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Post by bobc on May 23, 2010 18:37:06 GMT -5
Hey guys! Good news! The Essential Iron Man 4 edition is now out! I have to admit I have only skimmed it so far, so maybe there's a good reason for it--but out of the clear blue sky there's an Ant Man episode in there! Right after Iron Man 44! Can anyone explain this? I (quickly) scanned the story looking for some link that would make it appropriate for Iron Man (you know, like how they put Defenders issues in Avengers Essentials if both teams appear in the story) but I am drawing a blank! I wonder if it's a mistake or what?
Anyhow--this Essential Iron Man 4 has some great moments, and some really strange, outrageously bad moments as well! In fact, it is probably the most bizarre Essential edition I've ever read, and I'm not just talking about the Ant Man thing.
First of all, the writers seemed to pick the most all-over-the place group of villains imaginable. One minute Iron Man is battling truly powerful, exciting foes like the Super Adaptoid, Sub Mariner or Thanos, and the next issue he's going head to head with PRINCESS PYTHON! I kid you not. Obviously, to make such a "battle" work (well, sorta) you have to really downgrade IM in the power department. "I'm being CRUSHED TO DEATH!!" IM bellows as Precious the Python wraps himself around IM! Hee hee! Come on guys! That is pure cheese! Reminds me of when Iron Man fought the Angel! It takes some serious literary back flips to make these battles seem fair! I mean being brought to your knees by Princess Python is some seriously embarrassing chit!
Bizzaro moment number 500: When IM fights the Sub-Mariner (great battle, by the way), IM's armor is controlled by a mystifying new villain named Madame MacEvil--and she looks EXACTLY like Moondragon! And I do mean EXACTLY. Same costume, same bald head, same moon-shaped ear-rings! Does anybody know the deal about this? As far as I know, MacEvil mercifully never shows up again in Marvel history, but her appearance is a head scratcher!
Also--a contender for the absolute WORST costume imaginable appears in this volume! The Slasher! Off the top of my head, I can't think of a dumber costume--it is MIND-BOGGLINGLY BAD! The Slasher is this scrawny clown who wears a body suit with giant black spots all over it (?), AND he has giant lobster claws growing out of his HEAD, for no apparent reason! I love it!
Anyhow, for Avengers Completists, Thor, Goliath, CA and the Falcon appear in one of the first stories, but the art is so horribly bad it's no wonder I never knew about this appearance! Cap also appears in another story.
The best story, IMO, is Iron Man's fist meeting (to my knowledge)with Thanos and Drax the Destroyer, towards the end of the edition. It's obvious that Iron Man writers were getting way better around the time of this episode--and the villains started to be formidable enough to go up against the Avengers' second most powerful member.
Anybody else reading this?
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Post by freedomfighter on May 24, 2010 8:29:34 GMT -5
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Post by bobc on May 24, 2010 9:28:34 GMT -5
Hmmmm--convoluted is one way to put it! Dare I ask if MME was really Moondragon, why did she control Iron Man's armor using a machine, rather than over-powering Stark's mind with her mental abilities? Pointless question, I know, but still. Plus Moonie would never call herself evil, since she always thought she was always better than everyone else.
I'm betting someone just liked MME's costume and decided to appropriate it for a new character! Hee hee!
Did Lobster Head ever appear again? God I hope not. Where's Van? he's the Iron Man expert
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Post by bobc on May 24, 2010 9:32:14 GMT -5
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Post by bobc on May 24, 2010 9:34:30 GMT -5
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Post by humanbelly on May 25, 2010 5:05:34 GMT -5
Wow-- first reaction upon seeing the Slasher is that, somehow, he must be a joke, right? There's nothing about him that suggests he could be more than an absurd parody of a supervillain. Yep, I guess there's always been plenty o' room for bad ideas to bloom. Both PPSM & MTU went through some extended stretches of jaw-droppingly bad creations (Hypno Hustler, anyone? How 'bout Turner D. Century??), as well.
Who were the writer & artist for that particular transgression, bobc? It's only fair they take their lumps. . .
HB
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Post by bobc on May 25, 2010 10:52:16 GMT -5
I don't have the book in front of me, HB, but you are right--heads must roll for this Slasher abomination!
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Post by scottharris on May 25, 2010 12:27:31 GMT -5
Last year I picked up a batch of Iron Man issues form this era (I think it was most of #38-50) and wow, were they absolutely terrible. Maybe the worst Marvel superhero books before the Bob Harras era began.
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Post by bobc on May 26, 2010 11:16:49 GMT -5
Yeah--gotta agree, most of the stories were really, really bad.
