Tales of Suspense

[colonel_green]

Four scans from Captain America #605 and three from Invincible Iron Man #25.
 

#605 brings the "Two Americas" arc to an end, as Brubaker gets to the inevitable "Cap fights another Captain America wannabe with a different vision of America" story - pretty much every Cap run since Englehart has to have at least one of these.  James and Sam are on the tail of Evil 50s Cap, who's teamed up with the Watchdogs and plans to blow up the Hoover Dam as a wakeup call to the country so that everything can go back to Leave It To Beaver (I'm guessing Evil 50s Cap isn't a fan of Mad Men).

As our heroes defeat the Watchdogs, James (who is wearing his old costume at 50s Cap's insistence after he was captured) fights 50s Cap; he tries to get through to 50s Cap, who, after all, was a guy who wanted to be a hero and was driven insane by the formula he used to make himself a supersoldier:





Later, the police dredge the water looking for 50s Cap.



As a whole, I think the parallels between the two Caps could have been more fleshed out through the entire arc, but this was an effective ending, and I really liked how the last page brings home that Bucky sees him as a bit of a cautionary tale about the fate of the people who wear the Cap costume.  Brubaker's references to those characters in past issues have always been effective; if I had a single-issue copy of that scene from his first arc where Steve goes to Arlington, I would totally post it, because "They were Captain America" is one of my favourite moments of the run.

Also, 50s Cap gets a classic "if/when the next guy wants to use me, it's easy to say I survived" end; the gentlemanly way for ongoing writers to handle a character's rogues most of the time.

Over in Tony's book, every time I think I'm out, they pull me back in; I had decided to stop buying this with #24, but I skimmed the #25, and it looked interesting, so I ended up buying it, and it is indeed one of the best individual issues that I've read.

Tony goes around rebuilding his fortune/company for the Nth time (while saying he's never done this before, which is wrong, but whatever), starting with the cash flow problem, since they have no money, as Pepper tells pretty much everybody.  Tony visits the site of the Avengers Mansion, where rebuilding is underway, and Thor pays a visit.





He decides to get the cash from the world's business community by offering to mass-produce the Iron Man armour's power source for civilian use, which is a good idea, but one I can't imagine will ever come to any fruition in the wider universe, given the implications of that sort of thing.

He also designs a new suit of armour using Reed Richards' facilities (not having any of his own at the moment), which is entirely liquid and is stored on his body.  I found that interesting, because I assumed that getting rid of Extremis was due to a desire to have him literally have to put on the suit again at all times like in the films, but I guess not.
 

Comments

[jcbaggee]

He already had a pseudo-liquid armor, back in Volume 3...

[stubbleupdate]

That was the undersheath only.

This it The Armour.

[autumn_lily]

I am still not digging the art on Iron Man...

[colonel_green]

It has its moments, but sometimes it comes across awkwardly (though it's gotten better through the series, particularly after he tweaked his character models after the first arc).

[bj_l]

Who does the Iron Man art? Is it a new person, or is the answer going to make me cry?

[queendork56]

I lol'd irl at "spirited ginger woman of yours"

[colonel_green]

In his spare time, Thor enjoys South Park.

[nezchan]

I'm absolutely sure Thor made that offer just to see the look on Tony's face.

Hell, I would.

[shadur]

So, in summary. Tony was STILL right to pull all the crap he did, none of the inevitable results were in any way his responsibility, and we're supposed to think he's awesome for sticking to his principles even through adversity and respect his resolve.


... Yeah, no.

[sethgray]

Not just no, but hell no.

[lbd_nytetrayn]

I think the idea, whether it was conveyed properly or not, might be more along the lines of the end he was trying to reach being right, even if the means were not (hence the "hopefully differently" part).

That's just how I read it, though.

--LBD "Nytetrayn"

[jlroberson]

What he did was undone, and he's certainly suffered consequences, up to and including having to erase his brain.

The question is, is Tony a man of integrity who'll disavow his decisions when he's down?

But from another POV, it's. has Tony learned anything?

So those are the two ways to look at the scene. Besides, remember, Thor has never been the brightest bulb in the marquee and is big on stuff like honor, and is used to reconciling and working with former enemies--including Loki.

[amaniwolf]

Agreed...this seems a bit contrived and forced, it's like the heads of the Marvel Offices were like...alright, we need Tony to be a hero again, we'll say he doesn't recall what he did, and that way they'll have to forgive him. Seriously?! Guess it's too much effort for him to say,...i was wrong, i'm sorry and then work to regain people's trusts and friendship over time. Not buying it,...or this.

