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IRON MAN #49
Mildly Recommended (5/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Frank Tieri
Pencils: Chris Batista
Inks: Rich Perotta
Colors: Avalon Studios
Letters: Sharpefont
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Price: $2.25 US/$3.50 CAN |
Tieri's last issue on this title comes under the "'Nuff Said" banner, and he does a good job with the silent premise. His story is an accessible, but that's because it's little more than an extended fight scene. Oddly enough, he offers no resolution to that fight. On the plus side, this issue does feature some of the strongest work I've seen from Chris Batista, whose work I first saw on early issues of DC's Steel series.
Clad in his Iron Man armor, Tony Stark puts the finishing touches on a Stark communications satellite in orbit, and his friends celebrate back at Stark headquarters. Their feeling of triumph is cut short, though, by the sudden and destructive appearance of the Titanium Man. He makes short work of Tony's friends and then speeds off to clash with the Armored Avenger in space.
It's been a while since I've see the Titanium Man. That modern design is sharp, and there's a hint here that the armor is more than just an outer shell. Batista conveys the menacing nature of the character nicely, but there's also a brief glimpse of a tragic side as well. Batista captures the technological and kinetic aspects of the story quite well, and Avalon's bright colors suit the tone of the piece and add to the technological look.
One of the biggest problems with Tieri's run as writer on this title has been how wordy he's made his scripts. The plots have had their foundation in multiple storylines, requiring a lot of exposition. This issue made for a nice change of pace. I was also pleased to find the initial pages of this story focused on Tony Stark's technological and commercial pursuits. Such ideas make the character more believable and offsets the fantastic nature of super-hero adventures.
Though I appreciated the less verbose tone of this issue, I found I wanted to know a lot more about the Titanium Man's sudden actions. Hatred for Iron Man alone strikes me as too simple a plot, and since this is Tieri's last issue, I doubt we'll be seeing a followup anytime soon. I was particularly puzzled by the lack of resolution. Tieri seems to cut the story off a few pages too early. Is this a lead-in to Mike Grell's debut on the book? Or is this a cliffhanger that will never be addressed? I fear it will be the latter.
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