Invincible Iron Man #15: Review

Apr 2007

Charles Knauf, Roberto de la Torre

::: click cover to ENLARGE it :::

Story Name:

(no title given)

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #15 Review by Rob Johnson (May 19, 2015)

The cover on the issue I have is the Adi Granov variant homage to Jim Steranko's cover for Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #4, which doesn't have the Intiative banner. Roberto de la Torre takes over as penciller from Patrick Zircher. Adi Granov continues to do the main cover, but Gerald Parel does the other variant cover and will take over the main cover from next issue. There has been a 2-month publication gap since last issue. This series gains the cover logo Iron Man Director of SHIELD from this issue and the Official Index lists it under that title from now. But it won't change its indicia to match until #29. But strangely the indicia *will* change from just Iron Man to Invincible Iron Man from #17, which was the cover logo from #1. The previous 2 issues were set during Civil War, and we haven't seen Karim Mahwash Najeeb since #13. So he went to China after that and this issue says that was 3 months ago. The Official Index says Shellhead has been busy in that time. After becoming Drector of SHIELD at the end of Civil War he kickstarted the Initiative era in CW: Initiative. Other appearances this site has covered are forming the Mighty Avengers in flashbacks in MAv#1-2, an initial clash with the New Avengers in fb's in NAv#28-29, the aftermath of Captain America's assassination in the Fallen Son issues and CA#26, the revelation of Tony Stark's behind the scenes manipulation of Civil War in CW: Front Line #11, Iron Man's confrontation with the returned Thor in Thor#3, leading the blockade of Atlantis in the Sub-Mariner: Revolution limited series, another MAv/NAv clash in fb's in NAv#29-30 and the fights against Ultron, Venom symbiotes and Dr Doom in MAv#1-11, then Tony Stark declares there won't be a replacement Cap in CA#27. Note that the positions of the NAv#28-29 fb's and the SubRev miniseries are not as quoted in the OI. These changes are the subject of proposals I have made to the Marvel Chronology Project.

Dum Dum Dugan here is a Skrull imposter. The Secret Invasion Prologue digital comic will reveal that he was replaced straight after Cap's assassination. Since then the imposter has been seen at Cap's funeral in Fallen Son #5 (Iron Man) and the wake in CA#26. I don't know why Maya would rate a pardon. She was complicit in Aldrich Killian selling Extremis to terrorists in #1-6. Iron Man broke her out of jail in #10 to help when his Extremis system was compromised, and she's presumably not gone back since. Equally presumably it's his post-CW status that has given him the clout to get her paroled into his custody. It will become clearer next issue that the guy in the psychiatric cell in China was Mandarin, and obviously he's behind the increase in effective terrorism.

From Our Blog:

Gwen Stacy, beauty queen of Standard High School, was Peter Parker's (alias Spider-Man) first great love.

Gwen Stacy: Classic Beauty

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #15 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

SHIELD Deputy Director Dum Dum Dugan goes to Secretary of Defense Jack Kooning to complain about Tony Stark's actions as Director of SHIELD. He mentions as an example an incident 2 days ago at the Sydney Opera House.

We see a flashback where Indonesian Islamic terrorists take over the place and demand the release of some of their compatriots. They have a bomb loaded with nerve gas. SHIELD gets an inside view from nano-cams that Stark has just given them. Iron Man is overseeing Alpha Team equipped with Stark-supplied armour and repulsor rifles. He drops into action with them from a stealth plane, but hangs back as an observer as they take out the bad guys.

However 1 of the terrorists activates the bomb. The Golden Avenger springs into action and flies the bomb to a Stark deep sea exploration vessel. There he seals it in a decompression chamber to contain the nerve gas.

Dugan's complaint is that if IM hadn't been there the operation would have been a disastrous failure. And Stark keeps taking over like that. It makes the SHIELD Agents sloppy.

Dum Dum is also unhappy about changes on the helicarrier. Stark has set up a suggestion box and instituted dress-down Fridays. He's closed the Ofiicers' Club and replaced it with a day-care facility. In recompense he's improved the food in the general canteen. And Tony has appointed his old friend Sal Kennedy as his X-O, who explains that the day-care centre isn't used when the carrier is out in the field.

Kooning counters that Stark's changes have improved troop morale and public approval, and his business acumen has reduced expenses. And the operational performance is excellent (even if a lot of that is due to Iron Man).

Dugan's last desperate attempt to attack Stark's credibility is the security risk of the convicted criminal Maya Hansen. But Kooning says she's just a civilian consultant, and any personal relationship Stark may have with her is not their concern.

Flashback to after the Sydney mission:- Tony is working on a Presidential pardon for Maya, but in the meantime she is working for him on parole. She invented the nano-cams used in Sydney, and is working on DNA locks on the repulsor rifles. She really wants to get back to improving her original invention Extremis, but Stark won't allow it. The changes Extremis wrought in him divorced him from his humanity - it was only Civil War that brought him back.

Kooning dismisses Dugan's worries. He's more concerned about the worldwide rise in terrorist attacks by different small groups.

Dugan thinks back to a meeting with Stark, Kennedy and Maria Hill where they discussed these small amateur groups suddenly getting hi-tech equipment and efficient organisation. The idea that emerged from their bickering was that these individual groups, some of whom are enemies of each other, have all been upgraded by someone behind the scenes. Now Dum Dum adds that this all happened since Karim Mahwash Najeeb disappeared in China 3 months ago.

We now have a flashback to 3 months ago. Najeeb and his men are in a Chinese state psychiatric facility with authorisation to see a certain inmate. This man doesn't eat or sleep but somehow remains alive in a yoga trance.

Back in the present Dugan tenders his resignation but Kooning rejects it. SHIELD and Stark need him. And Kooning needs someone he can trust close to Stark.

Story #2