1468 ( )

This read like a knot tightening around my wrists. In this book Tony Stark sees his enemies gather around him. The trap is sprung so now he has to react to what he sees happening around him. It's suppose to feel epic but it falls short. It's a good story but it doesn't have the weight that it wants to deliver. It's not obvious whats happening but its not interesting either. ( )

Normal Tony Stark stuff. High-powered influential people trying to take him down and take the suit away from him using a mixture of legal and illegal means. Not bad.

Love the conversation with his (female) head of security. Paraphrased:

Her: You are horrible at making omelets.
Him: You're probably right.
Her: You're going to burn your house down and take yourself out before any of your enemies do.
Him: Wanna make out.
Her: Jesus no, you're a walking dumpster fire. ( )

So, the whole drinking and Iron Manning thing has finally come back to bite Tony, even if he is sober again. And of course it's like when a normal human falls off the wagon except for Tony a hundreds time worse since he's Iron Man. He just doesn't get his own life and his friends lives ripped apart, but cities ripped apart as well.

And then there's the Mandarin. He doesn't usually do subtle, and in these issues he has a humongously grand plan too.

None of the twists and turns in the issues in this TPB surprised me though. And it was a bit more political than I like.

And then there was the Dwarf from a previous volume. Tony brought him to Earth, he was present in the story for a couple of pages, and then --poof-- he disappeared. Maybe there's more in the next few volumes, but for this TPB it's a wicked hanging plot line. ( )