The Invincible Iron Man #21 Review

The Invincible Iron Man #21

In The Invincible Iron Man #21, Matt Fraction continues to piece Tony Stark back together.

In part two of the “Stark Disassembled” arc, each of the closest people in Stark’s life must now play their part in the revival of the Golden Avenger.  Pepper Potts will help kickstart his heart (unfortunately there are no musical interludes from Motley Crue).  The special hard drive Maria Hill recovered during the previous arc will bring his brain back online.  And, lastly, two dear, old friends will be responsible for flipping the switch to give Stark life again.

For the most part, this issue primarily details each person’s role in the revival.  Regardless of the content, this is still a riveting issue because you’ve got Tony’s friends doing their part to bring him back from the brink of a practically dead state while you have enemies conspiring to kill him once and for all.  I can’t help but to think that the Ghost (who’s been hired by Madame Masque to kill Stark) will find himself up to his armpits in a world of hurt when he finally reaches Stark’s hideout.

Now, I want to give all of you a little nugget to use against the house in Las Vegas.  If you’ve been reading Captain America: Reborn, then you might be like everyone else in wondering if Steve Rogers is going to find himself back where he belongs in the Marvel Universe and clear of all the trouble the Red Skull has cooked up for him.  But while reading this issue of Iron Man, I started to get the strong feeling in the back of my brain that…  Wait for it…  Steve Rogers is going to be a-okay by the end of that mini-series and he’ll be back in his Captain America garb without missing a beat.  Call me crazy, but I think Steve will be just fine.  I mean, Marvel’s been really good about keeping everything about his possible return nice a quiet, right?  So, while the betting windows are still open, take a tip from me, dear readers, and put all your money, allowance, child support, whatever you got, on Steve Rogers’ return.  Trust me on this.  I would never lead you astray, would I?

Okay, so back to the man of the hour, Iron Man.  This series continues to entertain me.  Each week, I put the comics I want to read in the order I want to read them – generally with the ones I most want to read right on top.  Each passing month, when The Invincible Iron Man hits the stands, I find that it keeps floating higher and higher on the stack.  The last two issues were right on top.  Even with all the cool Blackest Night storylines out there, I wanted to see how Tony Stark was going to return from his veggie tale.

All the kudos for the success of this book go to Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca.  Fraction’s ability to craft a sleek and captivating story with sharp dialog and exciting action really makes him a force to be reckoned with in the world of comic writers.  I think he’s going to continue to be that force in the industry for a long time.  Then when you team him up with Larroca, already a heavy-hitter in the artist pool, you get a book that is smart, compelling and very pretty to look at.