Invincible Iron Man From the Beginning

[HeroxMatt2.0]

or Invincible Iron Man Annotations.

This is a series that is based around the possibilities of the future being impeded by the troubles and sins of the past. But how much can our past influence how we can be judged? Is this to be the sole basis of condemnation amongst all society: does our past really have that much of a vicegrip on how others should view us? Can a lifetime of living in the light be undone by a few moments spent toiling in the dark? The society Tony lives in, is one that he has saved and protected and tried to help time after time. But when events spin wildly out of his control they begin to slowly turn on him: the people he once saved, those he once fought beside, and those he once loved begin to shed their masks and reveal their true faces. The world is unravelling around him, breaking into pieces and leaving him behind like pieces of the Extremis Armour in reverse. Only this time, Tony can't just call them all back with his mind: he needs to do something so much more. This becomes the focus of the Invincible Iron Man series by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca, as they delve deep into the mind and heart of Tony Stark. But as we come to learn throughout the series, when it comes to our Armoured Avenger, the two are very close to being one and the same.

I've looked at Invincible Iron Man from a more analytical, metaphorical perspective before, and my thoughts on Stark: Disassembled in particular can be found here. But for this thread, I'll be reading through Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca's Invincible Iron Man, from #1, all along to the current issues. This has been one of my favourite series for years now, and I think there are a lot of people here who enjoy this series as well as those who do not. What I'll be doing here is looking through the issues in a kind of review, analysis, discussion perspective. I've been meaning to do this for a while, but if you have some thoughts too, feel free to share! I'm eager to hear all of your ideas and opinions as much as I am eager to write my own.

I'm just not quite sure if I should go through the events as well, primarily Secret Invasion and Fear Itself as they have some pretty big ramifications for Tony Stark. But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, right?

So I hope to see you on the other side. But you might need to jump start my heart, because my mind will be blown away by going through all this great stuff again.

[CTpitch]

I'll keep an eye out for it Matt
I've been reading the title for quite awhile and will be interested in what you have to say about it

[HeroxMatt2.0]

Thanks CTpitch, I'll be looking forward to your opinion too, so feel free to comment as well.

[TonyStark1012]

Thanks CTpitch, I'll be looking forward to your opinion too, so feel free to comment as well.

I can't wait! You know I'll be here. I still have your Stark Disassembled thread book marked. I show it to my brother to let him know some of the things i got out of the story and what he missed out on. So you know I'll have your back.

[HeroxMatt2.0]

Thanks, TonyStark and that's good to know! I'm hoping to have some things posted by the end of this week.

[xheight]

HMatt - while any thoughtful analysis of comics and Iron Man as literary medium and the ideas within are to be admired I have been of a mind that an even larger context is needed. On my blog I have tried to look beyond just reviewing the issues as the latest movie release. I also recall your Disassembled and found it far too genuflecting to the creator Fraction. I hope that you will arrive at the conclusion that Fraction has been detrimental to the overall Iron Man oeuvre and consider the character as a continuity from its conception.

In short you should be prepared to contend with my view that Fraction has been one of the worst things to happen to the Iron Man since the Crossing.

This is a series that is based around the possibilities of the future being impeded by the troubles and sins of the past. But how much can our past influence how we can be judged? Is this to be the sole basis of condemnation amongst all society: does our past really have that much of a vicegrip on how others should view us? Can a lifetime of living in the light be undone by a few moments spent toiling in the dark? The society Tony lives in, is one that he has saved and protected and tried to help time after time. But when events spin wildly out of his control they begin to slowly turn on him: the people he once saved, those he once fought beside, and those he once loved begin to shed their masks and reveal their true faces.

Considering even this statement we need to consider the artiface of the past which is the plight put before the reader as these falsehoods or masks are invention to a large extent by the writer. What is the nature of that 'condemnation amongst all society'' except the embedded norms of this volume which is in contrast with earlier volumes of the character?

