"Stark Resilient, Part 6: Tony, We Don't Want To Destroy You" by Matt Fraction (w), Salvador Larroca (art), Frank D'Armata (colors)
Rating: Worth a read, then wait until the story is done & re-read it.
One of my favorite bad guys, back in the day, was Justin Hammer. He was just cool. I enjoyed how he was a brilliant businessman who made his own superheroes. I thought he was always the perfect foil for the guys like Iron Man, Spider Man, Power Man... the guys that were cool and powerful but not cosmic like the Fantastic Four or Avengers. It also gave great writers many opportunities to rewrite villains and recreate their powers as they felt necessary. It was a sad day for me when he was removed from this plane of existence.
(Yes, I know it's comics, and he could be reincarnated in the body of a 22-year old Olympic gymnast or Marvel's equivalent of The Shaggy Man. Work with me, here.)
Justine Hammer... doesn't quite have her father's weight. I wonder if that's a bit of unconcious, comics-fueled misogyny that's in me? It's so rare that female villains are done well. Justine, here, is portrayed as being a step behind Tony and just a little bit late to the ballgame. Tony handles her politically and physically, knocking her around fairly well despite holding back some of the cool tricks of his armor.
Don't get me wrong. She's cool, and I think Mr. Fraction does a nice job in making her dangerous, powerful, and flawed - like every good villain. I'm thrilled with this whole Detroit Steel storyline, and the armada masquerading as an iPhone app is... um... scary and brilliant and lots of fun. Kind of makes me glad that I don't do much real time war simulation, although Grand Theft Auto doesn't make it any better.
Tony whips out some of the cool Iron Man stuff, though: hollow bones and big guns. The best bit, I thought, was Pepper leaving the business meeting and flying off to go help Tony. I think there's some interesting dynamics, there, as I wonder how Pepper's use of the armor is going to change her and cause difficulties in the future. Will she get power hungry and turn heel? Will she get power addicted and follow Tony into addiction? I'm looking forward to this journey.
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