Tony Stark is back, and after a close call with the almighty Fing Fang Foom last issue, he’s taking this whole second chance at life thing to extreme lengths. Stark Unlimited may be the way to move forward with Starks enormous ambitions but one person who isn’t settling into his “new ” life so to speak is Stark’s best friend Colonel James Rhodes AKA The War Machine. This is, similar to issue #1, a stand-alone story with only a few hints at a larger plot scattered throughout but it is a heartfelt issue which favors a little more emotion rather than humor this time around. Don’t worry the jokes are still there.
Plot
Tony Stark: Iron Man #2 is once again written by Dan Slott with artwork from Valerio Schiti, Edgar Delgado and, Joe Caramagna and much like issue #1 is very much its own short story. Unlike issue #1 however, a little background knowledge is needed to fully understand this one. The issue revolves around not just tony this time but also his best friend James Rhodes also known as the War Machine and the PTSD he suffers from as a result of well…dying. You see both Tony and Rhodes have “died” or had their physical bodies destroyed in some way or another. We even see a quick glimpse at the start of this issue of Rhodes having a nightmare about the many times he died which included a small cameo from the Mad Titan Thanos himself. Luckily after the Civil War 2 disaster where Tony’s body was destroyed, he genetically engineered both him and Rhodes brand new shiny bodies to give them a second chance at life. Rhodes cant face climbing back into the War Machine suit though, not after all thats happened and it leads to a fairly dramatic climax with Rohdes facing his demons and at least somewhat conquering his fears. I found it to be a really interesting dynamic which almost reminded me of Tony’s PTSD from Iron Man 3 a little. The issue itself has a rather generic story arc which only really serves to create depth for our characters. Stark tech has been stolen to create a weapon of mass destruction by Baintronics and is about to be sold to the highest bidder. Stark and Rhodes have to fly in and shut the operation down. Again, fairly standard stuff for the Iron Man comics but it worked well enough here.
Similarly to issue #1 this is a stand-alone story which every now and again will remind you of an overarching plotline. This is the pattern for the first 5 or so Tony Stark: Iron Man issue’s and honestly I don’t mind this structure as long as they start raising the stakes with it a little. It’s a more emotional story this time around although the humor is still there, and once again it shines through its characters, possibly even more so here than it did in its debut issue.
Characters
Surprisingly in Tony Stark: Iron Man the star of the show wasn’t Tony Stark. It was Rhodes. You see Tony is always confident, brash, and cocky whereas Rhodes is really struggling to adapt to life both in and outside the War Machine suit. He’s struggling but still determined and has this likability to him which just makes you want him to succeed. He feels slightly more human than Stark at times but thats not to say Tony wasn’t enjoyable because he was, but he definely took more of a backseat role here.
Jocasta was absolutely brilliant in this issue. It did a really good job of both humanizing her but also showing how she’s struggling to fit in. She lives with Machine Man AKA Aaron Stack who she can obviously relate to but she longs to fit in with people more. This is demonstrated in a really sad way when she makes herself look human to fit in better only to be attacked by Bethany Cabe, head of security who thinks she’s an intruder. It was a really simple yet effective way of making you feel for her. We see very little of Andy bhang this issue, mainly because Rhodes takes up the majority of the time but what little we do see of him is still good for some laughs which helped break up the rather heavy tones this issue has.
This issue’s villain wasn’t nearly as impressive as Fing Fang Foom although the final act played out pretty much the same. A giant remote controlled weaponized robot made from stolen Stark tech which Tony and Rhodes have to shut down. The final fight was interesting thanks to Rhodes PTSD putting him in serious danger and Baintronics head of security Sgt. Joseph Green who has one killer gauntlet. There’s also this real mean Baintronics business lady but she didn’t exactly do much in the issue. At least Baintronics new robot gives Rhodes a sweet upgrade to the War Machine suit.
Artwork
Once again this issue looks great. This issue starts off with a really nice introduction to each of our characters, and the little moments such as Tony and Rhodes rock climbing or Friday introducing her new robotic body not only looked great but helped give this issue its own unique grounded feel. Much like issue #1 it then ramps up with the final battle and although Baintronics mech doesn’t look nearly as impressive as Fing Fang Foom did it was really cool seeing the War Machine suit in action. Even if was it short lived.
Tony Stark: Iron Man #2 was just as enjoyable to read as the debut issue but for slightly different reasons. The humor-filled over-the-top action of issue #1 is replaced with more grounded and real themes which hit a little harder. That core Tony Stark: Iron Man feel is still there, as is the humor and action but it takes a back seat to tell a different style of story. There is still the set up for the controller pulling all the strings and controlling Bethany Cabe but honestly, I want to see them do a little more with it. Hopefully, we’ll see more from the Controller in issue #3.
