Written by: Gerry Duggan
Art by: Juan Frigeri
Colors by: Bryan Valenza
Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover art by: Kael Ngu
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: February 15, 2023

The Invincible Iron Man #3 mourns the untimely death of Zhong Wei and sets out to find Wei’s killer. With a little help from War Machine, Stark finds all the answers he needs and all the trouble he can handle.

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Is It Good?

The Invincible Iron Man #3 marks the turning point in the series where Gerry Duggan takes something completely mysterious (who is trying to ruin/kill Tony Stark?) into something that some readers may find too familiar. Does a familiar arc mean it’s terrible? No, not at all, but the outcome of this issue appears to mimic a previous arc Duggan will be hard-pressed to match.

When we last left Tony, he was down and out with his friends, colleagues, villains, and the public due to a frame-up from someone trying to strip everything away from him. Now, we get a VERY lengthy flashback to Tony’s introduction to Zhong Wei that leads directly into where this series appears to be headed once Tony figures out who’s behind his character assassination.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Where is this story going? It appears Duggan is going for a modern remake of Armor Wars. Tony is framed, his supposed crimes committed in the last issue are confirmed to be caused by an LMD, and the whole setup is a ploy to force Tony to sell off everything. Predicatbly, a rival secretly waits in the shadows to pick up the pieces.

Who is the rival this time? None other than Feilong, head honcho of Orchis, in the Justin Hammer role.

That’s it. That’s the big reveal. Armor Wars, 2023 Edition.

END SPOILERS

Duggan’s script spends a LOT of time on the flashback to Stark’s first meeting with Zhong Wei, and it’s unclear why. Wei’s death motivates Tony to pursue his faceless attacker, but Tony was already motivated to find his attacker, so the overlong flashback feels redundant.

Once the flashback is over, Tony goes into stealth mode to break into one of his old corporate offices to get at the truth, and the truth is what he finds. The surprise is undoubtedly unpredictable, or at least unguessable, but once it’s all spelled out (with a helping hand from the flashback), it feels like Duggan is retreading old territory with a new coat of paint.

There’s a lot of talking in this issue, but it’s paced and delivered well. The small action bits are handled solidly, and the art is great overall. It remains to be seen if Duggan can equal or improve on the story he appears to be mimicking, so for now, this arc is a “wait and see” recommendation.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Final Thoughts:

The Invincible Iron Man #3 reveals all the answers behind the mysterious attacks on Tony Stark, and the answers may (or may not) shock you. The dialog-heavy issue is executed well, and the art is solid, but the big reveal feels like Duggan is recycling older material.

7/10