(This review may contain spoilers).
I think Tony Stark is probably one of the most interesting characters from the Marvel universe. (I’m saying this while I’ve still got a massive stack of the comic books left to read, so there’s a good chance that thought will change). But I think Tony has quite a lot of contradictions and that’s one of the main things that makes him such an intriguing character.
It was really good to see Iron Man’s origin story. I don’t feel attracted to Tony in the way I have felt attracted to characters like Thor, but in many ways, I think he came across as being alone, particularly through the first comic… but also in the Avengers, since he was the only one of the original team who didn’t reveal his identity to the others at first.
I liked the fact that, in the later comics, I got to see more of some of the other superheroes and how Tony interacted with them. I found his interactions with Spider-Man to be particularly amusing. It was interesting to see how insistent Tony was that he couldn’t work with Spider-Man if he withheld his identity… and yet Spider-Man was so persistent, Tony didn’t have a choice.
I also liked seeing Tony and Pepper interacting together, though I was somewhat disappointed to see there wasn’t really much of a romance between them. It was interesting to see how much Tony’s Iron Man suit changed from its original appearance… but then, the artwork itself to begin with was vastly different to the rest. Not in a bad way, but I think the first comic seemed to appeal more to a younger audience, while the rest were clearly designed for older readers.
I also found it interesting to see the superhero teams from one of the other countries. It would have been good to see more of the superheroes from other places. It was also good to see how Tony and Thor attended the funerals to pay their respects… even though their interactions with each other were quite sad.
Tony seems quite different to what I would normally class as a hero, but as I’ve got to know him, I’ve grown fond of him in the same way I’m beginning to grow fond of the other superheroes. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Tony (and Marvel’s other heroes) as I read through each graphic novel.
