REVIEW: ‘The Invincible Iron Man,’ Issue #3

The Invincible Iron Man #3 is published by Marvel Comics, written by Gerry Duggan, art by Juan Frigeri, colors by Bryan Valenza, and letters by Joe Caramagna. An old friend of Tony Stark has died, set up as a suicide. Iron Man enlists the help of War Machine and breaks into Stark Unlimited for answers. 

There’s a great structure and concept behind this issue, split into two parts. The first is a flashback, lacing the victim into Tony’s history by travelling back to the days of Armor Wars. It’s a lovely vacation into the old world of Iron Man, where Stark’s identity was hidden and he had War Machine as his bodyguard. But it then descends into something darker and more sinister as the comic moves to the present, becoming an investigation. The initial concept has been ventured into before in Iron Man, with Christopher Cantwell even using it in the previous run. But Duggan takes it and turns it into a thriller, with a creepy vibe running through The Invincible Iron Man #3. The reveal is great and sinister and something very different. The comic’s last few pages change the whole series’s tone completely, with elements that get close to horror. 

Both the characters and the dialogue are fantastic. What makes it shine is the difference between the scenes, which help depict the distance Stark has traveled. There is an almost constant positivity or at least optimism to Stark’s mannerisms. Even though he was facing constant foes that had stolen his design, he was joking and confident, able to finance the damages caused through wealth. But in the present day, things are very different. He can be quite glum and pessimistic. The narration is quite descriptive, as an autobiography should be. The whole dialogue can be descriptive, which gives me a warm feeling and reminds me of older comics and how they used to give more context to what they were doing. The fight itself is really fun, and the teamwork between War Machine and Iron Man is brilliant.

Frigeri continues to be phenomenal on art. There is a lot of action in this comic and all of it is excellent. The armours all look terrific, from reminiscing in the retro to shining in the present. Both of the fights are extensively comic book, which is what makes them so delightful to watch. There is a great sense of movement and impact when the characters swing for each other. But by the end of the issue, when things get strange, the art shines again by turning into a creepy idea. It’s a creative sequence made even more magnificent through facial expressions and body language, with a haunting final image.

The colors are gorgeous. They are awesome at the start, but really come into their own by the end of the issue. The relationship between the metal of the armours and the shadows is stunning, with the lights poking out of the chest plates of both Iron Man and War Machine. Subtlelty within the colors becomes crucial due to the concept at the end of the book. The lettering is great, with brilliant SFX being used.

The Invincible Iron Man #3 is a terrific comic book. It’s a comic that can tell interesting stories filled with weight and manipulations but also knows how to have fun. Duggan completely understands the fact that these are men wearing metal armours and slugging it out, and the battles they’ve been having embrace the epic level those can reach. That mix of mystery and action is being balanced well, and the art is so stunning that either looks glorious.

The Invincible Iron Man #3 is available where comics are sold.

William Tucker

William is a screenwriter with a love of comics and movies. Once referred to Wuthering Heights as “the one with the Rabbits.”