Invincible Iron Man 520 (3 pages)

[blackruzsa]

Ah, it hurts. And it didn't help that my iTunes decided to play Wicked's "As Long as You're Mine" when I got to these pages.

Agh.








And a GRIMDARKSPOILER for the end!

DON'T READ IT IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS. Y'know.



 

Comments

[jaybee3]

How many times now has Tony, sold/left the company, retired, started all over again etc.? He does this all the time I'm surprised that Pepper didn't lampshade it. And of course it never lasts.

[blackruzsa]

I know right?
Although personally, I think it means a lot that the company's made up of like, five people, and Tony actually respects all of them, believes in all of them, and wants to protect all of them, knowing they'll allow the company to flourish.

Of course, I could just be projecting, but still.

[stolisomancer]

The original company during "Demon in a Bottle."
The replacement company that he founded while Rhodey had the armor sort of fell apart when Stane blew it up.
Then he started over again and it got bought out by the Japanese during "Heroes Reborn."
I think he had the Stark Solutions company right up until he was the Secretary of Defense for a while.
So this is... company #5? valtyr probably knows.

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

Probably as many times as he's been mind controlled.

I know Kurt Buseik tried to kill that angle way back when, but I guess when you slaughter the logical narrative, certain things return.

[lucky_gamble]

He's dead? Really, really dead? No chance of reconciling? Sure it would be wrong in many ways but ...still. I have....to sit down.

:(

[blackruzsa]

Well you know, even if he is, someone might decide he's not ): I wish he weren't but I know that would be against the code of good storytelling, where Matt Fraction, despite a lot of jabs, is doing well at.

[shadowpsykie]

but I know that would be against the code of good storytelling, where Matt Fraction, despite a lot of jabs, is doing well at.

true dat.

[nefrekeptah]

...that's not a "grimdark" ending. That's just a cliffhanger.

And it's a gay man who's relationship was played sympathetically, who's death was a tragedy, and now it looks like we're getting an arc where his lover overcomes his grief and maybe eventually even learns to love again. In other words - I don't see any wasted potential here.

[shadowpsykie]

i actually agree.

yeah it's tragic... but i still see growth and character opportunities.

[blackruzsa]

There is wasted potential, but that doesn't mean nothing good'll come out of this.
:) and I guess with the Mandarin being the one guy who's behind everything bad that's happened in this entire run, I called it grimdark, but there's always the next issue.

[darkknightjrk]

I wouldn't call it grimdark at all. In fact, I found it HILARIOUS. Visually, it is basically Tony punching himself in the face. I hope the first page of next issue is Tony kicking his own ass with the "Master" saying over the phone, "Why do you keep hitting yourself, Tony? WHY DO YOU KEEP HITTING YOURSELF?"

[blackruzsa]

.....
I KNOW, OKAY. STOP HITTING YOURSELF, STOP HITTING YOURSELF.
I TRIED TO STEER AWAY FROM THAT JOKE.
IT WAS TOO EASY BUT IT WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE

Seriously though, I laughed for about five minutes when I saw it before I went like "oh shit, the Mandarin took down both Stark and Stane."

[starwolf_oakley]

Hmm. "Tried to wipe your mind clean." Emphasis on *tried*.

Does Mandarin have Tony's memories from EXTREMIS to DARK REIGN?

[blackruzsa]

Hmmmm well that would certainly make things more interesting. And dire.

When will Larroca leave?

[jazzypom]

I don't think I can bear to look at the comic as long as Larroca is on pencils.

Re: When will Larroca leave?

[blackruzsa]

The pencils don't bother me, it's the coloring. It doesn't fit. The pencils are bearable, though, even nice.

Re: When will Larroca leave?

[mrstatham]

This. The colouring's gotten a hell of a lot better since the first story, though - everyone doesn't look sunburnt, now.

Re: When will Larroca leave?

[blackruzsa]

S'true. It's nice to see the improvement over time.

[md84]

It's been a while since Mandarin was the major villain of an Iron Man story arc.

[mrstatham]

About... Five years? The last big one was the final story the Knaufs did, back before Secret Invasion.

[tessiebee]

Is it me, or do the characters all look kind of greasy?

[blackruzsa]

That's one of the banes of Larocca art. The shiny. If he just took away the shine, they would look great.

[kraesil]

BAWWWWK

Does this mean mind-controlling-crazy-whatever brouhaha?

[blackruzsa]

IT WOULD SEEM.