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Post by sharkar on May 26, 2010 19:10:49 GMT -5
Hey guys! Good news! The Essential Iron Man 4 edition is now out! I have to admit I have only skimmed it so far, so maybe there's a good reason for it--but out of the clear blue sky there's an Ant Man episode in there! Right after Iron Man 44! Can anyone explain this? I (quickly) scanned the story looking for some link that would make it appropriate for Iron Man (you know, like how they put Defenders issues in Avengers Essentials if both teams appear in the story) but I am drawing a blank! I wonder if it's a mistake or what? Well, that Ant-Man story was the second feature (back up story) in Iron Man #44, so it appears that the Marvel braintrust made the executive decision to include both stories from Iron Man #44 in this Essential IM volume. You know, for the sake of completeness.  |
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Post by bobc on May 27, 2010 9:49:27 GMT -5
Weird. I bought a Black Widow book that collected her stories from her Amazing Adventures (I think it was) days, and although she shared that series with The Inhumans, the Inhumans were nowhere to be seen in the BW collection. Marvel must be getting sloppy
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Post by sharkar on Jun 1, 2010 18:48:23 GMT -5
Weird. I bought a Black Widow book that collected her stories from her Amazing Adventures (I think it was) days, and although she shared that series with The Inhumans, the Inhumans were nowhere to be seen in the BW collection. Marvel must be getting sloppy When it comes to the Essentials, based on the volumes I have seen the back-up stories are usually included if those stories are somehow related to main feature. Take the Essential Thor volumes--these include the Tales to Asgard back-up series, but not the Inhumans back-up feature (when it replaced ToA as the second feature in Thor). And occasionally, the Essentials contain "filler" (to fulfill a page quota?), usually old pin-ups or text features but I've also seen short stories included. For example, check out Essential Avengers volume #2, which contains the "Man in The Ant Hill" story--Hank Pym's first appearance--from a long-ago Tales to Astonish issue. Since Essential Avengers v. 2 contains the story in which Hank (as Goliath) returns to the Avengers line-up, it could be said that TtA Pym story has some connection. But with this Iron Man volume, there's clearly no connection between the IM stories and this Ant-Man story (as you noted, bobc). And because the Ant-Man story is not even noted in the Essential Iron Man's table of contents, its inclusion in this Essential IM volume seems accidental (and not deliberate, IMO). It's as if someone in production just copied the entire contents of Iron Man #44 and failed to notice there was an Ant-Man story in there. So yeah, I agree that it's "sloppy." As for the Black Widow "Sting of the Widow" Marvel Premiere Classic: MPC Direct Market editions feature an image of an actual cover, which is why the we see the Amazing Adventures cover even though the book collects only the Widow's stories from AA (also a couple of Widow appearances from Iron Man and DD). What did you think of this volume? I thought her AA stories were pedestrian and poorly executed...it was a real mess of a series and it's no wonder it didn't last long. Can't complain about the Colan art, though.  [/ |
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Post by bobc on Jun 2, 2010 11:39:58 GMT -5
Yeah that was my take as well--that somebody just messed up and included The Ant Man story. The story is really dumb too! Oh well, as a connoisseur of cheese, I am not complaining.
Sharky--I bought that very Black Widow edition and was pretty annoyed when I actually took it out of its plastic wrapper. Even though the title says Black widow, the cover overall leads you to believe the Inhuman stories are included, and as you said, they are not. I mean how hard is it to just put a pic of BW on the cover, instead of the full AA cover? That way, there is no confusion--especially since these hardcovers are usually sealed in a plastic wrap. From here on out, I am just gonna purchase Essential editions, since they are never wrapped in plastic.
Essential Editions are cheaper anyway and you get more issues.
I never read Amazing Adventures when they originally came out--I was too young--so I was really looking forward to reading these Silver Age stories. But yeah it was pretty disappointing. Watching Natasha take on normal human thugs (for the most part) was a real snoozer. I can't remember which stories were included here exactly--but in general, the most memorable BW battles, IMO, were when she took on the Man Bull solo in Daredevil, as well as her fight against the Red Skull in the Avengers in the 90's.
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Post by sharkar on Jun 3, 2010 20:21:07 GMT -5
Sharky--I bought that very Black Widow edition and was pretty annoyed when I actually took it out of its plastic wrapper. Even though the title says Black widow, the cover overall leads you to believe the Inhuman stories are included, and as you said, they are not. I mean how hard is it to just put a pic of BW on the cover, instead of the full AA cover? The Direct Market edition (sold in comic book shops) has the AA cover--this is the book you (and I) bought. However there's also an edition with a variant cover; this version is usually sold in bookstores such as Borders and online. The cover for this edition showcases the Widow only--no Inhumans. This is typical of all the Marvel Premiere Classic books--there are always two different covers: one for the comic book store and one for everywhere else. Anyway, here's the alternate cover being used for the edition sold outside of comic book stores. (Sorry this came out so dark, but you can see there's not an Inhuman in sight--just Natasha flying solo!)  And bob, I don't know if you buy the Masterworks (I do only if they are deeply discounted), but in case you're thinking of getting the Inhumans Masterworks volume 1, I can tell you the Black Widow does not appear in this volume--despite the cover! ;D  |
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Post by bobc on Jun 4, 2010 9:39:30 GMT -5
Is it any good? Does Thor really fight Black Bolt? Who wins?
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Post by sharkar on Jun 8, 2010 19:33:55 GMT -5
The volume contains: - The Inhumans back up stories that ran in Thor. This is the "origin" of the Inhumans as a race, so the focus is not on the Inhuman Royal Family we know and love; except for Black Bolt and Triton, the others are only featured prominently in one story. Classic Kirby-Sinnott art, though. -The Medusa story from Marvel Superheroes #15, beautifully illustrated by Colan/ Colletta. I've waxed poetic about this touching little tale many times here on the AA boards; to me it's like an O. Henry story. Suffice it to say this is the highlight of the volume (IMO). -The Inhumans Amazing Adventures series, with art by Kirby (by 1970 his art was not very well served by Chic Stone's inking); Adams, and -- surprisingly, at least to me--Mike Sekowsky. I am a Sekowsky fan (JLA, Wonder Woman), but his style just doesn't seem suited to the Inhumans. -Avengers #95: the chapter in the Kree-Skrull War with that justly-famous great Triton splash (Adams) and featuring the Avengers along with Triton, Black Bolt and Maximus (this story wraps up some of the loose ends from the AA series). -A couple of Not Brand Echh Unhumans stories. I love the Inhumans, so I had to get this volume...but truthfully most of the stories here are not very good. Does Thor really fight Black Bolt? It's not really BB--just someone who's wearing BB's costume. |
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