Tony Stark: Iron Man is back yet again and this time we’re delving into the world of online dating! They say you should be careful who you meet online and this issue perfectly demonstrates that when A.I controlled robots infiltrate Stark Unlimited through a dating app. Through the help of his friends and a long lost lover in the form of The Wasp Janet Van Dyne, Tony must protect his life’s work. This issue doesn’t take itself too seriously, which only strengthens the already rather ludicrous plot and makes plenty of time for some great action and some hilarious moments. The heart to Tony Stark: Iron Man issue #4 however, is Janet and his back and fourths with her.
This review will contain spoilers
Plot
Issue #4 of Tony Stark: Iron Man, written by Dan Slott with artwork from Valerio Schiti, Edgar Delgado and, Joe Caramagna is probably the biggest change of pace the series has had so far. Issue #3, whilst outlandish was still anchored in some realism but issue #4 goes full on crazy and I love it. Stark Unlimited employees are suddenly finding true love through the use of the dating app; Make a Match. Hundreds of employees are inviting their new found partners into Stark Unlimited causing a security nightmare for Bethany. To be expected, they, unfortunately, don’t find true love when their newly found lovers turn out to be A.I controlled robots in disguise looking to steal as many Stark Unlimited files as possible. It usually ruins the day when your new date turns out to be a murder-bot.
Stark himself, however, is a little distracted when he tries to compare his brainwaves with Jocasta’s and needs the help of his old lover Janet Van Dyne AKA The Wasp as she was who Jocasta was patterned after. The issue diverges into two separate stories for a short while, showing Stark Unlimited being more and more populated with couples whilst Tony and Janet enjoy a nice romantic day trip out. It all comes to a head after Stark receives a distress call from Bethany warning him of the killer robots and cuts his day trip short. After suiting up with an Iron man armor made out of a Vespa, which is easily the coolest Iron Man armor I’ve seen, he and The Wasp fly straight into the action. The third act plays out similarly to every other issue of the series with an all-out epic battle, only this time it was nice to see everyone get involved. Stark and The Wasp steal the show, obviously, but I appreciated everyone getting a shot in the limelight. Rhodey holds his own even without the War Machine suit, Jocasta even chooses to protect her friends and fight fellow A.I something she has, up until now, been reluctant to do. Whilst Andy Bhang doesn’t exactly help out in the fight after a close save from Tony’s biological mother Ms. Armstrong he does what he does best, think. Calling back to the first time we ever met Andy he outsmarts the robots coming up with a genius way to shut them all down.
This issue is a little ridiculous, about as ridiculous as a Vespa turning into a flying suit of armor, but if you can let go of realism for a little bit and sit back and enjoy the ride, its one hell of a read. The humor is spot on, the action is fantastic but its shines most when Janet and Tony are together which is something I wasn’t expecting, and something I love.
Characters
Let’s start with the stars. Tony and Janet. They really do come as a pair, spending most of the issue together and their back and fourths are extremely enjoyable. For a brief moment, Tony was allowed to be a normal person, going on a dinner date and doing regular everyday things. It doesn’t last long before he’s back fighting evil robots but the point is it’s in there and it’s great. Janet is also really great this issue. She makes a great first impression exposing a charming vulnerability to Stark, something we haven’t yet seen, and when it comes time to suit up she kicks ass as good as the rest of them. I hope to see more of Janet in future issues, she was a force to be reckoned with both in and out of the fight and she could make a great addition to the series.
Aside from Iron Man and The Wasp, everyone else takes a back seat with only a few short moments. I was totally fine letting Rhodey and Jocasta step back after the last two issues and did enjoy Andy’s important, if only short, part in the issue. Bethany also had a fairly big part in the issue but so far she hasn’t really grabbed me. Once again, she felt a little unimportant until the very end and her involvement with The Controller and the series overarching plot was all but scrapped this issue, a real shame because without it I didn’t care much for her.
Artwork
Yet again, this issue looks absolutely fantastic. The design of the robots themselves seem a little more “mind controlled zombie” then “robotic” to me, but nevertheless, they still look great. Wasp’s design here, with the classic yellow and black looks dope and Tonys latest suit of armor, has a larger, more “mech suit” style to it, rather than the slim down designs we are used to. It looked great all the same and now I simply can’t wait to see what his next suit design will be.
Tony Stark: Iron Man #4 is a seriously fun issue. The bonkers plotline is at times played for laughs and never taken too seriously which helps ease the issue along. It successfully juggles all of our major characters fairly well, giving each of them their own moment to shine, but the issue rests on Tony and Janet’s relationship. I love these two together and they really help make the issue. I was a little disappointed with the lack of a Controller cameo, something that is up until now common in this series but hopefully, they’ll start exploring him more in future issues.