[HeroxMatt2.0]

I can see your point, xheight. There are certainly things in Fraction's Invincible Iron Man that are in conflict with previous volumes (there are a lot of IRon Man fans I've had discussions with in regards to this! haha) But we'll have to take it one issue at a time, I guess, xheight. With issue one it's more of an introduction to the themes that Fraction begins to explore. After all, he wasn't detrimental after the first issue! At least, I don't think so. I'll try and explore all view points, when they arise in the issues. Hopefully you'll give my #1 a read, and if we're in disagreement, then ... well I'd be happy to discuss it. And on that note, I'll post my first look at #1.

And I suppose the condemnation comes from the fallout of (mainly) Millar's Civil War and Bendis' Secret Invasion. The reading community, as well as the in-universe community, many of them were against Stark.

[HeroxMatt2.0]

Invincible Iron Man #1: Five Nightmares, Part One: Armaggedon Days

General Thoughts: This was a very strong start to the series. We get a good sense of leading and supporting characters. I think it's great that the first time we see the Iron Man is in space. Very grand. He's "out of this world". Remember that underwater opening scene for Iron Man in the Avengers movie? I couldn't help but think of this issue. There’s also an enjoyable “elevator scene” between Pepper and Tony, that I absolutely love, this one in particular:



(Hey, Tony kind of looks like a lizard with an elongated face in that panel, huh?)

On top of that, we get some fun action between Iron Man and the new AIM, led by MODOG (exchange Killing for Genocide). It seems to cover all aspects of Tony’s life, balancing the playboy, with the SHIELD Director, with the company businessman, with the Iron Man. And Larroca’s art is fantastic, but personally, I think it is the colours that gives it such a strong sense of futuristic high definition. D’Armata and Peru did a great job here.

This isn't the best issue: in that same elevator scene as above, Pepper seems to be very in Stark's face. She almost seems to really want to sleep with him. (Well, overtly.) The inner monologue can get over the top at times, like when Iron Man begins to consider new kinds of weapons for his armour, too.

NIGHTMARES.

As I was looking for my trade paperback to start reading, I asked myself: “Where is my Five Nightmares?” Aside from the grammar, I felt this was quite an interesting question, on a deeper level. It brought me to the question, where do nightmares come from? If we take the notion that dreams come from the subconscious, then surely, our nightmares come from within: internal fears that build around our Freudian id, ego and superego . That last one sounds very Stark, doesn’t it? But these terms relate, on a basic level, to the individual’s inner desires and urges with care only for themself. This is the basis of the id, while the ego is concerned with the rational, moral and self-aware state of the mind and recognition of others whereas the superego is the censor for the id, while it enforces the moral codes of the ego. Why is this important? Because this is where Stark’s Five Nightmares should come from. And indeed they do: but Fraction, through Stark, focuses on the external triggers of nightmares and the way his nightmares do not come from within, but through physical forms without.

This series is about Tony’s nightmares and how they slowly come to life. The very arc itself is titled after them. This is a man who lives on the edge of tomorrow – but what happens when tomorrow becomes today, and our hero doesn’t even notice? Tony’s first nightmare is that he will get drunk. In the internal monologue, he says “tonight”, but this nightmare extends to all nights. Tony lives a sober life, and for him to regress to alcohol would seem – to him at least –as if he were giving up. Tony also knows that to give up on life is to give in to his drinking: “But it’s never just one magnum of champagne”, he claims. This follows the claim made above: that the nightmares come from within (Tony’s fear of giving up and giving in) manifesting through a physical thing, in this case, alcohol.

Tony’s next four fears, however, don’t relate to a bottle. They all relate to the same thing: the Iron Man armour. Without delving into too much detail, these are Tony’s next four nightmares: that Iron Man becomes cheap, that someone else apart from him or his close friend James Rhodes pilots the armour, that the armour becomes disposable and finally, that the person making the armour disposable wouldn’t be him.* These are, once again, internal fears. But each one of them is linked to the external – the Iron Man armour. Recently, the Extremis arc had linked the Iron Man armour to Tony Stark’s very being. So this can be taken, quite literally, as Tony’s fears relating to the Iron Man, directly relating to himself. And they are. No matter how much Tony tries to cover it up, no matter how he tries to hide it, or to tell himself that the Iron Man “needs to be absolutely controlled and regulated” he solemnly admits “without the Iron Man I honestly wouldn’t know what to do with myself”. On more level than one, the internal is infused with the external: his nightmares, as well as his life, have all been transferred into his armour. So if any of his nightmares were to come true, his life would fall apart around him, the external would undo the internal. The following is an image of Tony’s nightmares coming so close to life.



