Hero Realm!

IRON MAN: LEGACY OF DOOM #1

Plot by David Michelinie and Bob Layton
Script by David Michelinie
Art by Ron Lim, Moose Baumann and Bob Layton
Review by Ryan Stevens

    80’s Marvel Fans rejoice! In the age of mega-blockbuster crossovers, universe-rocking events that promise to “change everything forever--really!” and “Shake the heroes to their core--again!”, Marvel has finally released a quality book, set up in current Marvel continuity, that isn’t bogged down by the rising actions, events, or repercussions of “Final Secret Civil Invasion Crisis War III”, or whatever this summer’s blockbuster event is supposed to be. Iron Man: Legacy of Doom is capable of standing on its own, thank you very much.

    As the story begins, Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, is melting down a suit of his old armor, since his new Extremis suit can pretty much do anything he could ever want, and instead of having his old armors lying around for villains to steal, Tony is basically putting the armors “to sleep” , so to speak. As he prepares to log the melted suit’s memory data into his archive computer, Tony notices a video byte he doesn’t remember, involving him repairing a satellite. From there, the story is a flashback, depicting Tony’s encounter with Doctor Doom, arguably the greatest villain in the Marvel Universe, who wants one thing from Iron Man: an alliance, in stopping Mephisto (who is basically the devil of the Marvel U) from destroying the earth! Boy that Doom, he never calls, he never writes, he just shows up out of the blue, demanding you help him save the world! What a card! Iron Man seems to take Doom’s word on this (because, hey, Doom’s never lied to anyone before!), and agrees to help him without even asking for the slightest piece of evidence. But we’ll let that slide for now. Next thing you know, Iron Man and Doom are smack-dab in Dante’s inferno and knee-deep in trouble. Can a fight be far away? Nope!

    It’s quite unfortunate, but good writers are becoming fairly scarce in comics these days. Most writers just fill their scripts with swearing, violence, gratuity and death, focusing on pretty pictures and “shock value”, instead of telling an actually good story. Thankfully, David Michelinie is not like that. David actually wants to tell a story. He may throw in a gratuitous Iron Man vs. generic Latverian soldiers scene, and he may leave a few plot holes in his script (Iron Man‘s reasons for allying with Doom come to mind) , but he does tell a good story. David’s voice for Doom is absolutely flawless. The Machiavellian Beast of the Balkans’ very presence resonates gravitas and flair, and Michelinie’s representation is dead on, as is his Tony Stark, an inveterate realist and relentless altruist, who won’t take any chances when peoples’ lives are in the balance.

    The issue’s pencil work is done by Ron Lim, a definitive old-school Marvel artist, famous for his Silver Surfer work. He brings an energized and youthful touch to the book, adding to its already energized and youthful premise. Lim’s pencils are touched-up by inker and co-plotter Bob Layton, another old-school artist extraordinaire. The duo of Lim and Layton create some stunning visuals that are just absolutely beautiful when colored by Moose Baumann, who’s colors are equally bright and vibrant as Lim-and-Layton’s art requires. Also, his name is Moose, and there’s really nothing better than a colorist named Moose.

    While the plot does have some issues that could use resolving, Iron Man: Legacy of Doom #1 is a fun ride full of nostalgic goodness that will hopefully carry on through the remaining three issues. Iron Man teaming up with Doctor Doom to fight Mephisto, beautifully illustrated with bright and kinetic artwork, and a colorist named Moose are all great reasons to pick this up.

7 out of 10.