everything anyone could ever want, and can invent that last remaining 4% before most of the world is up for breakfast. Why does he do the Iron Man thing? What itch does putting on the armor scratch for Tony?

MF: He doesn't have everything. He doesn't have immortality, superpowers, or safety. Try as he might, the future remains outside of his grasp and control. The armor is the literal realization of his self-evolution, of the triumph of human will over the human body.

And, let's not lie-- his first addiction was to adrenaline. He's an inventor and a test pilot in his very soul. Putting the armor on allows Tony to-- well, to slip the surly bonds of Earth and touch the face of god.

At, like, Mach 6.


When Fraction is talking about the character I get really excited. He seems to both *get* and love Tony Stark and Iron Man. But some of his plans leave me cold - for one, I'm really not looking forward to Obediah Stane 3.0 (2.0 being Tiberius Stone). I'd like to move away from the Battle of Geniuses! thing, and open the field to a wider range of antagonists.

The post-human collective in Warren's Hypervelocity was a particularly strong new villain for Tony, because it had the same kind of upward-and-onward ethos of technological development as Tony. Only, it was Tony warped - the idea of technological evolution of humanity taken in an entirely different, and freaking scary direction. Instead of enhancing the body, they did away with the body, in favour of pure consciousness, and temporary body-constructs. Great stuff, especially considering Tony's own body issues.

I'm also really enjoying what the Knaufs are doing with Maya Hansen and the Mandarin. They shift the focus to biotechnological evolution, which is outside of Tony's field of expertise (always a good story-telling strategy), with the added flavour of a morally, and viscerally horrifying experimental protocol. I've liked extremis from the start, but am so happy with Mandarin's plan to salt the earth with it, because: a) it's been so nicely set up; b) it's cool and not easily countered; c) it's cool.

Fraction says that Ezekiel Stane, the villain of his first arc, is going to be "younger, faster, and smarter" than Tony, but let's face it - the basis of this character is grudge-villainy. Considering that there are innumerable characters in the MU who've got a reason to be pissed with him, I really don't think Fraction needs to invent a new character, straight out of the gate, just to set Tony up for a "reckoning". I also think that this "reckoning" he's planning, would have a lot more emotional resonance if it involved the friends and allies he's alienated.

Another issue I have with Fraction's approach is his previous characterization of Tony in The Order. As SpySmasher says:

Based on Fraction's take on Stark in the Order, I'm fairly certain that his Iron Man will be:

1) A bigger asshole than ever.
2) Weaker than ever.
3) Stupider than ever.

Basically, I'm predicting Tony is going to get ____ on, month after month, in his own book. I hope I'm wrong.


Me too, dude. Me too. :|

[identity profile] schmevil.livejournal.com 2008-03-31 08:36 pm (UTC)(link)
I had some issues with Hypervelocity. I thought the technobabble got out of control, to the point where it was colonizing every other part of the story - so instead of plot we got AMRAMS, and instead of characterization we got AMRAMS. But overall it was great and it showed what you could do with IM if you pushed the concept a bit further than most writers are comfortable with.

I still hate the way Tony's written by now

I'm not going to lie. I love Director of SHIELD. The next time that Fannish Unpopular Opinions goes around, mine will be "the Knaufs are great!" ;)

I also think that Bendis kind of gets the character, but that he would do better with Tony, and with the rest of the Avengers, if he didn't have such unlimited control over creative decisions. If he was forced to tighten up his scripts, and take himself out of the story, I think he'd be a much better writer. He's done some good work, but he's also done some really horrible work, and I don't think it's a coincidence that the bad stuff came after he became a 'superstar'.

the patronizing and horrific way he treated Jen

God, that was really terrible. It was also out of character even for the new eviler Tony. I'm still uncomfortable that Marvel thought this story was a good idea - it's got the same kind of nasty, sexual connotations that make the Tigra debacle so repellent, but it was played so lightly. I think they'll have an easier time of absolving Tony of all his other crimes, because this one can't be justified on the basis of the greater good. (Not that I'm saying he actually acted for the greater good, but that's his justification). There's really no way to spin shooting the Hulk into space, sleeping with his cousin, injecting her with experimental technology when she confronts you, and then publicly humiliating her.