Tony Stark: Iron Man #6: The Roll Out

Tony Stark: Iron Man #6, Stark Realities: Part One, “The Rollout” is the beginning of the next step of the virtual reality story arc. So, you have not picked up issues 1 through 5? No worries, one of the good things with this series, are that you can jump in at any time and not feel lost. Dan Slott is a master mind in creating each issue a great time to jump in and play in his version of Tony Stark Iron Man.

Stark Unlimited has created the newest virtual reality video game and seems to be phenomenally addicting. The eScape is essentially an Iron-Man mask that allows players to go into whatever world they want and become whomever they want. This item is in so much demand it has become worth more than anything else, even gold! However, like any online interface, the eScape is quickly taken over by bullies. Racism, misogyny, and other forms of xenophobia run rampant on the servers. Luckily, there is a failsafe program where a giant robot forcefully removes any hateful bully from the system. However, something is wrong with this program!

Slott shares the writing duties with Jeremy Whitley and they clearly work well together. Both writers are known for being able to play with humor and create really fun accessible stories. Like Slott and Whitley, we all have faced our own fair share of bullying and discrimination. I really like how they put real experiences in this comic. Now, as players are within eScape and curse or do anything stupid, the administration avatar of Arsenal disconnects the player from the game. The cliffhanger of this issue, we find out that the nemesis of the story is using Arsenal to manipulate or “control” pissed off gamers for a more evil cause.

Meanwhile, Tony’s long lost; recently reconnected biological mom is feeling that she is not connecting with her son. The thing to pay attention to this aspect is the Tony’s verbiage and body language. He addresses his mother as Amanda, not mom or mother. Readers who are in Tony’s position or those who recently acquired a step-mom, etc. can relate to this storyline. Amanda is not backing down and Andy, her man toy, helps her into eScape with devastating results.

Valerio Schiti’s are here is incredible as he articulated the real world to the virtual world. The switches are handled perfectly as the eScape panels jump right off the page. You can tell that Schiti is having fun with his work as he provides pathos for Joscasta in simplistic panels where she is pretending to be human. The cover by Alexander Lozano is absolutely beautiful and stunning!

Tony Stark Iron Man #6, Stark Realities: Part One, “The Rollout” is a good comic with an incredibly varied tone and cast throughout with great art that creates a well-balanced cohesive fun read. The cliffhanger leaves the reader wanting more. I am excited to see what havoc will happen as Slott and Whitley develop the villain and the manipulated gamers. This issue is well laid out for new readers, or those who have been with the series from the start.