Iron Man #258.1 Review

I'm always fascinated by projects like X-Men Forever, wherein writers are tapped to revisit characters they defined years ago and attempt to continue their old storylines where they left off, heedless of what transpired afterward. X-Men Forever failed to recapture the glory days of Chris Claremont's X-Men run, but it doesn't look as though David Michelinie and Bob Layton will have the same problem as they return to Iron Man.

The original Iron Man #258 kicked off the Armor Wars II storyline, which saw John Byrne attempt to follow up Michelinie and Layton's original Armor Wars conflict. The results were mixed at best, and not particularly relevant to Armor Wars either. What this mini-series aims to do is allow the duo to tell their own version of Armor Wars II. The writers pick up where they left off in terms of Tony's problematic nervous system but weave a new story that draws in some familiar Armor Wars elements and characters.

The story doesn't really have the scope of an Armor Wars yet. But that's okay, because it does provide an ample amount of circa-1990 Iron Man fun. The writers match the tone of their old books without feeling awkward or painfully outdated. Both the script and the art embrace the fact that the story is unfolding in 1990. Tony boasts a horrific mullet, and the tech is clunky and garish.

Meanwhile, the political structure of the Marvel U. is still mired in the waning days of the Cold War. Were it not for the thoroughly modern coloring, one could easily be led to believe this were actually a lost comic from the era. And based on what little has been revealed so far, this is quickly shaping up to be the proper Armor Wars sequel that Armor Wars II never was.

Will this issue appeal to new Iron Man readers? Probably not. The tone is wildly different from most modern Iron Man comics. And while there are editor captions and even an awkward dose of exposition designed to summarize Armor Wars, this issue is really catered directly to fans of the Michelinie/Layton era. But that's as it should be. This is a chance to reunite one of the greatest creative teams in Iron Man history, and they prove they've still got the magic touch.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

Source : ign[dot]com