Superior Iron Man #3

Writer – Tom Taylor
Artist – Yildiray Cinar
Inker – Ruy Jose, Juan Velasco
Colours – Guru-eFX

Ever since the inversion spell cast during the AXIS event, Tony Stark has become a far more fascinating character than he was previously.  Much of him still remains the same – his ego, his drive, his sarcastic brand of humour – but thanks to Tom Taylor, everything has been taken up a notch and to top it all off, he is drinking again which was never one of his strong suits.  So when Tony Stark thinks he is doing well, it is what is good for him and not necessarily anyone else.  Two examples of that would be the introduction of the mass market version of Extremis and giving Daredevil back his sight.  The first will make Tony rich and the second he hopes will get Matt Murdock off his back as he falls all over himself in gratitude.  The problem is that Matt never asked for it, and if he had wanted his sight back he would have asked for it.  So, to say there is a bone of contention resting between the two men is putting it lightly.  Not only has Taylor made Tony one of the most interesting people in the Marvel Universe at the moment, he has also made him one of the most fun.  Sure, not everything he does is for the benefit of mankind, in fact it rarely is anymore, but watching him be more ‘Tony’ than he ever was is extremely enjoyable.  Having Daredevil be one of the main guest-stars early on in the series was a smart move as the two men are diametrically opposed at the moment and it is amusing to see them play off of each other.  With the added mystery of what Pepper is doing with that other ‘Iron Man,’ as well as some strong writing and artwork, the book has been off to quite a strong start and one of the better things to come out of AXIS.

4 out of 5

The New 52 Futures End #34

Writer – Brian Azzarello, Jeff Lemire, Dan Jurgens, Keith Giffen
Artist – Patrick Zircher, Scott Kollins
Colours – Hi-Fi

The mish-mash of quality and interest that is Futures End continues with a third of the book going to Doctor Polaris and the new Firestorm as they battle it out.  Firestorm would be a fun character if she ever did anything while Doctor Polaris is simply put, a dreary character.  The action continues with the new Stormwatch versus Father Time, stops dead in its tracks for a New Fifty Sue interlude and then ends on a somewhat promising note with Brother Eye sending back his henchman to stop Batman Beyond.  The threat of Brother Eye, felt from the very first issue of the series, has been seen here and there but has not really done very much except take over Cadmus Island most recently and then essentially, disappeared right after it was defeated.  For being the big bad of the series, you would think that it would be featured more prominently and yet it is only mentioned here and there.  The Cadmus Island storyline was a big boost in making that threat known, but still, it was not as big an impact as it should have been and then for the plot to be almost forgotten about is a little ridiculous.  It also seems whenever this book gets a little momentum, the writers abandon it to slow the pace right down to a trickle and it is frustrating beyond all measure.  With the cliff-hanger the book was left on, hopefully that momentum returns and the book starts to become exciting rather than the constant tediousness that pervades it.

2.5 out of 5