I Am Iron Man #2: Beautiful, Fun, and Fishy

As always, it’s important to approach a work based on its intent. What is it trying to do, what is it trying to say? As such, I AM IRON MAN #2 would be the kind of book to get a flock for what it isn’t, instead of what it is. It’s an anniversary title, celebrating the heroics of Tony Stark without being patronizing or self-referential to the point of nostalgic suffocation. It isn’t a 100-page anniversary giant filled with half-baked stories. It is an artistic, small, and somber expression of what sacrifices have to be made in order to be Iron Man. For what it is, in all of its dreamlike glory, this issue is a well-crafted, thoroughly enjoyable love letter to Iron Man.

This issue places us right smack in the middle of Archie Goodwin’s classic Iron Man run, showcasing Tony trying to stop an incoming set of meteors that threaten the lives of a Norwegian village. In his success, he winds up unconscious and at the bottom of the seafloor, where parts of the meteor landed and irrevocably mutated some of the sea life. This, of course, leads Tony to teaming up with a telepathic mutant fish the size of a school bus to defeat another monster-sized fish that had been mutated by the meteor.

It’s a goofy plot with very endearing characterization on the fish’s part, but what really sells this story is how it puts Tony in a very claustrophobic scenario in order to showcase just how often he sacrificed his physical health for the greater good. The team here directly highlights how his heart is directly dependent on the suit, his suit slowly losing power as he tries to help out his new oceanic pal. The pacing for this story is also very well kept, the beginning, middle, and end all just as long as they needed to be without being rushed or dragged out. The team even managed to sneak in a philosophical metaphor for the effects of inspiration that superheroes, or just heroes in general, can have on a populace that lacks motivation to be more than what they are.

The art remains as fantastic as ever, it’s excellent detail work mixing with Akande’s dreamlike backgrounds to create a story that feels like a fable. With what the team is doing in its hazy celebration of Tony’s heroics, the art fits right in, elevating and at times even standing above the plotting.