If there's one Iron Man comic that has managed to successfully coalesce all these depictions of Tony Stark, Iron Man, his troubles and triumphs, his friends and foes into a satisfying whole, it's the recent run on Invincible Iron Man by writer Matt Fraction and artist Salvador Larroca. It's hard to pick just one storyline from the pair's celebrated run, so we just recommend starting from the beginning and reading straight through. Things kicked off with a bang in Five Nightmares, where Tony again had to deal with his influence on a young inventor with less-than-noble intentions; Ezekiel Stane adapts Stark technology to create weapons of mass destruction, threatening the safety of the world, and it's up to Iron Man to stop him. During their time on the book the character went through a lot of changes, ending up as the new Head of SHIELD after the Civil War crossover event (which you don't need to read, but might provide some context for why everybody in the Marvel Universe thinks Tony's more of a jerk than ever). Along with having the character deal with his actions in that event in a real way they also gave him a new set of challenges to deal with, as he becomes more aware than ever of the threats against mankind that SHIELD deal with. At the same time Fraction and Larroca were acutely aware of the character's history. The writer took his own struggles with substance abuse and made Stark a true recovering alcoholic, never fully cured by living his life day by day...it just happens that his life involves being a near-invulnerable superhero in a magic suit. They also returned supporting cast members like Pepper to the forefront, bringing the comics more in line with the films whilst still remaining distinct and unique. They even gave a fresher spin on the Mandarin than Casey and Canete in a story where the villain tries to spin his history in a more positive light during the filming of a documentary on his life. Invincible Iron Man volume 4 has everything you need to get on board with the character. Every part of his mythos is on show, the supporting cast has never been stronger, he gets some new challenges and his place in the Marvel Universe has never been stronger. With some brilliant writing, gorgeous art and some of the best stories told in his history, this truly is essential for new Iron Man readers.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
