Hello everybody and welcome to my review of Iron Man #6. When we last saw Tony Stark, he'd flown off into space in his awesome new armour "to boldly go where no man has gone before" (I just had to do that)...
Synopsis:
The issue begins with Tony fighting a bunch of pirate spaceships, musing that while he's seen so many incredible things, he doesn't realise it as often as he should, and it scares him. We then cut to Tony flirting outrageously with an alien girl in an alien bar. While this is going on, Tony notices another armoured figure staring at them. The alien girl, Veritina, says he is Death's Head, a dangerous bounty hunter. The two then head for the Veritina's "house" (more of a palace really) and she tells Tony about her species, the Voldi, and how they taught several other alien races including the Kree and the Shi'ar. Tony thanks her for the conversation and tells her about his father, saying he's still living up to what his father wanted for him. They arrive at Veritina's bedroom and just as things are about to get intimate, Veritina recoils in horror at the sight of Tony's beard. She tells him to leave at once, to which Tony silently complies. As he is on his way out, he is attacked by several robot soldiers, who say he is wanted for "the crime of decide". Tony decides to surrender in order to clear this up. He is taken to the Supreme Justicar, who brands him "The Godkiller", the god in question being the "Void Falcon", or as most would call it, the Phoenix Force...Thoughts:
The concept of Tony Stark exploring the universe to learn and experience more is a fantastic idea and writer Kieron Gillen gets things off to a cracking start with this issue. Gillen's characterisation of Iron Man is spot on. He throws Tony joke after joke, most of which fit the character's sharp wit. But Gillen also delves deeper into Tony's character and shows his more vulnerable side. I also appreciate that Gillen embraces the obvious similarities to Star Trek in this issue rather dodging around them with the odd, vague reference. The humour is also well-applied, who'd have thought that not shaving could be so problematic? Greg Land is given a lot more creative freedom with the space setting and goes absolutely wild, treating us to awesome spectacles of interstellar madness. The twist at the end is interesting. It's not hard to imagine the Phoenix being worshipped as a god by other species and while Iron Man didn't directly kill it, he certainly aided in it's supposed destruction, key word here being supposed. From the looks of things, Gillen & Land are set to deliver on all the potential this storyline has and I eagerly look forward to the next instalment...
