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Post by Yellowjacket on Oct 23, 2006 5:55:55 GMT -5
Anybody ´round here did read the oneshot? For those who did not, it contains dossiers for about 50 characters written by Tony Stark: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_War_FilesI did read it (some weeks ago) and (a bit) surprisingly did like it very much. Not only did I get some news about characters I´m not that familiar with (X-Men characters etc.), but most of all I liked the writing style - it´s nice to read for a change Marvel stuff that isn´t comic itself (but then, I like OHOTMU, too . And reading the oneshot one can particularly learn something about the character of Tony Stark himself (at least the way he is shown these days/in CW). Civil War #4 (which, of course, most of you will have read) hinted in the same direction: IM secured some hair [DNA] from Thor way back in Avengers #1 for security measures, if Thor should not play along... And IM didn´t seem to trust Spider-Man, too... In the oneshot his overall mistrust is even (way) stronger, there are not many characters around who get his full trust, there´s nearly always an addendum (like IM/SHIELD/Government has to watch a hero - motto: you can't be too sure...). I think even Reed Richards is on his list of people he doesn´t trust entirely. My bottom line: Tony Stark maybe a technical genius, industrialist, playboy, whatever. But he´s not a nice guy, not a nice guy at all. I (of course) don´t know how CW war will end but I can fancy Tony Stark/IM will be quite isolated at the end of CW.
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Post by Tana Nile on Oct 23, 2006 10:27:20 GMT -5
YJ, I picked this book up a week ago and also enjoyed it (to my surprise). I do think it provides some insight into Stark's behavior. His sense of responsibility for protecting the general public is evident here, as well as a sense of atonement for deeds past.
What really struck me though is how similar he seems to Batman - remember, Batman was keeping files on all his JLA friends with information about how to beat each one of them. Both men seem to feel that they can only trust people so far and have to be prepared to eliminate them as threats. This attitude nearly destroyed Batman's ability to work with his fellow heroes. Only after all the recent events of crisis/52 have we seen a Batman that is on a more even keel, making real attempts to repair his relationships. Perhaps this is a journey Iron Man will have to make as well.
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Post by Doctor Bong on Oct 23, 2006 15:46:48 GMT -5
I suspect this came from a conscious decision in recent years at Marvel to approximate even more Iron Man's character to Batman's, and draw parallels between them. Granted, to begin with, they already shared many similarities, both psychologically & in terms of their backgrounds. Both seem to trust themselves more than anybody else; both tend to stay guarded even against close associates, maybe out of their awareness that, under all their paraphernalia, they are only too human; both use their brains as their primary weapons & main assets; both are constantly upgrading their equipment, too.
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Post by Shiryu on Oct 25, 2006 4:13:37 GMT -5
Interesting, I had never seen Iron Man as a Batman paraller rather then for both being very rich. Tony relies almost entirely on his armor in a fight, while Batman's greatest assets are his phisical skills, and Tony is an inventive genius, while Bruce is more of a master in deductions
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Post by Doctor Bong on Oct 25, 2006 15:40:13 GMT -5
Well, yeah, for sure there are important differences as well... On the subject of Batman's inventive genius (or at least, plain genius) I'm not clear, however; I don't buy DC but from perusing certain web sites & DC handbooks at the store, too (& reading some DC comics at the library), it seems to me that some sources consider the Batman to be, if not an inventive, at least some sort of bona fide genius... So, for any DC aficionados, just how smart (or brilliant, as Harry Potter would have it) is the Batman...?
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Post by Shiryu on Oct 25, 2006 16:40:25 GMT -5
He is pretty much at genius level, but not in the way Reed and Tony are. They are inventive geniuses, capable of building a spaceship in a matter of hours, while Bats is a master of deduction, capable of reaching a conclusion having only the smallest clues. There are 3 nice examples that come to mind: Avengers/JLA 4: Bruce amazed at Tony's skills in empowering a space ship "I though this was a 4 days job Iron Man, but you tripled both thrust and manouvrability in mere hours !" JLA animated series: Batmam "what now ?" Superman: "you ask me ? you are the smart one !" JLA animated series: Flash doesn't want to reveal his secret ID. Batman: "...Wally West"
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Post by Tana Nile on Oct 25, 2006 18:17:36 GMT -5
Don't forget though, Batman did create Brother Eye....he might not be a tech wizard like Tony, but he is a capable inventor and with the money at his disposal, he can certainly buy any help he needs.
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Post by Doctor Bong on Oct 25, 2006 23:16:40 GMT -5
Did he created it himself, though, or did he hire experts to do the job...? See, I think it's never clear whether some of his gadgets were created by him personally or by his people at Wayne Enterprises... But I'm not sure, as I haven't really read enough Batman comic books to give an informed opinion...
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Post by Shiryu on Oct 26, 2006 8:12:44 GMT -5
I think he unknowingly received some help in building Brother Eye, and there was a guy (who recently died in Hush) who had been helping him a lot with his gadjets. Can't remember his name though... Howard something may be ?
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