Iron Man #4: System Shock

Thus far, Joshua Williamson’s run on Iron Man has been a rather thrilling but light affair, mostly focused on balancing its tale of adventure with strong character writing and a personal focus on Tony’s complicated relationships with others. However, the actual weight of A.I.M.’s chaotic fracturing hasn’t held too much impact on its own, its main purpose acting as a vessel for character exploration. Iron Man #4 is when the shoe drops for A.I.M., where their fractured ranks turn into a truly foreboding threat that broke my heart as a reader in the best way possible.

This in particular goes a long way in not just showcasing Tony’s inventive nature, as he attempts to utilize Mysterio technology to escape A.I.M.’s grasp, but also Adam Ware’s own sense of goodness. We’re shown why he was chosen to receive the award through his actions in developing technology outside of his captors’ request for weapons. He goes above and beyond in developing a communication device that inevitably leads to Tony freeing the captives left alive and saving the day—but not without a bitter tragedy in the mix. There’s a shocking punch toward’s the end of this issue that I did not see coming. Fixer’s villainy, as the driving force behind Madame Masque’s desperate puppeteering, shines through and elevates the tension of this story. He acts as a twisted Tony Stark, seeing genius as a result of extreme duress, carrying a chip on his shoulder for Tony.

Carmen Carnero continues on art duties here, turning in her best issue thus far. She plays with page rotation during Tony’s short stint as the “Iron Mysterio” in a way that works for the story and isn’t just a gimmick. She continues to employ rapid changes in panel sizing, and a mix of different framing techniques to keep the visual storytelling kinetic. Jan Bazaldua steps onto this issue to fill out the middle section of the book, which focuses on the aforementioned character-building for Adam, and a quick interlude with Pepper and Melinda. In an era where sudden penciler changes are abundant and often disorienting, Bazaldua’s pages flow pretty well out of Carnero’s into a moment in the narrative where more traditional comics paneling allows the conversation between Tony and Adam to sing.