They aren’t quite there yet, though. They aren’t quite “Iron Men”, but they’re getting close. Their technology isn’t as advanced, isn’t as unique and powerful. They need something (or someone**) to organise them and rebuff them. But there is someone out there who seems to have mastered the repulsor technology in a way that Tony hasn’t. This person has harnessed what Tony created as a means of saving lives, to take them. Which leads me to the second theme of “Five Nightmares”.

TECHNOLOGY.
This second aspect, or theme, is the power (future) of technology and its impact on today. Many of Tony Stark’s nightmares stem from the evolution of technology and his fear that he will not be spearheading it, this is the case at least, concerning his Iron Man armour. Enter: Ezekiel Stane, Iron Man 2.0.

The first page of the comic emphasises this theme. It’s technology being brought to a country that has never had things like phones, or cameras, or there are few that own them. And what happens as soon as this technology of tomorrow is brought to today? Well...



The motif between the Extremis emblem: powerful, isn’t it? The very brand that Tony has built himself on, that is built on him, is now beginning to kill people. That rhetorical question at the end, regarding dinosaurs, is also very poignant. Fraction has been quoted as saying (here) that “He’s not worried he won’t see the future coming – he’s worried it won’t be his future.” Does this make Tony the dinosaur? Well, maybe not yet – but it does show that his mindset has been caught in the 20th Century, and he hasn’t made his way into the 21st yet. In this issue we’ve heard Stark say he and Extremis are on the edge of bleeding edge, but he’s a dinosaur?

This seems a bit ... well, incorrect. It's a strange analogy to make for someone who is considered not only a futurist, but also as one of the leading minds in the Marvel Universe. This is the first time we begin to see a disconnect between the external and the internal. His viewpoints are caught in yesterday, but his tech is urging to become tomorrow. This is Tony’s technology, and now it is being used in a very 21st century way, a way that Tony had never wished to see. Looks like this will be something we’ll see further developed in the coming issues.

To close, this issue off, these two themes come together once more: nightmares and technology. Tony states that his last nightmare is that there’s someone else, and there is. His nightmares have come true and he hasn’t even noticed. Dinosaur?

*For those currently reading Invincible Iron Man, just think about what Mandarin, Stane and the Hammers are trying to do! How do they all relate to these Five Nightmares?
**coughMandarincough

[xheight]

At the risk of repeating myself the volume starts with a presumption, which could hardly be that of the majority of his fans, of condemnation that comes from the fallout of (mainly) Millar's Civil War and Bendis' Secret Invasion. It is a stretch that the reading community, as well as the in-universe community, were against Stark on the whole or even in a majority as well. From the start though we have a writer in a counter to what has gone before.

Invincible Iron Man #1: Five Nightmares, Part One: Armageddon Days

General Thoughts: This was a very strong start to the series. We get a good sense of leading and supporting characters. I think it's great that the first time we see the Iron Man is in space. Very grand. He's "out of this world". Remember that underwater opening scene for Iron Man in the Avengers movie? I couldn't help but think of this issue. There’s also an enjoyable “elevator scene” between Pepper and Tony, ...

Two points here in the need to introduce the characters and to reset the characters because ultimately that is the goal here as you seem to be leaving off this teleological point altogether of drawing together both iconic imagery from both past comics and film involving the character. Be it Byrne or Michelinie/Layton, the extra-environment splash page is evoking of what makes Iron Man cool and both the movie and Fraction's second degree use of it is a purposeful to the writer not for entertainment value but connection to this revered past while subverting it.

On top of that, we get some fun action between Iron Man and the new AIM, led by MODOG (exchange Killing for Genocide). It seems to cover all aspects of Tony’s life, balancing the playboy, with the SHIELD Director, with the company businessman, with the Iron Man. And Larroca’s art is fantastic, but personally, I think it is the colours that gives it such a strong sense of futuristic high definition. D’Armata and Peru did a great job here.

