Review: INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #3

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #3
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Stephano Caselli and Marte Gracia
Published by Marvel Comics
Release Date: January 18, 2017

*SPOILER WARNING*

The world keeps changing, adapting to life without Tony Stark in this exciting issue of Invincible Iron Man!

Bendis, first and foremost, is a fantastic writer. I have some…worries about some of his choices, especially in some of the previous issues of this comic, but I feel that this is the issue where Invincible Iron Man starts to grow the beard. This is the issue that explains the origins of the name Ironheart, a name I wasn’t really excited about, and dang it, Bendis made me love this name. The context he gives for it made me love this name. Bendis also has a great knack at delivering likeable characters quickly and efficiently. Within panels, I loved Amanda Armstrong, I was excited for Pepper Potts. Bendis knows how to write characters well and that is definitely a saving grace on his part.

Caselli’s art combined with Gracia’s coloring creates eye candy on every page. The faces Caselli draws are captivating. Emotions are painted vividly on them, whether it’s the crease of a brow or the frown of a mouth, they add to the scene greatly. The way Caselli draws the Iron Man outfit is wonderful as well. There’s this one scene where Riri is putting on the suit while talking to her A.I. and the motions are so fluid. The reader can just imagine it enveloping her as if it were a hug.

Gracia’s coloring of the A.I.s is probably what stands out the most within the comic. There’s something so human about their design, yet it’s the brightness of their coloring, the various shades of limited colors that makes them uniquely inhuman. It’s beautiful in a surreal way.

The best scene in this issue, and I feel the series thus far, is the “Ironheart” scene. The Tony A.I. keeps prodding Riri, delving into her past trauma and trying to force her to open up about the death of her best friend and how she can’t move on from it.

“It shouldn’t have been anybody!”

She throws her helmet.

“We were at a picnic! And my stepdad, Nat…I mean, we were at a picnic! And both of them get shot right in the heart. Right in the heart!”

Her faces are raw with anguish, scrunched and teary-eyed. The Tony A.I. points to her.

“And now you build armor.”

Something clicks. An idea for her new name.

“Ironheart.”

The emoting in the scene really sells it. It feels like a child melting down, finally talking about her turmoil and trauma. It’s a fantastic scene.

The Verdict: 9.0/10

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