Iron Man vol 3 #77
Marvel Comics (April, 2004)
“The Best Defense” part 5: “Unsuited”
WRITER: John Jackson Miller
ARTIST: Jorge Lucas
COLORIST: Antonio Fabela
LETTERER: Randy Gentile
ASSISTANT EDITORS: Sumerak, Schmidt, & Wiley
EDITOR: Tom Brevoort
Tony’s nomination now goes before the full Senate and between people with a beef against Tony and Burch’s pals it’s not going well for him. A member of Sonny’s team calls Tony to let him know about the stupid things Burch has been doing with his tech, but Burch finds out and he isn’t happy. It’s the least of his worries when the drone attacks the plane carrying the armors, setting off the missile launchers, and dooming Washington, DC. The pressure overwhelms Burch, who takes himself out of the equation…permanently, if you know what I mean. Rumiko even calls Tony when she sees the plane strike from her plane, which is being pulled down along with all other flights in the area for their safety. The capital’s only hope now is Iron Man!
What they got right: The story and art continues to be good. Whatever problems I have I can not in any sense call this a bad story. There’s good characterization, the plot is well done, and as a story it all works.
What they got wrong: It still really isn’t an Iron Man story though. I keep harping on that because it’s been a problem with the last few writers. I’m not picking on Miller here. This is when the supervillains were becoming an afterthought and it was just a commentary on people with superpowers or ultra-high tech. You know, like Watchmen, since that’s what everyone in comics wants to be.
Recommendation: If you want a superhero story, this isn’t it. If you want politics versus a high-tech supergenius then you might have something here. I personally come to Iron Man for the former.