Iron Man #27 - "Rings of the Mandarins, Chapter V"

[arbre_rieur]

"On average I would say the Marvel Universe is a science fiction universe. There's magic in it, but at its heart it leans toward science. Even its cosmic stuff leans toward science. There's a difference between The Power Cosmic and magic. Its philosophy leans toward the star children and gods and space mysticism, which is essentially science overstretched, as opposed to magic which is a fundamentally different system. Now if you want to flip that around for a second, magic is a lot more important in the DC Universe in terms of its fundamental character." -- Kieron Gillen


















The Stark brothers charge on in, and Arno debuts his new suit:











To Be Continued...

Comments

[skjam]

I do find it appropriate that the FF stopped Mole Man's city buster--he may even have tipped them off personally.

[terrykun]

I knew it... I freaking knew it... someone wanting to use words to change the world.

[thanekos]

The Unnatural History Museum: Atlanteans, flying cars, demigods, powered armor, and that one Nazi.

[drtechnobabel]

So Arno basically built Metroplex?

...I can live with that.

[icon_uk]

I was getting more of a Gen 1 Omega Supreme vibe from Arno's robot mode....

[lbd_nytetrayn]

Ha, called it at the outset.

Do we get to see it transform, though?

Makes me wish the Avengers/Transformers crossover was canon.

[matrix_dragon]

So, the guy introduced at the start of this story arc, who's only shown up in a handful of scenes, and suddenly doesn't like Tony was the Mystery Mandarin. Color me shocked.

Also, Peppers face on the last panel. She is utterly bored by being held hostage :lol

[big_daddy_d]

That eye roll says "Really?"

[beyondthefringe]

Every time I see Abigail, I have to wonder just how she's getting by in day to day life without hands. I know Arno set her up with voice recognition software, but like... how does she get dressed in those fabulous outfits?

If it means anything, I also wonder about characters like Razorfist. Or that one mutant terrorist with claws for hands... Shocker, I think.

[shadur]

Back when City of Heroes was still live (damn you NCSoft) there was a gang of neo-anarchist cyberware fanatics called the Freakshow. Their top tier members tended to have /both/ hands replaced with sharp implements or heavy hammers... And according to in-game lore, they relied on their less augmented underlings to feed them.

[md84]

Reminds me of the Number One Fan, one of X-factor's "greatest" villains. Replaced his own hands with razor sharp fan blades in a bid to wipe out mutantkind, and was foiled by a closed door and his own stupidity.

[doctor_spanky]

Or that one mutant terrorist with claws for hands... Shocker, I think.

Let's hope he doesn't live up to his namesake

[morwen]

If she's anything like me she has a strong local social circle who well help out with stuff like that.

(it has to be said, she is a lot like me.)

[beoweasel]

Question!

Why don't they just build Abigail new hands? Given how common cybernetic prosthesis is in the Marvel Universe, it strikes me as odd that Abigail doesn't have them. If it's a case of not trusting her, then why go to her for help in the first place? Or let her use a custom-made Iron-Man suit just for her, which strangely, also don't have hands.

If it's just a case of her limbs haven't healed fully from her injury, and they have to wait before grafting cybernetics, why not just give her a pair of gauntlets to wear?

Or is she just too proud to accept help from man or his brother, who she at first despised due to her political leanings? Did she view a potential offer as a means of pity for her disability and that was something she didn't want? If that's the issue, why'd she accept the custom-made suit or the return of the Mandarin Incinerator ring afterward?

[beyondthefringe]

It's the latter. She refused them out of principle. Something about until every person who ever lost limbs due to Stark weapons or mines, blah blah blah.

Apparently, she doesn't mind A) being a super-powered anarchist in temporary league with them as long as she's fighting a Neo-Nazi, or B) accepting small gifts from Arno, who she may not realize is actually related to Tony.

[doctor_spanky]

I like that someone's finally calling out Mole Man for the Devo shades. I guess it's hard to be trendy when you literally live under a rock

Also if Iron Metropolitan is a city when it isn't a battle suit, does that mean all it's inhabitants get tossed around giant robot fights?

[icon_uk]

Except he's been wearing them since 1963, Devo copied HIM, so it's their problrm, not his.

[crinos]

On a similar subject, loving that crown.

[terrykun]

Perhaps it's like Dekabase Robo, where there are designated safety spots before build-up/transformation.

[donnblake]

I always read them as being similar to Inuit Snow Goggles, due to Mole Man's hypersensitivity to light. Doesn't explain why he doesn't just lower the ambient light level in his underground cities, but, y'know, whatever.

[arbre_rieur]

It's only parts of the city, not the whole city. So either those parts are kept uninhabited, or the people stationed there relocate when it's time to transform.

[tugrul]

Namor, you sexy mofo. *bites lip*

”Apologies for this disruption in service.” Hahaha! :D ”Please hold.” *plays tune*

Great book.

[bradygirl_12]

The giant dinosaur in the first panel? Thought Batcave right away! :)

[shadowpsykie]

who's the lady in the iron armor?

[beyondthefringe]

Abigail Burns, AKA Red Peril. An anarchist/journalist who briefly possessed the pyrokinetic ring of the Mandarin until she lost it, with both her hands, when someone else decided he wanted all the rings.

She hates Tony because he's rich and powerful and has amazing hair.

[silverzeo]

"Marvel Universe is a science fiction universe. There's magic in it, but at its heart it leans toward science."

Yeah... except for the times they try to add some mystic twist to some of their science stories. Like with Spider-Man for more than one occasion... not including his deal with Mephisto that ended up loosing his organic movie-based webshooters and gave back his techno-ones...