Iron Man # 29 - With Iron Hands, Part 1 of 4

If you haven’t been reading Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. then here’s a good issue to start. With the Mandarin story concluded, this issue presents the start of an intriguing four part arc. The story gives us international intrigue with Iron Man and his armored alpha team descending into the Eastern European Republic of Kirikhstan in search of nuclear bombs planted by terrorists. S.H.I.E.L.D. is in the former Soviet Republic at the request of the Russians - an interesting twist given Iron Man’s early and long history as an arch nemesis of the Russians in their Communist days. Meanwhile, back at the Pentagon a S.H.I.E.L.D. special weapons facility is infiltrated by a rogue agent and that’s never a good thing. One may argue that this is accomplished too easily, but hey, these things happen in comics. Both story threads provide beguiling technology, nukes that don’t behave like ordinary nukes, and a nano technology assembler for our hero to contend with.

This issue could have easily been subtitled “a blast from the past” for its frequent references to Tony and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s past. Tony reminisces about former love interest Bethany McCabe while musing more than once that nothing could ever scratch that dry itch at the back of his throat like a cold drink. Are we being set up for a relapse on Tony’s part? Perhaps a slow descent back into the bottle that could coincide with the next movie release? Or are these references just some throw-away lines to enliven the story? The leader of the terrorist cell in Eastern Europe is a man from Tony’s past for whom he feels responsible for, while the Pentagon infiltrator is a man with a history at S.H.I.E.L.D. I’m not sure if either of these characters is an established figure or a newly created one for this story line - either way, these two should provide ample opportunity to enrich the back story of both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Tony Stark.

In addition to a solid story with plenty of potential, the artwork here is first rate. Even though there are two artists and inkers credited there is no point in the story where we find a jarring break in style; the artistic team provides a stylistic consistency throughout. A great example of this is a suspenseful scene in which Tony defuses a bomb. It’s taut with suspense, rich in technological detail, and sure to be a highlight of the book.

And now for a pet peeve: I miss footnotes, seriously. The special weapon in the infiltration subplot is a classic from Marvel’s glorious past and an old school reader will recognize it as such. I used to love this sort of stuff as a kid - when Roy Thomas brought back the Skrulls from FF #2 and started the Kree-Skrull war in the early 70’s. A new reader, however, likely won’t realize that the object in question has a past that they might want seek out and read about. This is where the foot note comes in handy. It’s an essential element that serves to keep the reader informed about the continuity of the characters and events. I’ve noticed other recent issues such as the current Captain America series in which I’ve felt the footnotes would be useful yet were nowhere to be found.

Gripes aside, I really enjoyed this issue. I think it has a lot going for it and I look forward to reading the rest of this arc. Highly recommended. (Grade A+)