Today’s Comic> Marvel Adv. Super Heroes V2 #18

"Hey, I know what to do with this leftover Earth's Mightest Heroes art. Bland covers set in a different continuity."

Marvel Adventures: Super Heroes V2 #18

(reprint of Marvel Adventures: Iron Man #7)

Marvel Comics (November, 2011)

Iron Man investigates his plant workers in China mysteriously vanish. With Rhodey trying to help while staying a step ahead of Pepper, Iron Man must confront the Mandarin and his giant dragon death machine.

What they got right: This is a reprint from Van Lente’s run on Marvel Adventures: Iron Man, issue #7. This was my favorite Iron Man title (the only one I read) and I miss it. The art is good and Van Lente knows how to write an Iron Man story.

What they got wrong: However, it was the wrong story to reprint in this title, unless Paul Tobin’s continuity is gone and they’ve just gone back to being an anthology, now using reprints of other MA stories. Tony doesn’t maintain a secret identity in Tobin’s stories, so it feels out of place to have him maintaining one here, especially if you didn’t know it was a reprint. (Like DC’s recent “Retroactive” books it’s hidden in the publisher notes.

Recommendation: If by some chance you missed Van Lente’s Iron Man MA, now is the time to check this book out and see what you missed out on.

Since this is a reprint, no Best Scene nomination.