Another arc that was consciously penned as a jumping on point for new readers, Warren Ellis and Adi Granov's Extremis has also been cited as one of the best stories in the history of the character, regardless of whether you're a long time fan or just somebody investigating as a result of its adaptation in the third film. Granov also worked as a designer on all three of the movies so far, so this is the closest you'll get visually to the look of them, with his art striking a commendable balance between the photorealistic and the exaggerated style of superhero comics. Along the way Ellis and Granov repurposed both Tony Stark's origins (bringing them more up to date, so he wasn't farting around in the sixties, instead receiving the shrapnel injury in the first Gulf War) and the character's current status quo. It also answered some of the big unanswered questions that cropped up amongst Armour Wars, and ones that have been there since Iron Man's introduction. Stark's worrying about his company's involvement in war and military actions across the globe reaches a fever pitch when he comes across the Extremis virus. Stark in this story is the one we've seen through many of these stories, and was epitomised by Robert Downey Jr: a brilliant borderline genius who is nevertheless hampered by his short-sightedness, unable to predict the consequences of his actions. The Extremis virus also continued to blur the lines between man and machine as Stark too becomes infected with it, allowing him to interface with his suit like never before and speeding up his big old brain even further. This is the Iron Man you still see in the comics today, so if you carry on reading the books after all these suggestions, you'll be well up to speed.
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/
