I Am Iron Man #3 Review

Written by: Murewa Ayodele
Art by: Dotun Akande
Colors by: Dotun Akande
Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover art by: Dotun Akand
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: May 10, 2023

I Am Iron Man #3 recounts an unusual tale of heroics when a young boy’s mother is kidnapped by Mojo, forcing Iron Man and War Machine to play along in a virtual fantasy to get her back.

Is It Good?

Do you see that blurb above? It took nearly two full read-throughs of I Am Iron Man #3 to figure it out. On the one hand, that blurb sounds like the makings of an interesting story. On the other hand, the devil’s in the details.

There is no “Previously on…” for this series because this title appears to be a collection of one-shots showcasing Marvel’s greatest armored Avenger. On that point alone, new readers can jump onto this title at any point and not miss out.

This time, we catch up with “Iron Samurai” as he fights an assortment of Japanese demons and monsters in a quest to rescue a woman from the Oni Queen. What the reader doesn’t realize until the halfway mark is that “Iron Samurai” is playing out a scripted adventure within Mojo’s VR world to rescue one of Mojo’s kidnapping victims at the behest of the mother’s son.

What’s great about this issue? Tony’s willingness to play along in a script concocted by a young boy’s imagination, the pulling-on-your-heartstrings moments reflecting on the special love between a mother and son (just in time for Mother’s Day), and Dotun Akande’s richly textured art.

What’s not so great? The plot is a jumbled mess. You can’t tell what’s happening until halfway through the issue. There’s no context or rationale provided as to why Mojo would kidnap a random woman to put in his VR show. It’s never explained how or why the boy is able to guide the script of the show. And the conflict resolution doesn’t make sense (they just fly away).

I will give Ayodele for infusing the issue with tons of heart and emotion, but good feelings are no substitute for the basics of story and plot structure.

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

Follow @ComicalOpinions on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Bits and Pieces

I Am Iron Man #3 contains tons of heart sure to pull at your heartstrings just in time for Mother’s Day, and the art is excellent. That said, the plot is a confusing mess up to the halfway mark, and after the mystery is clarified, the confusion is replaced by massive plot holes.