Iron Man #26

I’ve maintained for the past two years that one of Marvel Comics most well done (yet sadly overlooked) monthly comics has been Iron Man.

Warren Ellis and Adi Granov dragged the outmoded character into the 21st Century with the excellent ‘Extremis’ storyline that introduced the most drastic twist to the character since he was first created in the 1960’s. The nano-tech virus bonded with Stark, making him a bi-product of his own technology, a veritable 21st Century fusion between man and machine. Not only is Stark a super fast and strong super hero capable of firing blasts of energy and all that, he can now talk to and ‘hear’ machinery, making him more of an outsider than ever before.

New writer Daniel Knauf took the concept further when he took over the title with his ‘Execute Program’ storyline in which Stark was turned into a weapon against his will by a wiley hacker. Yet it was when Stark became embroiled in the Civil War that he really took center stage in a major way. After a catastrophic super hero disaster, he backed a law that made it illegal for super powered beings to operate independently. This sparked a rebellious reaction from longtime compatriot Captain America who developed a strike force to fight the government that in his view had turned against its people. The outcome we all know, the Super Hero Registration Act is now a law, Stark has become the new head of the long arm of the law SHIELD, and Captain America is dead.

While all of this has been going on, one of Iron Man’s most dangerous foes has been operating in the shadows. Using the designer of the Extremis nano-technology, the Mandarin (an evil mastermind who formerly used ten rings capable of various deadly rays until his hands were crushed… now the rings are implanted in his spinal column) has turned the virus into a weapon. In the next issue, this very long storyline will finally take things up a notch. Tony Stark himself us under suspicion of having lost his mind and has been stripped of his use of the Extremis virus by way of a anklet that prevents him from using his amazing abilities. Having to rely upon his old armor, Iron Man must clash with the fiendish Mandarin as the seconds tick by before his master plan his hatched.

Buy the new issue out this coming Wednesday Feb 20th and see why this series deserves more attention as being one of the most innovative and electrifying super hero action comics on the stands today!

And tell two friends.

Recommended reading:

Iron Man Vol. 1: Extremis
Iron Man Vol. 2: Execute Program
Iron Man, Vol. 3: Civil War
Iron Man: Haunted TPB (Iron Man)