IRON MAN vol. 3 #31
(Aug., 2000) "The Sons of Yinsen: This Ol' Heart O' Mine."
Cover art: No idea! Script: Joe Quesada, Frank Tieri. Art: Alitha Martinez/Rob Hunter.
OK, so the sentient armor "cures" Stark's heart problems by "donating" to him a state-of-the-art mechanical ticker! Where's Tone's real pump, though? It's gone! Whoa. Joe Q. and Co. try hard to make ties to Tony's past -- the bum heart, and most of all by invoking the name of Professor Yinsen...and creating a whole cult of personality around him. Does it work? Not very well, in my opinion. This ish is continued from Wizard's Iron Man #1/2, which is dumb enough. Even dumber is Tony donning the Classic Red and Gold suit over more sophisticated models (even the Heroes Reborn suit, shown in the ish). More groping for nostalgic relevance, but oops.
Hube's Recommendation: 2 repulsors!
Fan Reaction: Have to disagree with you, Hube, in regards to Tony's motivations for donning the classic red and golds. It was implied that the more sophisticated suits could possibly turn sentient given the correct set of circumstances. Also, Tony's time stranded on the island made him realize the value of a lower tech approach (or perhaps the limitations of the higher tech armors possibly stifling his creative thought) to solving problems. What's odd is how easily the sentient suit shredded the modular suit a few issues prior. By Marvel time, Tony stopped using the classic red and golds only a few years ago: a suit which was strong enough to stand up to the Hulk and most everything else walking the streets of the MU wearing spandex. I'd argue that the classic red and golds are on a par with the suits that followed in terms of strength and durability but lack the bells and whistles of targeting computers, improved communications and mobility, etc. The books have disputed this of course via Tony's thoughts ("...this is my most astonishing creation! Far better than the last! Makes this old thing feel like a "57 deSoto") but the stories haven't really shown that to be the case. Otherwise Iron Man would have passed Thor level long ago. --
Fan Reaction II: I've been going over your site and love it. However, I wish to address the fact of Tony switching to the Classic Red and Gold suit over more sophisticated models of armor. Flip back a page and reread his reaction when Jocasta asked if she should prep the spare suit of identical armor that came to life. Tony was terrified and rightly so. Granted it is not likely that his armor will come to life again, but nevertheless Tony had just experienced the dark side of hs technology and had a case of Technophobia. Jocasta and he both had the idea of going back to the tried and true suit. The reasons were that it was the longest running model of armor. All others have been transient by comparison. While it wasn't as hi-octane as future models, Tony realized that its his brain that makes Iron Man more then the suit. A break from a super state of the art suit was needed for Tony to get himself back together. To me, at least, it would have been unrealistic to jump into a spare set of the armor that came to life after what had happened and it would have been ludicrous to have built a new suit so soon. -- "Ghost Rider"
Hube Responds: I understand the views about the Classic Red and Golds; however, the red and silver suit (Silver Centurion) and the #231 Armor (New Red and Golds) were, in essence, light years ahead of the Classic Red and Golds. Consider how far more advanced the #231 Armor was over the Silver Centurion (Firepower trashes the S.C. -- Tony builds the #231 Armor and trashes Firepower) and even how more advanced the S.C. was over the Classic Red and Golds. Overall, Dave Plunkert above admits as much, and there are ample sources in the title that would back this up.
Now, even though these two suits were far more advanced than the Classic Red and Golds, they are still way behind the suit that became sentient -- or, at least they should be. And this doesn't even take into account the Modular Armor, the Retro (Crossing) Armor and the Heroes Reborn (Prometheum) Armor which all came after the #231 Armor. No matter how you slice it, it still seems silly to me that Tony would go back several generations of armor just out of some fear of "sentience" coming about again. (Which is highly unlikely, since Y2K has passed and this was cited as one of the factors leading to sentience!! This, and the very unique situation of downloading a sentience like Jocasta, which Tony could easily avoid.) Let's face it -- the ONLY reason the Classic Red and Golds were brought back was for nostalgia. To placate older fans. To show new fans who the Golden Avenger was for the longest time. That's it. As a matter of logic, however, it just doesn't hold up. But again, this is MY opinion! :)
Fan Reaction III: I agree with you Hube, in regards to the donning of the classic Red and Gold, hadn't Tony said in previous issues that he did not want to wear that armor again, due to the fact that that was the armor he was wearing when he crawled into the bottle. I believe it was in the first Ghost story arc. The Silver Centurion Armor was being upgraded when Spymaster and the Ghost attacked. Rhodey wouldn't put on the Red and Gold due to the burns he got from it before, so Tony, hesitantly, put it on explaining all the bad memories that went with it. Also, Tony is a man of technology, and he, more than anyone else, should know that technology advances, so it doesn't make sense to me to take quite a few big steps backwards by going to the classic red and gold. --
