Advance Review: Iron Man Annual #1

Infinite Destinies introduces new keepers of the Infinity Stones and Iron Man Annual #1 introduces a new holder of the Space stone named Quantum. The mystery of the infinity stones is only as great as the mystery of how this annual is a number 1. Are we really renumbering annuals every year in addition to the comic runs. Should we get some sort of legacy numbering for annuals?

The art throughout the issue is beautiful. Absolutely mint work by Ibraim Roberson which makes a very straight-forward Iron Man story look extraordinary. The writing is a bit shaky as the voice tries too hard to parrot the nonchalance of the movie version of Iron Man and doesn’t spend enough time with the new character Quantum who should be featured heavily as the big reveal of this crossover issue.

Tony and Miles Morales start the issue off fighting bored Moloids by creating a tourist experience to keep them busy. They then bond over sushi as Miles tells Tony that a new villain called The Assessor kidnapped and tortured him. Tony takes this personally and tracks him down. To reach the Assessor Tony must fight off guards and then face Quantum. The Assessor then puts him through a massive series of trials to measure Iron Man’s abilities. He then order’s Quantum to take down Iron Man but Tony uses his tech to take down Quantum and then plant a virus into Assessor’s system.

The main story ends with Quantum escaping to another dimension where the central Assessor survives. It is revealed that Quantum is powered by the space infinity stone and not happy about it. The main issue is a bit silly with the dialogue from Tony feeling very old fashioned and the actual battle overshadowed by a number of trials that look great but add little to the story.

The ‘after-credits’ portion is an absolute treat. Nick Fury races across canyons, forests and oceans fighting monsters and thinking about his parentage and past while trying to piece together a new villain that ties recent conspiracies together. The art in this portion in a whole other level of madness. This is the coolest Nick Fury has looked in years and a Nick Fury book by this creative team absolutely must happen.

Writing: 3.4 of 5 stars
Art: 4.2 of 5 stars
Colors: 4.4 of 5 stars

Overall: 4 of 5 stars

Writer: Jed MacKay
Art: Ibraim Roberson
Colors: Rochelle Rosenberg
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Author Profile

M.R. Jafri

M.R. Jafri was born and raised in Niagara Falls New York and now lives with his family in Detroit Michigan. He's a talkative introvert and argumentative geek. His loves include Star Wars, Star Trek, Superheroes, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Transformers, GI Joe, Films, Comics, TV Shows, Action Figures and Twizzlers.