If you have read any of my posts, you should already know that I can't keep a secret. Spoilers ahead.
So I subscribed to Iron Man two months ago and purchased #504 knowing that there's a significant delay for new subs. Needless to say, I missed #505, but it looks like all I missed was 32 pages of the last panel of #504. Now, the last Iron Man I read was, oh...#178. Granted, I read that one last year and not in 84' when it was published, reason being I was a two-year-old in 84'. In any case, Stark was a drunk then and Rhodey was Iron Man.
Fast forward. Fear Itself #4. This is another case of missing #3 and counting on the recap page to fill me in. This time I did miss something. Apparently, Captain Bucky had his arm removed and his life turned off by the Red Skull. But that's neither here nor there. We're focusing on Iron Man. This episode pretty much picks up from where Iron Man #505 supposedly left off. That's because Fraction is writing both of these books. Basically, if you're confused about this event, and you will be since Marvel has given zero guidance in regards to reading order, just alternate reading the Fear Itself books with the Invincible Iron Man books with a couple Secret Avengers sprinkled in to explain the 'Blitzkrieg USA' bullshit.
I'd like to bring attention to this page in particular. I believe Tony's been sober for the last 25, or so, years in real time. That's probably about ten minutes comic book time. This is a pretty powerful page for an emotional guy like me, and since I can really only read a comic if it has better-than-average artwork, Stuart Immonen pencils me through just fine.
Which segues into Invincible #506. I have observed Salvador Larroca's evolution as an artist since the mid 90's, through his X-Men days in the mid 2000's and I can really appreciate the growth he has had in that time. It's improvement with practice, right? That doesn't always happen. Look at Chris Bachalo, who had superb pencils in the beginning of his career, and it steadily degenerated into the angular mess he produces today (See Avengers #15). It truly hurts me to say that. Bachalo used to be one of my favorites. Now it just seems so assembly-line. I'll complain about his artwork in another show. Good on you, Sal. As I've said, Fraction wrote both of these books and the plotting seems to glide from one to the next. Tony sacrificed his sobriety to get Odin's attention, and it worked, so to add insult to injury, Ol'One Eye threw Tony to the Dwarves, who treat sobriety as the disease. Can't make weapons of mass destruction without mass intoxication.
What my personal fear, and maybe that's the point of Fear Itself, is Tony falling off the wagon. Rhodey's not around to pick up the slack this time, so we would inevitably get Pepper to pick up the mantle, which kind of scares me. It's not that I don't like Pepper. I do. It's just that I like Pepper as the counterbalance and not the star. We'll see. If Fraction keeps it realistic this one drink has made Tony relapse and we will have to deal with Tony's alcoholism for another 30 issues.
I give these two books one ruined life down, and two tankards of mead up in cheer.
I've got to say that I pretty much agree with what you had to say here, Lebeau. The scene where Tony gives his sobriety to Odin WAS powerful, especially in light of all the times he WOULDN'T take a drink. After Steve Rogers "died" Tony was thisclose to falling off the wagon, but managed to stay on the straight and narrow. If anything, Tony drinking now shows just how serious the whole Fear Itself threat is.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Pepper thing, I like Pepper too(as a supporting character who can solo an issue or two every now and then), but Pepper as the "real" Iron Man, while Tony's staggering around as a lush doesn't really appeal to me. I wouldn't be adverse to Rhodey taking over the main Iron Man book, with Pepper heading up Iron Man 2.0(the secondary book) though. With Tony giving in and drinking with the Dwarves, I can't see how this doesn't lead to him falling off the wagon, but I'm not sure how Fraction can improve on the original, "Tony's a drunk!!!" storyline. Maybe have it so that Tony secretly sneaks drinks and is more or less a functioning drunk until he screws something up royally? I'm not sure which way Fraction will go, but it should at least be interesting. Unless he simply ignores it after Fear Itself, which would kind of suck...
Oh, and as for the reading order of Fear Itself... I have NO idea what comes when, and I've been buying pretty much anything that says “Fear Itself” on the cover! Like you said, the main Fear book and Iron Man blend together nicely, which makes sense, but everything else is pure guess work... For example, last month had the Thunderbolts fighting Juggernaut outside Chicago, while the Uncanny X-Men were fighting Juggy in San Fran. This month? Juggy's still in Chi-town dealing with the T-Bolts... So yeah...
It's not like the other Avengers would smell alcohol on his breath in the suit. He could do the functioning alcoholic for a while until, like you said, he screws up and flies into a school bus, and Rogers has to whip him into shape. I feel like Tony's got a bigger support structure right now, which would lead him to be deceptive because he knows his friends wouldn't let him stumble back into his alcoholism if they knew. Did you notice that the brand of the wine that he drank to get Odin's attention was called 'Demon in a Bottle'?
ReplyDeleteIDK, it seems Tony's helmet can hold onto the aroma of alcohol pretty well actually. In Iron Age #1, Tony from the present heads back in time, meets his past, drunken self and takes his past self's helmet. When he meets with the Avengers, Thor remarks that Tony smelt of spirits, or something like that, and Tony tries to blame the stench on the helmet. I'm sure the Tony nowadays would have some way to take care of that though. I mean hell, War Machine's new armor can do all sorts of awesome things like phase through walls, I'm sure Tony can figure out a way to kill the stench of booze in his helmet! No, I didn't notice that was the name of the wine... That's EXTREMELY cute on Fraction's part. Awesome callback there on his or the artist's part. Thanks for pointing that out, 'cause that's a REALLY cool easter egg.
ReplyDeleteWait. War Machine can phase? That's weird. I'm not reading 2.0, but maybe I should be. Do you know who's writing it? Is the art good?
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