Invincible Iron Man #5 Review

Writer: Matt Fraction
Art: Salvador Larroca

I totally trust Matt Fraction with this book. In the first 5 issues, I feel like we have received a well-thought out story that seems like a big deal. I was worried that Iron Man, as a franchise, would suffer in the long term after the Knaufs left the book. While these 2 titles are very different, Fraction's book does seem like a big deal, and I am looking forward to what the man has in store for us. Fraction's Stark is all over the place. It feels like he totally has a grasp on what is happening around him, and he comes off as a James Bond like character in this book. It is totally different from the complex and cool Tony in the DOS title. For better or worse, its something to work with. What is really nice about this book is a villain who is smart and has logical character motivation to go after Tony. Stane is a jealous man that wants to be Tony, but he feels like there can't be 2 Tony's, so he has to get rid of the original. What we get is a nice rendition of a copycat character, and the fight with Tony at the end legitimized him as a threat. He did take out a lot of people, but not Tony. A lot of villains can do that, but they eventually falter against he babyface superhero who romps them in the end in search of revenge. Not this time. Fraction puts Stane over, and the reader is left to wonder the fate of Tony going into issue 6. I think this is a nice opening arc for Fraction, and I look for this title to be near the Captain America level in a year or so. I am not a huge fan of the realistic art style, but I guess it is ok for this book.

ART: BALLIN
OVERALL: GET IT