Are you a fan of the current Iron Man

[Nutcase65]

There has been a lot going on with shell-head recently. So are you still OK with him. or the series, if you ever were?

[Nutcase65]

for me, right now it's a no.

The main reason for me is that with as much as they have going on with him, in all the books he's in right now,... there really doesn't seem to be much of substance. So I read through all this stuff and just come up with "henh"

[Doctor Bong]

As I expressed elsewhere, Nutcase, I always loved him and he was by far my favorite son of the MU and I can't stand what they've done with him recently, especially when it comes to his relationship with Cap... in my book, those 2 should always manage to remain friends, comrades & allies, in spite of their many differences...
In other words, I belong to the very reduced minority of fans out there these days who aren't happy with him these days... Ironic that I should dislike the direction he's taken precisely in what could very well be his moment of gratest popularity...!!!
Oh, and by the way, Nutcase: so glad to have you back...!!! Only 2 days ago, while I was reading the postings, I was wondering about you and hoping for your return...!

[Nutcase65]

As far as being a minority,.. do you really think so? Or is just that those who favor it are more vocal? I am just like you in my past admiration for the character.

The diference is I could get back behind the character if it were to start looking like they were going somewhere. It just feels like wheels spinning to me

[uberwolf]

nutcase65 said:

The diference is I could get back behind the character if it were to start looking like they were going somewhere. It just feels like wheels spinning to me

The wheels ARE spinning. All the way to the bank.

[Doctor Doom]

I don't know in what sense.

I'm a massive fan of his own book right now, as evidenced by the fact that I'm... well, I'm reading it, which I was not some time ago.

As for his handling... it all depends, doesn't it? He's handled poorly in some books, and very very well in others. Luckily, the latter outnumber the former to some degree (Civil War main book, WWH main book, his own title, both Avengers books, stints in Nova and elsewhere) even if the former overshadow the latter.

As for the character's overall direction, he's more heroic and more important than he's ever been so yes, I'm definitely a huge fan of the overall direction. I definitely think it's all building towards something which will climax next year in two places- Iron Man's place in the overall universe in "Secret Invasion", and the deep, fantastic character study of Tony Stark in his own book at the end of the Mandarin epic.

[balok]

Marvel has turned him into a character I regard as villainous. I believe that is a mischaracterization and a disservice to him as a hero. So no, I'm no fan of him now. But it's certainly true that those of us who dislike him are a minority, based on sales. What's kind of creepy is that so many people like what he's doing - it makes me fear that the younger generation has no problem with authoritarian government, which is what Iron Man represents.

[Doctor Bong]

"Either you're with the government or against it"... words worthy of Hitler or... Dubya...

[Doctor Doom]

And certainly not words Iron Man would speak where he written by Millar, the Knaufs, Pak or really any major MArvel writer outside JMS and Slott. Okay, he MIGHT say it under Bendis who writes Iron Man as a schizo, insanely one minute and pitch perfect the next.

[balok]

He doesn't have to say it with words. He says it with deeds. A recent example would be Thor #3. And, yes, it was written by JMS - but you must be aware that every book goes through editorial review, so it's not as if these writers are putting words into Tony's mouth without the Joke's [1] approval.

[1] See my signature

[Van Plexico]

I have feelings about this that are about as mixed as possible.

POSITIVES:

He's probably the dominant character, good or bad (or, in his case, sort of gray) in the entire MU at the moment.

He's getting more "airtime" than anyone-- he's probably guest-appearing in more books right now that Wolverine or Spidey. Whoda ever thunk that??

He's important and relevant again-- and probably more important and more relevant to the MU than he's ever been. In fact, it's not even close.

His portrayal in *some* Marvel books is somewhat positive-- he's not been turned into a real super-villain (anybody remember those??)

NEGATIVES:

Many now consider him a villain-- and some consider him the main Marvel villain at this time!

His portrayal is extremely uneven across the Marvel line. Different writers are handling not only his personality but also his behavior and his motivations differently. In some books he does seem like a villain, while in others he seems totally reasonable and stable.

He's disliked or even hated by many fans today-- which, I have to admit, is probably a step up from simply being ignored over recent years, or even ridiculed (as in the way he's portrayed in WIZARD and Twisted Toyfare Theater).

So there you go. I think how I will feel about all of this once it's all in the past will totally depend on where it is going now. Just how "villainous" will they make him? What will become of him? Will they rehabilitate him? Will he be proven right, in the end?

And when is the end??

I think the next couple of years will tell the tale. The thing that astounds me is how long all this is going. CIVIL WAR was not just a story-- it fundamentally altered the entire structure of the MU, top to bottom. For how long? We shall see.

[Black Knight]

I had to vote no. Mainly because they have basically turned Iron Man into a villian. Look at how he acted in Civil War, going so far as to clone thor. Then how he acted in the Thor comic. Sorry Doom, but it does not matter who wrote it, it happened.

They took a top five favorite of mine, and lowered him below Doctor Druid. Really sad

[BigDuke]

I am not a fan of the current incarnation of IM. First of all, I hate the convenience and omnipotence of the Extremis treatment. He can see anything, remote access any device, watch eleventy gillion different media feeds, and fight a bad guy all while sitting at dinner with a politician. He can access his armor almost instantaneously. I think he has been given too much "super hero" power. Add to that his position as head of SHIELD and his position as defacto leader of the Initiative and there is WAY too much power consolidated in one guy.

I can accept some fluctuation in his portrayal in different books. After all Marvel is not a hive mind with everyone thinking and writing the same way. I do think that there is a little too much variance in his portrayals in different books.

Frankly, I think it is time for IM to zap some bad guys with his repulsors in his own mag instead of trying to roll CSI and Magnum PI together. Tony may be the man behind the mask, but I pay my money to see that mask whooping baddies, not dealing with politicians and reviewing evidence tapes.

[Doctor Bong]

No question about it, from Marvel's editorial point of view IM came as the big winner out of CW. Like Van says, he has never been as exposed or as significant in the MU, or held such influence within it.
But I share BigDuke's objections: he just holds too much personal power these days, and we all know the saying about absolute power... Especially in Tony's case, since he's always more or less been portrayed as struggling with his own ego... Likewise, I'm not happy with Extremis having transformed Tony into something of a technological ubergod.
Even so, I have to admit that I sense all my negative feelings about him & CW in general slowly (slowly, mind you...) beginning to melt away... I still wish that something will eventually undo at least partially what I see as the damage caused to the MU by CW.