Even when crossing over with The Black Stallion Marvel heroes can’t get along.
Iron Man volume 3 #61
Marvel Comics (January, 2003)
“In Shining Iron” finale
WRITER/ARTIST: Mike Grell
COLORIST: Arisa Rozegar
LETTERER: Chris Eliopoulos
ASSISTANT EDITORS: Marc Sumerak & Andy Schmidt
EDITOR: Tom Brevoort
Tony and Brann manage to kill the dragon before it kills them, and Aislinn isn’t happy about that. Now that her power is restored she plans to return to the present with that power and the Iron Man armor to get revenge on mankind for the damage they’ve done to the earth. Tony is able to get most of the armor fixed as he and Brann head for the place Tony and Ellen arrived and Aislinn is waiting. She forces Tony to remove the armor to save Brann but with the helmet still damaged only her body returns, meaning she actually found her own head in the helmet in the present. Pepper sends a spare armor so he can come home just before the time machine explodes. Tony won’t be able to save Pepper and Happy’s unborn child but he accepts it.
What they got right: Overall the story and the art are good. Tony and Brann fight a dragon. You have to suck to get that wrong and whatever problems I have with Grell’s run the story itself and the art are not two of them.
What they got wrong: His unwillingness to have Iron Man do Iron Man stuff, the apparent attempt to split Happy and Pepper up again, and the dead baby thing are problems I have with his run and they all show up here.
Recommendation: I was trying to decide if I was going to keep this arc and that’s going to be how I tackle his whole run. In the end it is a good story worth checking out, but it does highlight my problems with his run while also showcasing that he is a good writer and artist. I might be curious to see some of his other works but I’m always of mixed feelings when it comes to his Iron Man run.