This isn't the best issue: in that same elevator scene as above, Pepper seems to be very in Stark's face. She almost seems to really want to sleep with him. (Well, overtly.) The inner monologue can get over the top at times, like when Iron Man begins to consider new kinds of weapons for his armour, too.

More of the past, with updated sensibilities tacked on, like with MODOK's Killing being upgraded to Genocide and Pepper Potts being not just a gal Friday but a sort of His Gal Friday in verbosity and screwball comedy. Fraction's project in Iron Man is bringing what he believes is the version we saw on screen to the comics in all its flash, tweaked relavence and purpose. Which btw it did not need nor does he provide a reason as to why it did except in the tautology that it was popular in the movies therefore it should be in the comics.

NIGHTMARES. As I was looking for my trade paperback to start reading, I asked myself: “Where is my Five Nightmares?” Aside from the grammar, I felt this was quite an interesting question, on a deeper level. It brought me to the question, where do nightmares come from? If we take the notion that dreams come from the subconscious, then surely, our nightmares come from within: internal fears that build around our Freudian id, ego and superego . That last one sounds very Stark, doesn’t it? But these terms relate, on a basic level, to the individual’s inner desires and urges with care only for themself. This is a man who lives on the edge of tomorrow – but what happens when tomorrow becomes today, and our hero doesn’t even notice? Tony’s first nightmare is that he will get drunk. In the internal monologue, he says “tonight”, but this nightmare extends to all nights. Tony lives a sober life, and for him to regress to alcohol would seem – to him at least –as if he were giving up. Tony also knows that to give up on life is to give in to his drinking: “But it’s never just one magnum of champagne”, he claims. This follows the claim made above: that the nightmares come from within (Tony’s fear of giving up and giving in) manifesting through a physical thing, in this case, alcohol.

On more level than one, the internal is infused with the external: his nightmares, as well as his life, have all been transferred into his armour. So if any of his nightmares were to come true, his life would fall apart around him, the external would undo the internal. The following is an image of Tony’s nightmares coming so close to life.

Guilt Trip coming to life seems more apt as internalization of the supposed objective transgression of Civil War is writ large as a form of pillory as the afore self-defined Futurist is cast in a dystopian science fiction. As the recent passing of Ray Bradbury reminded me about his saying that it "wasn't his job to predict the future but to prevent it" Fraction reverses the optimism of Stark and would rather write as a Bradbury than say a Verne. Further as with Bradbury it is the human element i.e. the psychology of man not the technology of man that produces nightmares.

They aren’t quite there yet, though. They aren’t quite “Iron Men”, but they’re getting close. Their technology isn’t as advanced, isn’t as unique and powerful. They need something (or someone**) to organise them and rebuff them. But there is someone out there who seems to have mastered the repulsor technology in a way that Tony hasn’t. This person has harnessed what Tony created as a means of saving lives, to take them. Which leads me to the second theme of “Five Nightmares”.

TECHNOLOGY.
This second aspect, or theme, is the power (future) of technology and its impact on today. Many of Tony Stark’s nightmares stem from the evolution of technology and his fear that he will not be spearheading it, this is the case at least, concerning his Iron Man armour. Enter: Ezekiel Stane, Iron Man 2.0.

The first page of the comic emphasises this theme. It’s technology being brought to a country that has never had things like phones, or cameras, or there are few that own them. And what happens as soon as this technology of tomorrow is brought to today? Well...

The motif between the Extremis emblem: powerful, isn’t it? The very brand that Tony has built himself on, that is built on him, is now beginning to kill people. That rhetorical question at the end, regarding dinosaurs, is also very poignant. Fraction has been quoted as saying (here) that “He’s not worried he won’t see the future coming – he’s worried it won’t be his future.” Does this make Tony the dinosaur? Well, maybe not yet – but it does show that his mindset has been caught in the 20th Century, and he hasn’t made his way into the 21st yet. In this issue we’ve heard Stark say he and Extremis are on the edge of bleeding edge, but he’s a dinosaur?

