Today, meanwhile, let's talk about the Iron Man comics published in the several years before the above-mentioned universe-shattering event.
As I noted briefly on Wednesday night, I liked a lot of the third volume. About mid-volume, Marvel decided to try out a manga-like style that did not fit Iron Man at all -- and late in the volume, for some reason, the artists decided to draw everyone like they were all small-pox survivors. But be that as it may -- the stories were generally okay to great. As I said, nothing made me want to chuck my Samsung tablet across the room in anger -- or declare in public that Certain Comics Simply Don't Exist in My Universe.
(A Facebook post written on 8/14: "FYI, I'm still butt-mad about the trash fire that is mid-90's Iron Man. It was actually a BFD to me that Tony struggled with mental and physical health issues all through the first volume and yet was still basically a good guy trying to do the right thing. That they destroyed him - and then ERASED him - for shock value? Or for the sake of a hard reboot? Or something? NO. Eff you, eff yo mama, and eff your ancestors to the 100th generation.")
(Which was then expanded upon in the following comment: "Look, I'm down with Grey Tony. For heaven's sake, you know I ADORE MCU Tony and he sometimes operates in the grey zone. I also love "Armor Wars" and "Galactic Storm," which are both comic plots in which Grey Tony makes an appearance. But in all three of those cases, the rationale for going grey is crystal clear: he's trying to prevent something worse. (Or, in the case of MCU Tony, he's displaying symptoms of his mental illness.) (Or both. For MCU Tony, both often happen at the same time.) "The Crossing" offers no such rationale. It just spontaneously makes Tony evil for NO FUCKING REASON.")
(In other words: THERE IS NO SUCH THING as "The Crossing" or "Heroes Reborn" on this blog. Just so we're clear. Eff the mid-90's.)
(Okay, the asides are now over. Back to our regularly scheduled programming.)
So what were the specific things that delighted me about Volume 3? First of all, early on, the armor starts interfering with Tony's ability to heal because of [comic book science], which gives us several issues of Tony as a bad patient who keeps doing the things his doctors have contraindicated. At one point, we even see him ripping out an IV, getting out of bed, and struggling to put his armor on because he just has to go investigate something Right Now -- after which, of course, he collapses in a heap. I'm sorry, but I love fragile, beat-to-shit Tony. I love I'm-dying-but-I-will-fight-through-the-pain Tony. I love my-armor-is-filling-with-blood-but-I-will-finish-this Tony. That stuff is almost a kink for me.
Then there's Carol Danvers. Note for my movie-only audience: Carol is more tortured - and interesting - in the comics. Here, she develops a drinking problem, which allows Tony the opportunity to intervene as the Guy Who's Been There. This is a goooooood subplot! Indeed, throughout the volume, the various writers do a excellent job overall keeping that particular demon of Tony's alive. It pops up in terrifying dreams (see issue #27), in virtual reality scenarios, and in public discussion. It also haunts him at his emotional low points; several times, we see him struggle with temptation when he's upset and/or especially stressed. I love all of this too. I love Alcoholic Tony as much as I love the Tony Whump.
The next thing that made me scream for a few social media posts was the evil, rapey sentient armor. And by the way, I'm not using "rapey" lightly. The thing actually does rape Jocasta, an AI Tony rescues early on and incorporates into his own systems. And when Tony himself refuses to get inside said armor, it kidnaps him, takes him to a deserted island, and tries to torture him into "joining."
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I mean, I'm sure this idea sounded really stupid - as many comic book plots do - when it was first pitched, but its execution is fucking fantastic.
There's also another strong Mandarin plot in this volume -- a.k.a., the "Manhunt" arc, in which Tony is blamed for a devastating attack on the Chinese Embassy and has to go on the run to clear his name. The best (because it's the most angsty) moment in this is the scene in which Pepper is pressured by the FBI to hand over a device that can disable Tony's armor. "Please don't humiliate him." Ouch, that hurt!
And then there's the stretch in which a government official exploits a legal loophole to steal Tony's inventions and start re-purposing them for the military, which leads Tony to decide he must become the Secretary of Defense to bring the situation under control. My God, there's so much to love there, but the page that really hits me is this, which takes place as Tony's struggling to save a plane disabled by the misuse of his tech:
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"Iron Man is about everyone else." When I read that - and I swear I'm not exaggerating - I started sobbing. Because that's the rub, isn't it? Tony Stark is a deeply flawed character in any medium. But in any medium, he will also go to outright suicidal lengths to protect others. Hell, he will even sell his soul to save the world if that's what it takes.
Which, I suppose, is what the opening arc of Volume 4 - "Extremis" - is really about: Tony abandoning his humanity to save lives. As I wrote on Facebook, I have reservations about this story and its results. I prefer Tony to be unenhanced - and therefore vulnerable - under his armor, so the fact that, post-"Extremis," he's now so powerful he can access worldwide networks at the speed of thought and swiftly dispatch villains without much struggle doesn't quite sit right with me. On the other hand, as the "Execute Program" arc quickly reveals, there are interesting things that can be done with a suddenly OP Tony. For instance, you can hijack his nervous system once again to use him as a metaphorical nuke against your enemies, thereby forcing Tony to kill himself to stop the madness. And you can play with the temptations that inevitably come with access to newfound super-abilities. So what can I say? I really don't know.
Thematically, I can see how competent writers can make this work. So onward I shall press despite my doubts!
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