IRON MAN vol. 3 #61 (406)
(Jan. 2003) "In Shining Armor, part 3."
Cover art: Mike Grell.
Script:Mike Grell.
Art: Mike Grell.
Oh BOY! That dragon from the end of last issue attacks Brann and Tony Stark while Aislinn watches mystically from afar. Of course, the fellas are victorious. Stark fixes the armor's polarity problem (remember that?), and then he and Brann have to do battle with Aislinn and her contingent of warriors (which includes a silly "THOOM" sound effect of armor against armor on the splash page). During the battle, Brann calls for IM to toss him a sword, which IM does, and it gets stuck in a rock.Iron Man -- responsible for the legend of Excalibur! But Brann gets captured by Aislinn,who then demands IM strip off his armor. Tony does (which sort of makes sense...his helmet was inoperative so nothing could be triggered cybernetically. But he couldn't rigsomething up quickly??), and soon Aislinn is garbed in the IM suit. But "back" in 2002, Pepper has activated the time machine, and it's homed in on the IM armor! Since the IMhelmet's polarity wasn't fixed, Aislinn's head promptly is excised from the rest of her body as the armor returns to the present! Pepper then sends Tony a spare suit of armor for him to return to 2002 safely. He transports back -- and then the time machine promptly explodes! Say whaaat? Was it Aislinn's purple crystal? But wasn't it around her neck -- which was just lopped off...? Oh well. Pepper and Tony then ponder Aislinn's magics, whereupon Tony then says "I don't know. My brain is full." Know what else is full? This whole arc -- full of CRAP!!
Obviously, the initially cool creation of a time machine was just a cheap plot device for Grell to experiment with a hobby he digs: medieval knights and all that. Hey Mike -- stick to your Seattle Knights Club and PLEASE keep it out of Iron Man, huh? The dialogue once again is BRUTAL and Grell's art, while not bad, desperately needs a better inker to give IM the crispness it deserves. Extra half 'pulsor for Brann obviously getting laid at issue's end!
Hube's Recommendation: 1 1/2 repulsors!
Fan Reaction: Before I say anything let me please thank Hube for allowing me to state my humble opinions about a subject that many people find near and dear to their hearts. Now on to issue 61. Like Hube, I felt the whole "In Shining Armor" storyline was crap. In fact, as stated before, the whole Grell run has been crap. To write that the King Arthur legend was started by a time traveling Tony Stark is really hard to take. Hube, you gave the story and extra half repulsor because Brann got laid. I think that it should have gone to the fact that Stark built the time machine to see if he could save the baby that Pepper had lost. (At least that's what I got out of the very end of the story.) Or maybe for the fact that Marvel had the guts to print another letter telling how bad this title has gotten. Is there anyone out there that didn't think that the head in the helmet was going to be Aislinn? I feel that our beloved Iron Man is in some serious trouble. The powers that be at Marvel need to reconsider the direction they are taking with many of their titles. Iron Man, as well as other heroes, need to be kicking other superhuman baddies in the butt, not out fighting in the past with no real super baddies, fighting dreams, or drug dealers. Also, while I am on my soap box -- is it just me or is the art bad in this book? I am not one to usually comment on art. I read comics for the story, not art. However, I wish that the art would return to the traditional styles that have been the norm for, say, the last 60 years. Hube, thanks for the great work. Look forward to the new site. -- SZKZ
