f13.net forums - Iron Man v4 1-3

I believe this is Iron Man volume 4, if you count the uneven 12-issue reboot series they did with the whole Image crew that started well and ended so badly. This new volume follows on the heels of the end of the last Iron Man series, which came out of the ridiculous and shitty Avengers Disassembled story.

So, apparently, Iron Man has gone from being SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (which I completely never fucking bought), to being disgraced because of his actions at the UN, to a huge fight with other Iron Men including the one who killed his girlfriend, Rumiko (a character introduced near the beginning of Volume 3 that was written well). At the end, Tony Stark publicly proclaims he has retired from being Iron Man, but that there would be someone in the Iron Man suit, as the Iron one was always needed. Now, take that to the point where apparently, the public has completely bought that Iron Man is no longer Tony Stark.

Warren Ellis comes in with some well-written issues, and the art in the first 3 is extremely painterly, almost like Alex Ross or John Cassady. It's also quite cinematic in approach. The writing is good, but the retconning of Iron Man has begun, and I have to tell you, it's starting to wear thin. No longer is Iron Man a weapons designer injured in Vietnam. Apparently, he is now a weapons designer mortally wounded in the first Gulf War at the tender age of 20? So that in present time, he's no older than say 35 or so. We are starting to stretch the believability of these heroes by a lot. I'd be more in tune with keeping his youthfulness because of the many changes he's undergone over the years, such as the time he was reverted to a 15-year old boy with his adult mind. That makes more sense to me than just trying to shove under the rug the fact that he was Sec. of Defense (at ages that you can't even serve as a Senator), or that everyone will somehow magically believe he isn't in the Iron Man suit. I'd be MORE inclined to agree with a magic-solution (everyone just actually does forget) than this. It smacks of lazy storytelling, and is becoming all too prevalent at the House of Ideas (and DC too).

Other than that, the comic is decently well-done, not a spectacular read, but not terrible. At best, it's simply forgettable as being neither outstanding or outlandish.