Tony Stark was the arrogant son of wealthy, weapon manufacturer Howard Stark. Tony cared only about himself, but he would have a change of heart after he was kidnapped by terrorists and gravely injured. Pressured to create a weapon of mass destruction, Stark instead created a suit of armor powerful enough for him to escape. Tony used his vast resources and intellect to make the world a better place as The Invincible Iron Man. Stark's super hero identity led him to become a founding member of the Avengers.
I loved the Iron Man movies, but haven't really read any Iron man stuff til just recently. I read a few issues from the early 80's and really loved them, more than I expected to at least. I was wondering which writer do Iron Man fan's feel really did IronMan/Stark the best? many characters have writers that have defined them, do Iron Man have a writer that just nailed him? thanks for the help
"Iron Man: Extremis" which is a very quick six issue story can be found in collections anywhere. It's possibly the best story for newcomers who are getting into the comics through the movies, especially since the Extremis story re-imagined Iron Man's origin, which influenced his origin in the Iron Man film and Extremis was a large part of Iron Man 3.
One of my favourite writers on Iron Man was Denny O'Neil's run on the book. Since you're just getting into comics I presume you may not know what a run is, a run is the amount of time a writer had on a comic. His run lasted from issue 160-200 and had a large story planned from beginning to end. Many of the aspects and elements of his run, were used in the first Iron Man movie, including the character of Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger, which he himself created and was the main antagonist throughout O'Neil's run. The main things that were touched upon in his run were Tony's drinking problem, Tony losing his company to Obadiah, Tony giving up being Iron Man and handing the suit over to Rhodey and making a triumphant return in issue 200. I would highly recommend Denny O'Neil's work, although it has not been fully collected. The only parts of his run that have been collected are the collections called "Iron Man: Iron Monger" which collects issues 193-200 and "Iron Man: The Enemy Within" which collects issues 158-177. Sadly nothing else has been released in any collected form, but they are worth checking out.
David Michelinie is the man mostly connected to him. He was the one who gave him a drinking problem and took Iron Man into more serious tones. He also introduced several important characters. Dennis O'Neil's run is worth checking out as well.
Fraction's Iron Man is overrated imo get Daniel Knauf's run
you should read the Most Wanted arc again. Seriously. It reads really well in trade.
I did,it felt was ok.I don't think it's the most amazing thing like most people say but that's just me
Wow really? I mean the art isn't the greatest but as far as the writing goes, Fraction kills it. A wholly unique Iron Man story and something I've never seen done in ANY comicbook, frankly. Fraction really evolved Stark as a character throughout the whole run but this arc really paved the way. It set Stark up as a hero without it being as prosaic as a well-placed punch.
To each their own, though man. I respect your opinion, just had to throw in my two cents ;)
Fraction's Iron Man is overrated imo get Daniel Knauf's run
you should read the Most Wanted arc again. Seriously. It reads really well in trade.
I did,it felt was ok.I don't think it's the most amazing thing like most people say but that's just me
Wow really? I mean the art isn't the greatest but as far as the writing goes, Fraction kills it. A wholly unique Iron Man story and something I've never seen done in ANY comicbook, frankly. Fraction really evolved Stark as a character throughout the whole run but this arc really paved the way. It set Stark up as a hero without it being as prosaic as a well-placed punch.
To each their own, though man. I respect your opinion, just had to throw in my two cents ;)
I will say that it is the best arc of his entire run though. I also respect your opinion as well
Fraction's Iron Man is overrated imo get Daniel Knauf's run
you should read the Most Wanted arc again. Seriously. It reads really well in trade.
I did,it felt was ok.I don't think it's the most amazing thing like most people say but that's just me
Wow really? I mean the art isn't the greatest but as far as the writing goes, Fraction kills it. A wholly unique Iron Man story and something I've never seen done in ANY comicbook, frankly. Fraction really evolved Stark as a character throughout the whole run but this arc really paved the way. It set Stark up as a hero without it being as prosaic as a well-placed punch.
To each their own, though man. I respect your opinion, just had to throw in my two cents ;)
I will say that it is the best arc of his entire run though. I also respect your opinion as well
Alright, see, there we go. We've just found common ground :)
Iron Man's best writers in my experience are Denny O'Neil, David Michelinie, John Byrne, Daniel & Charles Knauf and Matt Fraction. All of these are significant runs which contain the best Iron Man stories you can find.
As I revisit the Bronze Age stuff, I'd say Denny O'Neil is the best Iron Man writer overall. He put Tony through the wringer and characterized him perfectly. Rhodey donned the armor and Obadiah Stane first appeared as Tony's nemesis. Denny also handled the alcoholism the best - even more so than Demon in a Bottle. Plus, Iron Monger is an incredible finale to his run. As a side note, the Knaufs' deserve a lot of credit for a run is which was criminally short but excellent.