This seems a bit ... well, incorrect. It's a strange analogy to make for someone who is considered not only a futurist, but also as one of the leading minds in the Marvel Universe. This is the first time we begin to see a disconnect between the external and the internal. His viewpoints are caught in yesterday, but his tech is urging to become tomorrow. This is Tony’s technology, and now it is being used in a very 21st century way, a way that Tony had never wished to see. Looks like this will be something we’ll see further developed in the coming issues.

To close, this issue off, these two themes come together once more: nightmares and technology. Tony states that his last nightmare is that there’s someone else, and there is. His nightmares have come true and he hasn’t even noticed. Dinosaur?

*For those currently reading Invincible Iron Man, just think about what Mandarin, Stane and the Hammers are trying to do! How do they all relate to these Five Nightmares?
**coughMandarincough

The tech like the villain is derivative work which in a sense describes HACK pretty well. Be it son of Tarzan or the Son of Kong the Son of Stane is shabby sequel. As this is not just a sequel to a comics series but a movie as well Fraction is tasked with updating the repulsor that was given a new life in the movie as a unique technology that Stark had a lock on until he didn't. In fact for much of Iron Man's history the tech was not treated as propriety or monopolistic until Armor Wars raised the intellectual property question as thus loss of market or market share more so the attendant moral dimension didn't come into play. What you keep trying to reconcile as a tension of dialectics contained in character and title is in truth a mere amalgam of ideas, media and politics that are muddles that are on occasion addressed or favored.

[Talisman]

Most of my comics are in storage, but I was fortunate enough to bring 500 to current with me when I moved. And I can't wait til you get to this point so I can read along with you and catch up.

[HeroxMatt2.0]

I'll get there soon, Talisman!

]Guilt Trip coming to life seems more apt as internalization of the supposed objective transgression of Civil War is writ large as a form of pillory as the afore self-defined Futurist is cast in a dystopian science fiction. As the recent passing of Ray Bradbury reminded me about his saying that it "wasn't his job to predict the future but to prevent it" Fraction reverses the optimism of Stark and would rather write as a Bradbury than say a Verne. Further as with Bradbury it is the human element i.e. the psychology of man not the technology of man that produces nightmares.

I guess that's what I'm trying to say in this introductory piece. That the psychology of Stark is what produces his nightmares but that they are all linked with an external subject. Each one associates with the physical, deriving from the psychological. It just so happens that they all revolve around technology - and for someone like Stark who is so enmeshed in the technological world (being one with Extremis, etc) the two are almost one and the same. His psychology is linked with technology, almost. Let me know what you think about this line of thought.

Although that's a good insight into Fraction reversing the optimism, like you're saying, he's writing a Bradbury as opposed to a Verne. I like that.

[Nitz the Bloody]

First of all, HMatt, you've done a superb job with your analyses here and for Stark Disassembled. I look forward to many more articles :)

The reason why Tony can be on the bleeding edge and still be a dinosaur is because even if he has the most sophisticated weapon in human history, it's still falling under the old paradigms of war and imperialism. The old adage "when all you have is a hammer, everything appears as a nail" applies, especially since this is super-cop super-fascist Director of SHIELD Tony. The legacy of Iron Man is less in the lives Tony's saved, than it is in the people trying to make an even better Iron Man for purposes varying from dubious to sinister. And as we see in the opening page of Fraction's run, it's civilians who get caught in the crossfire of this super-tech arms race.

Reminds me of the opening page of Grant Morrison's New X-Men, with Wolverine clawing at a downed Sentinel and Cyclops saying "you can stop doing that now". Except while Morrison's meta-commentary doesn't go beyond the historical problems with the X-Men, Fraction's addressing a much more important (and story-relevant) concept; it's the weapons Tony made after he became Iron Man and stopped selling weapons to others that killed this girl in Tanzania. Even if they weren't actually Stark-made repulser weapons, they'd still be inspired by the Iron Man that Tony broadcasts to the world.

