Invincible Iron Man #9 Review

Creative Team
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Salvador Larroca
Colorist: Frank D'Armata

Story - World's Most Wanted Part 2: Godspeed

Review
With the second issue of "World's Most Wanted" things continue to get worse for Tony and his supporting cast. With Dark Reign affecting almost all of the titles in the Marvel Universe Fraction has used this new direction to make Tony's life a living hell. The one thing that I have been enjoying about Fraction's writing on this title has been that he shows that Tony is one of the only characters in comics that is willing to shoulder all of consequences that come with the decisions he makes.

It is great to read a character that is willing to make all the hard decisions that no other person is willing to do and do it without hesistation or scapegoating. There have to many people, both real and in fiction, that make a decision and immediately after the decision goes all wrong they will find ways to backtrack on their statements and use scapegoats in order to not be blamed. But that is not who Tony is. And it is refreshing to read about a character that is willing to shoulder all the responsibility for his decision even if it means that he will be alienated by all of his peers. His decision to shoulder the wait of carrying all of the identities of the superheroes and villains.

It was great to see how Tony was able to manipulate Maria Hill into doing exactly what he wanted her to do without her realizing until the end. Tony continues to show that he is always ten steps ahead of everyone.

Also I got to say that this new direction has help make Maria Hill's character actually likable. Before she was just the bitch that no one liked. But now that it looks like she will join Tony in his fight against Norman Osborn she may be seeing more of the spotlight from now on and allow her to be seen in a more positive light.

One thing that I have not enjoyed about Fraction's run on this title is the romantic relationship between Tony and Pepper. It is true that Tony had a thing for Pepper back in the day but their is no way that Tony would get in a relationship with his dead best friends ex-wife. Tony should now it is always bros before hos. Fraction could have used one of the many women from Tony's past as a love interest but to choose Pepper is incredibly uncomfortable.

I also do not like the fact that Fraction has removed the Extremis from Tony's body. The Extremis was not a virus but something that enhanced Tony's body, similar to what the super-soldier serum was to Steve, to give him control over technology, enhanced healing, and a greater use of his brain. The Extremis made Tony one of the strongest characters in the Marvel Universe and to be removed by making the excuse that the Extremis was a virus that was taken out of his system due to the Skrull attack is just a cheap way to de-power Tony.

I'll admit I am not a big fan of Salvador Larroca art. All of his characters are to shiny and inconsistent. Though his artwork fits well when it comes to drawing Tony in his Iron Man suit but doesn't work well when drawing characters outside of costume.

Issue Rating
Story: 7.7/10 - Fraction has done everything outside of killing Tony, not yet anyways, to make his life a living hell. Though the romantic relationship of Tony/Pepper and the removal of the Extremis from Tony's body damper this issues enjoyment.
Art: 6.2/10 - While I enjoy Larroca's version of Iron Man I am just not a big fan of how he draws all the characters outside of Iron Man. They all look shiny and inconsistent.
Overall: 6.95/10 - Dark Reign has finally given Tony a viable villain in Norman Osborn since the Mandarin arc. It will be interesting to see Tony pull of his best Jason Bourne impersanation as he eludes Norman and H.A.M.M.E.R's grasp.