Invincible Iron Man #1

by Brian Michael Bendis, David Marquez and Justin Ponsor

So Secret Wars isn’t over yet–a problem for another time–and here we go with Marvel’s relaunched books set eight months after the conclusion of Secret Wars. The first one up, and seemingly the one that’s been pushed to the forefront as one of the new, major titles is Invincible Iron Man. With the popularity of this character in the cinematic universe, it’s easy to see why they’d try and push him harder over here in the comic end of things and they’ve certainly got a team that’s more than up to the task. Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez, who teamed up on the Miles Morales books, are no strangers to damn good comics. In fact, those Ultimate Spider-Man books are easily some of the best that Marvel has put out in recent memory, making the anticipation for Invincible Iron Man even greater.

Suffice it to say that so far, one measly issue, Bendis has done very well to re-introduce the world to Tony Stark. He still has all the traits you know and love, maybe with a few additions or tweaks, and he’s more than acceptable as the new Tony Stark. Or the old one trying to better himself? You know, that’s where things get a bit hazy. There’s no mention of Secret Wars stuff in this issue and it’s hard to figure out where that will fit into this. Sure, nobody wants Marvel to give away the ending of Secret War, but it really just felt like another number one with no major universe changes of note. I mean, okay, the ending was notable for sure and maybe we’ll get more involved in what has happened in the last eight months but it still felt… detached.

Marquez, and colorist Justin Ponsor, do what they do best here. They’ve taken a Bendis script and elevated it perfectly. Maybe there’s some nostalgia here, based on a personal love of his work with ol’ Miles, but Marquez kills it. His Tony looks like, well, Tony, and that new armor design is superb–even if it looks a little small compared to what we’ve been getting in the Iron Man department. Marquez is a great artist that completely earned this step up onto a higher profile book. In the same breath, Justin Ponsor has earned his spot as well. Splashing down great colors on everything from the new armor to Tony’s A.I. assistant Friday, Ponsor proves why he was selected to be part of this tent-pole book in the All-New All-Different All-Number One Marvel.

The timing is funny with Secret Wars only at issue six, and there seems to be a real disconnect in this issue which might turn some people off. Some people have grown to hate number one issues and relaunches and all that same old crap we’ve been getting for years, but you know what? Invincible Iron Man is just a damn good comic. Forget the number one on the cover, let go of the Secret Wars scheduling issues and just read the thing. Bends and Marquez, along with Ponsor, are a great team for this book and you’d be hard pressed to get a bad issues from these three. If you love Iron Man, across any media, you need to check this out. It’s as simple as that.