Tony Stark Iron Man #9: With a Heart of Steel

There are some really cool moves in Tony Stark Iron Man #9 and flow nicely to keep the reader direct attention with every page. Dan Slott with Jim Zub begins this issue with a Hulked out, energy induced Controller that Rhodey and the Wasp is trying to defeat. The Wasp is absolute bad-ass in this issue and I love it! Unfortunately, they are short on ammunition and try to reach out to other Avengers and associates, but everyone is busy with the chaos caused by the eScape. Meanwhile, Bethany, the chief of security, realizes something shocking that will no doubt devastate everyone at Stark Unlimited!

Slot and Zub did an amazing job with Bethany’s character build-up and I hope they continue in the upcoming issues. Maybe, since she has some common interest with Rhodey, I wonder if they may become a power-house item.

The horsepower of this engine in Tony Stark Iron Man #9 takes us on a joy ride as Tony is living in yesteryear’s dream world. I have to say that I enjoy this very much as it takes long time Iron Man fans back in time, which may seem corny today especially to new or younger fans. Nevertheless, it works wonders in this issue!

An A.I. version of his mother that once was takes on Tony’s birth mother. Amanda is flexing her motherly muscles to free her son’s mind, but Tony’s adoptive mother has some harsh revelations about his existence.

The Machine Man manages to hack the simulation and rescue Amanda before she becomes roadkill. This is completely out of character for the Machine Man, but it’s almost refreshing to see a different side of Aaron. Maybe there’s hope him and Jocasta yet!

Valero Schiti and Paolo Rivera artwork along with exceptional colors by Edgar Delgado are spot on as they design such dynamic panels. As a 40+ year comic book reader, I often find myself backtracking a few times and rereading a given issue to completely appreciate the work. From reality to the eScape world, this team impressively creates sharp details in each panel with warm colors.

There is a lot going on in the cover to this issue and I’m cool with it. Purpose, relationship to the storyline, may not be clear at first, except, we are incised with multiple virtual reality video gaming. I love Alexander Lozano’s artwork and the colors are spectacular!

Slott along with Zub continue to explore ramifications of Tony’s return to the living with an unexpected cliffhanger ending. I can’t wait to see what is next for Tony Stark Iron Man!