The forging of a new hero.
Creative Staff:
Story: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Stefano Caselli
Colors: Marte Gracia
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
What They Say:
From the violent streets of Chicago, a new armored hero rises! Clad in her very own Iron Man armor, Riri Williams is ready to show the Marvel Universe what she can do as the self-made hero of tomorrow. But is she ready for all the problems that come with stepping into Iron Man’s jet boots? Where’s a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist when you need one?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
One of the continuing cries of fandom is that we don’t get much in the way of new heroes and when we do they either fail because they’re trying to take over for an existing character or there just isn’t a strong enough push to make them compelling. Marvel’s been working through reinventions of a number of its characters for a few years in order to expand its reach as well as its creative storytelling and a character like Iron Man is more open to such changes than other characters. Hell, when I first got into Iron Man back in the 80’s it was at the tail end of his story as Rhodey was taking over the suit in pre-War Machine days. It provided a new look at the characters, their interactions with the world – especially since Rhodey was hiding the truth then – and it organically brought about a lot of ripple changes down the line.
With Invincible Iron Man, it’s my first Marvel book since the Secret Wars event got underway as the publisher has had me turned off for a while due to a number of things. But this book had me interested but also had my daughter interested since news of it through social media reached her. While Riri has shown up in other books prior to this that I have not read, this issue works as a perfect launching point for the character. It works a traditional idea in that we see her in the present in her clunky homemade suit where she’s going up against a mutant named Animax in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and struggling with how fast things can change and her inexperience. It’s familiar material that’s nicely executed and shows how easily she’ll grow into the role, something that you can expect in a world as populated with superheroes as this one is. Animax isn’t compelling as an opponent, nor should she be, so it’ll be interesting to see if Bendis will be able to cultivate a strong original villain for her to play off of or if someone pre-existing will fit into that role.
Where the book works better for me, at least until we get the artificial Tony Stark intelligence showing up at the end, is the flashbacks that move us forward until we connect in the presents. Getting splashes of Riri from five years old when she’s diagnosed as a super-genius to two years ago when her best friend and stepfather are killed in front of her as part of some apparent gang violence, it’s well done in the traditional Marvel mold of what motivates people to become something more. Riri’s personality shines through well here and I loved seeing her at ten years old and making her first friend, but I also loved seeing the dynamic with her stepfather and the realization, in a similar kind of Spider-Man way, that she doesn’t realize what she has in him until it’s too late. Yes, familiar material is familiar, but Bendis executes the script solidly here.
What really moves this book up a few notches, however, is the artwork from Stefano Caselli. I’ve seen countless posts and articles over the years about artists and their inability to illustrate beyond certain types and comics (and animation and other media) are certainly guilty of it because a lot of people only work off of what they know, and for a good many of them that was a very limited window in days gone by. Here, Caselli does some great stuff with color artist Gracia in making the characters feel familiar yet distinctive. These are characters that feel rich in just a few panels, something that some books take years to do if they’re able to achieve it at all. I’m definitely curious to see how things will work as Stark becomes a part of it more and we get the full on suit brought into the play, but the locations and human elements of this opening issue are fantastic and Caselli and Gracia nail it.
In Summary:
Invincible Iron Man is off to a strong start with a lot of potential, but it’s potential that for me will come down to how the Tony Stark element fits into it and whether we get a compelling opponent to work with. And just how the crossover aspect works since I’m not reading anything else and Marvel goes hard and heavy with those kinds of things. Bendis has put together a solid book here that Caselli Gracia take up several notches and I can see how this will definitely find a lot of appeal and expand the readership as well as the story potential. I’m excited to see what they’ll do with it and thankful that it’s a monthly book.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: November 9th, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
