Wanderings of Iron Man at Couture's

(as seen in the pages of Advanced Iron #60)

SPIDER-MAN / IRON MAN

"Doom's Day book two: Sabotage" -
1997

Authors: Pierce Askegren & Danny Fingeroth
Cover art: Vince Evans
Illustrations: Steven Butler
Publisher: Byron Press, Berkley Boulevard Books, New York.

As we all know (even though sometimes Marvel tends to forget), Tony Stark is one of the most brilliant men on Earth, a true genius.

He has created many inventions that have had a big impact on the world, but this new one is in a category all of its own. This new creation will literally change the world as we know it and open a new age for human civilisation.

This formidable new invention is called the «Infinity Engine». It can tap into the quantum field to provide clean and safe energy to everyone on Earth. While Tony Stark reveals this new wonder to the world at a special ceremony, one of the few people in the audience who actually understands and marvels at its full implications is a Daily Bugle photographer, a certain Peter Parker.

But he is not alone, and many are those who would love to get their hands on so powerful a tool. There is Hydra, the international terrorist organisation and their main competitors, the evil scientists of A.I.M. A third party is also greatly interested by this new wonder, but he stays in the shadows, unwilling to reveal his hand in the unfolding drama. For Doctor Doom does not need to make a personal appearance to influence the outcome of the bold sabotage attempt that Hydra and A.I.M. are about to launch.

I am a slow reader, especially in English, and I read this novel in a matter of days, that should give you a hint of how much I enjoyed it.

What a great read! Great suspense, amazing action scenes, believable and well-researched characters… what a blast! Just thinking about that scene where Spidey falls from a hovercraft towards New York city below, unable to use his webbing to slow his descent because of the incredibly high speed of his fall… wow! Or that other scene where Iron Man battles an incredibly powerful Dreadnought in the upper atmosphere, wearing a new version of his space armor which contains very little weaponry… truly one of our favourite hero's most spectacular defeats! But don't you worry, Iron Man comes back with a vengeance! Those are only two of this book's numerous memorable moments.

In this novel, Iron man is written exactly the way he should always be. He's not just a guy wearing a powerful armor that makes him the equivalent of a walking tank. He's first and foremost a brilliant man, and he proves time and time again that his greatest weapon is his brain. When faced with a desperate situation in which he apparently cannot hope to win (and this occurs on many occasions in this exciting adventure), he analyses, adapts and reacts accordingly. The full potential of his armor are exploited in the course of the story. Iron Fans will be amazed by the new capabilities the writers have integrated to the armor's traditional weaponry. This is truly Iron Man action at its best.

Many characters from IM's supporting cast also make appearances. There's HOMER, Bethany Cabe, Mrs. Arborgast and Happy Hogan. I thought the use of these characters was a very nice touch. That, among other things, makes Iron Man a character just as important to the story as Spider-Man is, instead of it being a Spidey story in which IM randomly appears. In fact, a lot of the book is told directly from Tony Stark's perspective. Great stuff, it's like actually being inside the suit yourself.

The cover art is beautiful, it's what made me buy the book to begin with. On top of that, Steven Butler beautifully illustrates the beginning of every chapter (example at left). The scenes he draws are ones that the reader will encounter later in the chapter, it gives you a hint of what's to come and that just enhances the suspense and the excitement without selling any punch lines early. His art is truly excellent and a perfect addition to the story.

As you can see by the title, this story is the second chapter in a bigger plot called «Doom's Day», but you absolutely do not need to have read the first chapter (featuring Spider-Man and the Hulk) to understand this one. What little you need to know is briefly explained in the course of the story. As for the ending, it opens a window to the third part, which features the Fantastic Four, but the story doesn't leave any major loose ends.

Tony Stark tells Peter Parker:"Cosmo and Anna Marie both had good things to say about you, and neither of those two are easy to work for. There's always room in SE for one more, and I'd like to have you on board."

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