Ultimate Iron Man, Vol. 1 - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Written by Orson Scott Card. The most imaginative, groundbreaking comic of 2005! International bestseller, four-time Hugo award, two-time Nebula award and World Fantasy Award winner Orson Scott Card (author of Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Shadow Puppets) comes to the Ultimate Universe. He's joined by industry legend Andy Kubert (Ultimate X-Men, Marvel 1602, Wolverine: Origin) to show the shocking beginning of Ultimate Iron Man! If you thought The Ultimates told you everything you needed to know about Ultimate Iron Man, think again! Collects Ultimate Iron Man #1-5.

Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars

This is Iron Man? April 18, 2006
24 out of 26 found this review helpful

I'm a big fan of Marvel's Ultimate line, and Iron Man is one of my all-time favorite characters, so when I heard about the Ultimate Iron Man limited series I was more than a little excited. After seeing how well Tony Stark's character was handled in the Ultimates, I was looking forward to seeing him in the spotlight here.

Marvel pulled off quite the coup in getting bestselling sci-fi author Orson Scott Card to write this series. Unfortunately it doesn't really pay off. I'm not familiar with Card's previous work, but he seems ill-suited to this particular task. I'll try not to give too much away here, but some of the plot points are just not right for Iron Man. Everyone can accept Tony Stark the boy genius. But Tony Stark the blue-skinned science mutant with weird powers? That is not what Iron Man is all about. A big part of Iron Man's appeal is that he had no superpowers. He used his intellect to create the Iron Man armor and hold his own among gods, mutants, and other super-heroes.

The story had some good points. The Stark/Stane corporate rivalry was handled well, and the secret government school for science prodigies (the same one from Ultimate Fantastic Four I assume) was a good setting for the young Tony Stark. I just wish it was explored a bit more. The dialogue between characters is awkward, and the supporting cast never seems to gel, especially compared to the other Ultimate books.

I'm sure Card is a good writer, but I think his talents would have been better utilized elsewhere (perhaps in the regular Marvel Universe). There is a certain standard in the Ultimate line established by writers like Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Millar, and Warren Ellis, and Orson Scott Card just doesn't live up to that standard.

Andy Kubert's artwork is as always, quite good, and in this case is the book's only saving grace. It would have been nice if he had managed to finish the entire series, but Mark Bagley does a decent job on the book's closing chapter.

I suppose I was going to be disappointed with an Ultimate Marvel book eventually, I just wish it wasn't Ultimate Iron Man.

4 out of 5 stars

If you like the Ultimates... March 28, 2006
9 out of 11 found this review helpful

...this isn't going to knock your socks off. Ultimate Iron Man is a solid sci-fi story. A cool origin story for one of my favorite Ultimates characters. However, on the other hand, it's not the great story that I thought it would be. When I heard that they were bring Orson Scott Card on to write Iron Man, I was stoked. Ender's Game, the Alvin Journeymaker series, his novelization of The Abyss... Card's a solid writer. While it was fun it wasn't amazing. Which, I guess, is what I expected. It was a good read but not worth the money of the hardcover. I found the fist Ultimate Fantastic Four to be a better and more exciting read. I think Card is a great writer but he needs to log in some more time writing comic books. He's just not there yet...

5 out of 5 stars

A refreshing look at a tired character. March 21, 2006
5 out of 7 found this review helpful

Orson Scott Card really brought new life to Iron Man for me. For any reader of super-hero comics, especially those who have waited for an interesting Iron Man outside of Avengers, here is your book. Card reinvents the character to make his motivation more reasoning and believable. Delve into Tony Stark's youth for an Ultimate look at a once again great character.

Thank You Mr. Card.

3 out of 5 stars

Its ok but not what I had hoped for April 25, 2006
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

[...] I really looked forward to this storyline, hoping that it would have the same kind of emotional pull and realism (as real as comics can be anyway) of other Ultimate lines such as The Ultimates and Ultimate Spider-Man. While I'm not disappointed in the Iron Man storyline, I'm not exactly thrilled either. I agree - the story moves WAY too fast. That's my biggest gripe - granted its a comic book, but exposition and character development does count for something. Spend a page or two developing these characters more - it can't hurt. I learned more about Iron Man and Tony Stark by reading the one page dossier at the end of the book than I did by reading the comics!

What I did like about the book was the explanation behind the development of the armor in the first place. I can only imagine how tough the premise has to be - why would a billionaire playboy develop a suit of killer armor? I'm ok with the explanation and rationale here. Its a little freaky, but it works. I also like the fact that Rhodey is introduced so early and that he's not just a gung-ho, "T.C." type of character, a la the original Iron Man series. He's a smart kid with a lot of potential but seems to have a bit of a temper problem. That's a good mix! But again, more development would be nice.

Overall, not bad - but not the best either. I'm sure things will develop nicely as time goes by, so I'm not too worried about IM. I'm just glad the armor ends up looking like it does with the Ulitimates and not at the end of this book. Looks too much like the "Iron Giant".

Excelsior!

4 out of 5 stars

Very good, but it's "Ender's Game" March 29, 2006
4 out of 5 found this review helpful

I am a huge fan of Orson Scott Card, but I know very little about "Iron Man." (I'm more of a Batman fan.) So I'm not sure if this Iron Man backstory existed prior to OSC's involvement or not, but this is so similar to his own "Ender's Game" and "Ender's Shadow" novels that I have to think he crafted it all. You have the exceptional child torn away from his parents (in this case, his mother), sent away to a school for the exceptionally gifted (in New York instead of out in space), and there he meets his arch-nemesis.

Getting away from the Ender similarities, though, this is a very good read. Exceptional writers have been getting involved with superheroes lately (Straczynski's writing of Spider-Man is brilliant), and OSC's writing works great. The story will keep you turning pages -- I didn't put it down until I reached the end.

Also included is some backstory of Iron Man's involvement with the Ultimates, as well as some concept art and original script from Card. Definitely worth the money, and I can't wait for the next installment.

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