The only notable run left out of there I'd say is Kurt Busiek's just because I haven't been able to find it collected until recently. I suspect Santa will be bringing me Busiek's Iron Man Omnibus this week so I'll check in later, readers :)
Michelinie and Layton are the no-brainer choice for best of the best. They defined Tony Stark as we know him today. O'Neil's slow burning plot is the definitive drunk Tony arc and honestly should have been the last time any writer touched on the alcoholism because they always come off as trite in comparison. He brought Tony to his lowest point and built him back up stupendously with Iron Man #200 being one of the most satisfying redemption stories ever.
I never liked John Byrne's Iron Man run much. All he did was beat Tony down without building him back up and left a huge mess for Len Kaminski to clean up. Thankfully he was up to the task and Len Kaminski's woefully underrated run is one of my personal favorites. He understood Tony not just as a playboy billionaire but as a scientist, skeptic and businessman in ways that most writers don't manage. Unfortunately a lot of editorial messing around with forced guest appearances and other nonsense he had to write around weakens the run a bit but it's still excellent overall and when I think 90's Iron Man I think Len Kaminski and the Kevin Hopgood designed Modular Armor (not to mention the War Machine and Hulkbuster).
Kurt Busiek also did a great job of picking up the pieces after The Crossing and Heroes Reborn. Once again some editorial meddling and Busiek's own health kept the run from being everything it could have been but it was a return to classic form for Iron Man and well worth reading. The hardcover Omnibus is excellent and includes his awesome "Iron Age" retro story.
I agree that the Knauf's were underrated as well. They had a really strong showing after a long drought of mediocre and badly characterized stories. I wish they would have stuck around longer.
I have mixed feelings on Fraction. I was on board through World's Most Wanted before I just started feeling fatigued by his writing style. I think the guy is great at weaving plot-lines but not so great at writing characters.
I'm still not finished on reading Iron Man, but so far, Matt Fraction. Good characterization, story, and use of support casting and villains. All I'd expect and want from a good comic book run. Not a big fan of the art, but that's not his fault.
Denny O'Neal had one of the best runs in comics with his Iron Man run. He handled Tony's alcohol addiction better than David Michiline ever did in Demon in the Bottle.
@borntolose: ugh Bendis Iron Man was some of the worst I’ve read. He totally mischaracterized Tony in the issues I read. All his comics have this millennial lingo and banter that is inescapably out of place, especially for Tony.
Kurt Busiek’s run was a lot of fun. Sometimes needlessly wordy, but it really hit the right notes for me as a classic Iron Man fan. Sean Chen’s art really does it for me too. Normally not my style but it works well w the protoclassic looking armor.
@borntolose: ugh Bendis Iron Man was some of the worst I’ve read. He totally mischaracterized Tony in the issues I read. All his comics have this millennial lingo and banter that is inescapably out of place, especially for Tony.
Tell me about it... Fully agree with your post. So, so glad his run is ending.
@borntolose: ugh Bendis Iron Man was some of the worst I’ve read. He totally mischaracterized Tony in the issues I read. All his comics have this millennial lingo and banter that is inescapably out of place, especially for Tony.
Tell me about it...
Fully agree with your post. So, so glad his run is ending.
I'd say Gillen's run is almost as bad with all that retconning....lord I miss the days of Knauf and Fraction.
@veshark: Yep not a fan of Gillen's either, although I'd still put it above Bendis. Definitely miss Fraction :(( Knauf was the one from the CW era? That was pretty good too. Or even Micheline's stuff. Any of those is way better than the material we've been getting in recent years, in my humble opinion.
1.) David michelinie. As a huge 80's comics fan, Michelinie was never my all time favorite writer or anything but the guys good and you gotta give credit where its due. This guy wrote iron man for a very long time and a lot of the characters identity is thanks to him.
2.) I'd say maybe warren Ellis for his Extremis, short but sweet.
I never read any of Denny O'Neil's Iron Man but I have read A LOT of his other stuff such as Batman\Spider-Man and I always loved it so I have no doubt his iron man was good.
@dcandmarvelcomicfan: I would have to say David Michelinie and Bob Layton. they introduced Tony's darker side, his struggles with alcoholism, and they wrote Armor Wars which is one of Iron Man's most popular stories. plus they just did a ton of Iron Man comics from the 70s and 80's. really the character's defining writers.
What about you, who's your pick for best Iron Man writer?
@dcandmarvelcomicfan: Yeah it's tough to narrow it down to just one. Archie Goodwin was a great writer for Iron Man and Batman too. he doesn't get enough credit imo.
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