The Invincible Iron Man #502

Marvel Comics
The Invincible Iron Man #502
By Hervé St-Louis
April 5, 2011 - 20:08

Marvel Comics
Writer(s): Matt Fraction
Penciller(s): Salvador Larroca
Inker(s): Salvador Larroca
Colourist(s): Frank D'Armata
Letterer(s): Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist(s): Salvador Larroca, Marko Djurdjevic, Michael del Mondo
$3.99 US

Doctor Octopus wants Tony Stark to find a solution to cure his brain disease or admit defeat, or else, Manhattan gets blown up. Can tony Stark cure Doctor Octopus or will he have to resort to his fist to save the day and maybe risk blowing up New York City.

Finally, something is happening in Iron Man. I was starting to get bored with the previous storylines, after a great start for this series in 2008. Doctor Octopus is marvellous villain for Iron Man. Here the conflict between the two is more cerebral than action-based and Iron Man only has to focus on his fist towards the climax of the issue. I usually like the banter from Tony Stark when he mentions that others have stolen his technology. It reeks from the armour wars that have marked his history. I like how it’s mentioned that maybe Doctor Octopus is not such a genius for only designing remote arms. It’s good to see a battle of wit and a distinction between the various types of crazy geniuses out there in the Marvel universe.

Visually, this comic book rules. The characters look consistent and have similar recognizable facial features throughout. Now, I’m not a fan of Larroca reusing some of the panels and blowing them in some shots as the line thickness loses its impact and it doesn’t make for a nicer picture. If he’s going to reuse material, he should at least adjust the line width.

Rating: 8.5/10