The point one initiative at Marvel was intended to be fresh jumping-on point for readers but at this point it seems to have been more for the benefit of the writers to straighten out their title and we they have planned. No better example could be the done by Nick Spencer whose starting duties at Marvel have been this War Machine and Secret Avengers. It would be fair to say that both were derailed by the recent Fear Itself arc which has taken up half of his time on the Iron Man 2.0 and issue #7.1 does a fine job of finally putting the book back on track. If you have been reading my other reviews you know that I already think well of his work and approach to this multiple failed character as a solo title. Nick Spencer’s best issue of Iron Man 2.0 to date, and one that finally begins to show the potential of the series.
Spencer works to summarize the events of the first four issues while gearing up the next stage of the conflict. And Marvel it seems is also trying to make of for it too by publishing this week an issue called:
Even without it, the recapping of material is handled well enough, and the character banter prevents the exposition from feeling too unnatural or heavy-handed. Spencer is able to find a bit of time to highlight all of Rhodey’s personal relationships in the series, from Tony Stark to Suzi Endo to his trio of military minions. In fact even at the shortened 20 pages of $2.99 book it seems like he is burning them off with filler panels as much as doing character work. The final pages, Spencer finally gets the new armor in action and in Paris, France which has so far nothing to do with the Invincible Iron Man‘s recent adventures there.
With only one artist doing the art we have none of shifts in tones that prior issues provided. While Kano was one of my favored artists of the three ( his figure and face work go in two different directions as the faces get too much and the bodies in space and action get too little. Then again he is tasked with by the writer to almost no dialogue and telling the story is competently told. His action sequences flow well if lacking umph and pow. Kano’s handling of the armor and tech designs is a little less impressive, but the new War Machine design lends itself to heavy caricature rather than glitter so it’s not the 2.0 armor that looks bad but the robots being fought coming off worse.
Spencer knows that his real knack is a tight character sequence and the scripts work up from this and they benefit from visuals to back it up. The story here sputters to an almost abrupt conclusion in the final two pages, as if it has almost given us too much and needs to save itself for the next issue. Regardless, this point one reads as nearly essential to getting back on board of Iron Man 2.0 and living up to its initial promise.
