Iron Man #28 - "Rings of the Mandarins, Chapter VI"

[arbre_rieur]

'I also always thought this scenario would be creepy, an alien dropping a powerful weapon on our planet and saying, “Right now you have to protect this place.” That’s weird. I thought that this is basically an alien culture interfering with the native culture for reasons of their own interest.' -- Kieron Gillen





Iron Man fires a repulsor blast straight through Pepper's body to hit Marc.





Meanwhile, Arno's taken out the Exile and the Iron Patriot's taken out Colin Sixty, leaving the Mole Man as the last Mandarin standing.

Comments

[q99]

I like how Mole Man's smart enough to know when to bug out. That's what shows a veteran.

[crinos]

Yeah, I loved that.

Ring: The others have been defeated, you are now the most powerful Mandarin by default.

Mole Man: Yeaaaah no, see, here's the thing? I already got a sweet deal down here, ruling the underground world. The Fantastic Four more or less leave me alone, but there's no guarantee Iron Man will do the same, so I'm quitting while I'm ahead. Later.

Ring: Well.... fuck.

Also, Iron Man becoming a Boogey Man to the dark elves amuses me.

[q99]

He's willing to take some risk in return for gain, but he's not willing to push things if it puts what he has at risk.

[mrstatham]

I just can't shake the feeling that this is treading water, somehow; It just feels either really by the numbers, or weirdly contemptuous of some of the elements it's bringing into play; Like the whole fantasy element Gillen stomped all over, which weirdly ties in with his making 'magic' more palatable for him or making sci-fi and the associated tech look better by comparison. There doesn't really feel like there's anything at stake. Pepper's in danger? Not really Pepper. Malekith has some of the Mandarin rings? He gets stomped near-immediately. Even the stuff with the sudden brother is either going to be a subversion of what we expect, given how hard Gillen is lampshading the 'Arno=villain' stuff, or it's just going to be played straight. And the stuff with the Mole Man is just.. Why was he even involved at all if he didn't give a shit and could toss the ring at any time?

And then Gillen just dismisses some of the more interesting elements that he's brought in or just doesn't use it well enough, like Dark Angel. And Gillen can smack-talk Fantomex all he likes, but the Diabolik-wannabe is still more interesting than 'Sudden Brother-Evil-Guy' and 'Strawman Journalist Handless Girl'.

[icon_uk]

Some very good moments, but a few too many random elements in the final exposition for me...

The Rigellian Recorder which just happened to be pivotal to a previous story just happened to broadcast an Apellaxian firmware upgrade which just happened to cause the previously not-self-aware Rings to latch on to a lingering resentment of Tony Stark...

I'm sure a LOT of plots use that approach, but this seems determined to draw attention to them.

[sadoeuphemist]

I thought the implication is that the remnants of 451 are trying to undermine Tony by whatever means possible.

[tugrul]

What I got is that the rings did gain awareness because of the broadcast, but as the alien says there was a psychic imprint on the rings that left residual animosity from someone who used to have a grudge towards Tony. No doubt, it's the Mandarin's animosity the rings carry with them.

If there was no broadcast, the rings would've stayed unused till the next villain came along, if ever. I just see this as a falling out / consequence of the 451 arc.

[icon_uk]

Ah, interesting notion, I thought 451 was completely out of action.

On Empires and Monarchies...

[mr_cyn1cal]

Oh screw that noise. That garbage up there from the Rigellian.

You know what I'd like to see just once? Just one damn time? I'd like to see one of these "benevolent monarchs" like Namor or Aquaman or Blackbolt or ...you know what? Take your pick. I'd like to see their version of the French Revolution. And then I'd like to see these guys go to whatever team of superheroes they have on speed dial, asking for help, and here's what I'd like the response to be:

"Look, we consider you a friend...but...honestly? These guys have a point; you are a monarch and you seem to spend a lot of time away from your kingdom, which really is neglectful of you as a head of state. And really, it only seems like you only use your power as a head of state to either enlist your nation in your personal vendettas or to show off your power to your friends. That's kind of....corrupt, if we're being honest. Maybe you should try listening to these guys?"

Just. Once.

Re: On Empires and Monarchies...

[seisachtheia]

That kind of happens- sort of- in Journey into Mystery, with the whole manchester gods thing. I mean, okay, Asgard is like, "yup, sure, defend Otherworld" but Wilson gets to make his revolutionary pitch, Loki buys into it, and then makes it back to the All Mothers.

[freezer]

"Kree, Skrulls, Shi'Ar. All the major powers. What do they have in common?"

Worrying tendencies to declare war on each other, invade Earth because reasons and be led by the sociopathic and/or outright insane?

[icon_uk]

Yeah, those are NOT exactle stable places renowned for hugs, puppies and pony rides for everyone.

[ablackraptor]

In that last panel and third-to-last page...where do Arno's legs go in that thing? Its clear the arms and legs on the suit are robotic appendages since he can't move below his waist, but unless his legs are amputated or curled in an odd position, his body's not going to fit into that torso. Just a small nitpick, otherwise enjoyed this issue.

[burkeonthesly]

Maybe the suit is all mechanical and he's not even in there? He's doing some remote-control telepresence, with a holographic face, while he and his body are back in a lab somewhere?

Because otherwise, I was wondering the same thing.

[wizardru]

Considering how much I haven't really cottoned to this run, this is actually a pretty nice story beat ending. Of course, that's at least partly because this is solid comics work: good guys fighting bad guys, Tony being kind of a jerk, but ultimately being the good guy he's supposed to be.

The Mole Man just straight up saying 'NOPE.' is one of the best parts of this entire arc, really. That and that Rigelian apparently being the ONLY DUDE IN THE MARVEL UNIVERSE who apparently appreciates when super powered beings try to use their powers to help folks, not conquer them. Maybe he can do a guest editorial on the Daily Bugle's website or something.

Red Peril is just straight up confusing to me, though.

[halloweenjack]

How on earth does Red Peril get those umpteen-hole Doc Martens on and off?

[lieut_kettch]

So Malekith is back in charge of Svartalfheim? What happened to Alflyse?

Only a master of the Elven Tickler should be allowed to rule Svartalfheim. And Malekith doesn't seem like the type.