Thankfully, Tony's been practicing what he's preached with Stark Resilient, where he's actively working on ideas that help people without spilling blood, as opposed to just leaving them as side-projects while the majority of his resources go into playing hero.

[HeroxMatt2.0]

First of all, HMatt, you've done a superb job with your analyses here and for Stark Disassembled. I look forward to many more articles :)

The reason why Tony can be on the bleeding edge and still be a dinosaur is because even if he has the most sophisticated weapon in human history, it's still falling under the old paradigms of war and imperialism. The old adage "when all you have is a hammer, everything appears as a nail" applies, especially since this is super-cop super-fascist Director of SHIELD Tony. The legacy of Iron Man is less in the lives Tony's saved, than it is in the people trying to make an even better Iron Man for purposes varying from dubious to sinister. And as we see in the opening page of Fraction's run, it's civilians who get caught in the crossfire of this super-tech arms race.

Reminds me of the opening page of Grant Morrison's New X-Men, with Wolverine clawing at a downed Sentinel and Cyclops saying "you can stop doing that now". Except while Morrison's meta-commentary doesn't go beyond the historical problems with the X-Men, Fraction's addressing a much more important (and story-relevant) concept; it's the weapons Tony made after he became Iron Man and stopped selling weapons to others that killed this girl in Tanzania. Even if they weren't actually Stark-made repulser weapons, they'd still be inspired by the Iron Man that Tony broadcasts to the world.

Thankfully, Tony's been practicing what he's preached with Stark Resilient, where he's actively working on ideas that help people without spilling blood, as opposed to just leaving them as side-projects while the majority of his resources go into playing hero.

Yeah, that's a good point, Nitz. I thought it was really interesting that Tony would say through the internal monologue that he's a dinosaur. He recognises where he's at, like you said under the old paradigms, and even though he's a genius he's still restricted in ways. And yeah, he's done things like that before - the philanthropic, world-helping (as opposed to world-saving) - in other series under other writers, too. (as I'm sure others will be happy to point out haha) But you're right, he is moving towards the "other part" of being Tony Stark, which is fun. I thought the New Asgard idea was great. But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it!

[xheight]

The reason why Tony can be on the bleeding edge and still be a dinosaur is because even if he has the most sophisticated weapon in human history, it's still falling under the old paradigms of war and imperialism. The old adage "when all you have is a hammer, everything appears as a nail" applies, especially since this is super-cop super-fascist Director of SHIELD Tony. The legacy of Iron Man is less in the lives Tony's saved, than it is in the people trying to make an even better Iron Man for purposes varying from dubious to sinister. And as we see in the opening page of Fraction's run, it's civilians who get caught in the crossfire of this super-tech arms race.

Thankfully, Tony's been practicing what he's preached with Stark Resilient, where he's actively working on ideas that help people without spilling blood, as opposed to just leaving them as side-projects while the majority of his resources go into playing hero.

I could not disagree more Nitz. Apart for trying to force Tony Stark into this POV I don't even much agree that tech has a tainted history. http://science.howstuffworks.com/war...dvancement.htm Like Tony's "guilt" regarding Civil War these acts of redemption come off as awkward and false because readers who are familiar with the character and its history delighted in that role as Supercop/Superpower that didn't have doubts or nightmares.

When one simply compares what the movie puts forth and reaction
Which of these two got the bigger cheer?

Tony Stark: I never got to say goodbye to my father. There's questions I would've asked him. I would've asked him how he felt about what his company did, if he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch of man we remember from the newsreels. I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero-accountability.
Press Reporter #1: Mr. Stark! What happened over there?
Tony Stark: I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I had more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark Industries.

or

Tony Stark: They say that the best weapon is the one you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree. I prefer the weapon you only have to fire once. That's how Dad did it, that's how America does it, and it's worked out pretty well so far. I present to you the newest in Stark Industries' Freedom line. Find an excuse to let one of these off the chain, and I personally guarantee, the bad guys won't even wanna come out of their caves. Ladies and gentlemen, for your consideration... the Jericho.

[Rheged]

Yay! You started it! Lots of deep stuff here. Will try to peruse it later.