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All good things must end.
And the best things end with a worthy epilogue.
With The Invincible Iron Man #20, the final issue of Gerry Duggan’s run about a very vulnerable, very human Tony Stark, facing one of his biggest life crises and how he overcame it, he once again shows us the full range that made this run the best Iron Man I’ve ever read.
With the usual calmness that lends even the most exciting action sequences a rare sense of relaxation, things are tidied up after Feilong’s disaster, justice is done, friendships are mended and renewed and love affairs are ended or paused.
After everything that happens in this final chapter, it should be dripping with pathos, drama and everything-will-be-fine happy end, but that wouldn’t be the Iron Man that Gerry Duggan has been telling us for 20 issues.
With a healthy mix of witty humor, a big pinch of kitsch-free, touching emotion, a short action interlude for the superhero story balance, and the obligatory bridge-building for the next author to take on Iron Man (Spencer Ackerman will take over from October, by the way), Duggan says goodbye.
And as much as I think it’s a shame that a series that provided me with 1 1/2 years of absolutely reliable great entertainment ends here, I understand that this chapter has been told. And every issue more is unnecessary and probably even a danger of ruining this flawless run.
And so I’ll stop blathering now and recommend for the umpteenth and last time everyone who wants to know what superhero comics can or should be like to read Gerry Duggan’s Invincible Iron Man.
This is storytelling at it’s best.
(Fortunately always equipped with a great illustrator.)
(Alright, that’s it, now.)
(Read it.)
Invincible Iron Man #20
€6,95
THE WAR IS OVER. The war with Orchis is over. What does the future hold for Tony and Emma Frost?… read more