[darkknightjrk]

I didn't look at it like that:

He does say in there that he doesn't want things to turn out the way it did before, and if he were able, he wouldn't do what he did before. He can't apologize for his actions, because it would be hollow. He can't figure out which actions were done right, because he can't remember what went through is mind at the time. He just has to keep going, and try to do things differently then before.

[jlroberson]

Both excerpts are great. I have to admit, I really liked watching THAT Cap die. Sorry, I guess my strident liberalism is showing.

But what I really liked? Thor and Stark. Nice, nice scene.

[digicom]

So, this is a comic sequel to the second movie, right?

Hammer as the villain
Pepper as CEO
Tony with a repulsor unit embedded in his chest.
New armor that wraps around his body from the front

The back matter was interesting, although I'm not sure it makes sense, since it implies that not only is the armor liquid, but so are the "repulsor nodes". But realism isn't exactly a hallmark of the book :)

[darkblade]

Dude spoilers, that movie isn't out here yet.

[valtyr]

"Everything I did - I know it was because I thought it was the right thing to do at the time."

How do you know that, Tony? Seriously? Not a sliver of doubt? You can't even remember your reasoning, but you're diamond-sure you thought using Thor's image to commit murder was the One True Way? It's not like you've never made bad decisions in the past - and even when you maintained your way was the best way, you've still been able to apologize for the damage you regretted. Urggggh I hate this so much, why did they bother making him amnesiac if they weren't going to actually use the get out of jail free card. And Fraction's going to be writing this and Thor now?

Also, Jeez, that helmet. That's the most pointless attempt at a nose guard I have ever seen. A blow on top of the head, and it'll be attempting to sever his nose.

[wizardru]

His conversation earlier in the issue with Mr. Fantastic had him saying he was sorry...granted, in a sideways 'my ego makes it hard for me to admit when I'm wrong' kind of way, but it's pretty clear both from the conversation that's what he's doing and that they both know it.

[thandrak]

Nice choice of post title.

[freezer]

I am assuming that one of the bits of his brain with bad sectors is the part that housed his near-pathological need to not let anyone else have Iron Man tech (see Armor Wars I and II).

And I smell an Honor Before Reason entry in the near future.

[ap0cryphal]

this arc of captain america kind of dragged for me. i've loved what brukaber's been doing, but honestly the arc before this (winter soldier / mad scientist man / weaponised human torch virus thing / pathos and fisticuffs / etc) felt tighter and more focused. he could've wrapped two americas up in two less issues. :/

on a side note, still nowhere near sold on tony's redemption. what he's showing isn't integrity, it's just plain bullish idiocy. *facepalm* "hopefully i'd do it differently"? really, tony?

yeah the obvious choices are "i don't regret a damn thing and i would do it again" vs "i learned from my mistakes and i wouldn't do it again." considering the magnitude of what tony set in motion (CIVIL WORS!) taking either of those options is a cop-out. especially considering he doesn't have the benefit of firsthand experience of what he did anymore.

was expecting something more subtle than this brand of cliche from fraction. he can do better and he's done better (see: The Order), so why are supposed to settle for this?

also: larroca's art is creeeeeeeeeeepy. semi-glossy-store maneequin creepy. page 1, 2nd to last panel: why is Sawyer from Lost suddenly Tony Stark now? fuck, he did the same thing in NewUniversal couple years back.

[wizardru]

So wait...if saying he would and wouldn't do it again is a cop-out...what ISN'T a cop-out? What answer could he give that would be acceptable for you...or do you not believe there is one?

[arilou_skiff]

I'm kind of bemused by this reaction.

YES Tony is an egotistical, arrogant jerk. A jerk with a heart of gold, but still someone who can and willa ct quite ruthlessly (and not always rationally)

That's why I like him as a character. (And why I can't stand Steve) he feels like a real person.

*sucks teeth with rancour*

[jazzypom]

*still sucking teeth with rancour over IIM 25*

[aaron_bourque]

I love how James respects the the costume, regardless of who wore the costume. Sort of like how soldiers respect the rank regardless of who holds the rank.

Me and Box-in-the-box got into a discussion (regarding Willingham) of creators who seem to have wanted to be soldiers and have the respect and/or esteem soldiers have (which Willingham comes off as despite having been an MP) and creators who are able to show the soldiers as deserving of respect and esteem. Brubaker, fits the latter mold.