Comic Browser:

#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
#10
#11
#12
Selector

Iron Man 2.0 #1: Review

Feb 2011
Nick Spencer, Carmine DiGiandomenico

Loading cover...

Story Name:

Palmer Addley Is Dead, Part 1

Review & Comments

Rating:
4 stars

Iron Man 2.0 #1 Review by (October 16, 2012)
2nd story:- It doesn't say that Jim and Tony's meeting was in the Vietnam War. In Iron Man's revised history it would now be in Afghanistan. It also doesn't mention that partway through his 1st series War Machine lost his armour during time-travel to WWII, and wore an alien armour for the Crossing crossover. He lost that armour too before Heroes Reborn. It was the time-lost armour that Parnell Jacobs found. Furthermore it doesn't mention that Jacobs joined WM in his 2nd series (which I recently synopsized), along with Suzi Endo who was also with Rhodey during the Crossing and Secret Invasion. And she will reappear next issue.

This is War Machine's 3rd series, after WM vol 2 during Dark Reign. Since then he has appeared frequently in Iron Man (2008). He also joined Steve Rogers' Secret Avengers on a part-time basis. He was in the 1st story arc, which Peter Silvestro has already synopsized. He then missed a few issues, but concurrently with this story he has rejoined them in the middle of another adventure from #8. Also concurrently he's involved in the Avengers Infinity Gems story I've recently documented, along with every other member of the 3 Avengers teams. Officially this is listed as part 1 of 4 of Palmer Addley is Dead. Another way of looking at it is Part 1 of 9 of the Palmer Addley arc. The story will be interrupted by Fear Itself in #5-7. The Addley story will conclude in #8-12 as the 5-part The Palmer Addley Infection (with #7.1 to bring readers back up to speed). The series has a Prologue backup in Iron Man #500, which isn't actually a prologue. But more on that in #2&3. Gregor Shapanka began his villainous career as Jack Frost in Tales of Suspense #45, changing his name to Blizzard in Iron Man (original series) #86. He was killed by Iron Man 2020 in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #20. Actually the injury didn't seem worse than many comicbook characters have recovered from. But his name and suit were taken over by Donnie Gill from IM#223. This is the 1st time we've heard of the persistent robot version. I'm not sure when War Machine's secondment to Gen'l Babbage started in Iron Man's timeline. In Iron Man (2008) #25 Stark offers to let the military *continue* to use War Machine. But in #29 Jim Rhodes offers to *start* working for them as WM. I don't know when they took him up on it. There's a bit of a problem with the FBI regularly using Cerebro. It was replaced by Cerebra as of New X-Men #114.




 

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Iron Man 2.0 #1 Synopsis by Rob Johnson
The issue opens 6 months previously, where a woman named Judith is going to have an operation. She is afraid because she doesn't want her ex-husband to get custody of her kids.

In the present, Iron Man is fighting what looks like Blizzard. He's losing as his opponent reduces the iron suit's temperature down to almost absolute zero. But War Machine pops up and saves the day.

It turns out their foe is a robot. Tony Stark claims to know all about it, He says that the original Blizzrd, Gregor Shapanka, built it with instructions to put his body in cryogenic suspension if he got killed. But Shapanka was disintegrated by an Iron Man from the future. However the robot won't believe that, and supposedly keeps coming back to rescue its master.

James Rhodes starts his first day of work seconded to the US military. Gen'l Babbage has him stationed at Mackelroy Army Base, which he attacked during Dark Reign in War Machine (2008) #7. Babbage really doesn't like vigilantes, and makes a point of reminding Rhodes he's in the army now, and is going to have to follow orders.

Rhodey is going to be working with a team looking into someone called Palmer Addley. They are intelligence contractors Ernst Hoyer, Kaylie Harrison and Mike Zelinsky. And Palmer Addley is dead.

Addley was a genius working on several projects for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. They had him living and working in an ultra-secure site. 6 months ago he committed suicide. 4 months ago all his projects started crashing. And then they reappeared in working order used by different terrorists all over the globe. But at each site they leave the message "Palmer Addley is dead".

The team counter all Jim's suggestions. The guy really is dead. The DARPA site really is leak-proof, and anyway very few people would be able to understand Addley's work. Reed Richards and Tony Stark had given the site telepathic shielding. The FBI regularly use the X-Men's Cerebro to detect mutant activity. And the team got Dr Strange to rule out magic and the spirit world. Rhodey even mentions that a friend (ie Tony Stark in Stark Disassembled) downloaded his mind onto a hard drive. But the team say that Addley couldn't have got a hard drive off site.

The team show Rhodes Palmer Addley's effects. It will become relevant that he was an organ donor.

And talking of organ donation, it turns out that Judith's operation at the start of this issue was kidney replacement. And at this moment she receives the next in a series of packages through the mail. Which she takes into her garage where she's building a robot. (Or an armoured suit.)



Story #2

A potted history of James Rhodes

Writer: John Rhett Thomas.

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Marine James Rhodes helped the newly-created Iron Man get back to friendly territory. He didn't know Tony Stark was Iron Man, but Stark offered him a job as pilot and aviation engineer when Rhodey left the military.

They became friends and shared many adventures. When Tony's alcoholism got the better of him, Rhodes took over as Iron Man. This period included both Secret Wars series, and the formation of the West Coast Avengers.

Stark eventually took his armour back. But sometimes they both suited up as Iron Man.

Later when Tony faked his own death, James inherited control of Stark Enterprises, and the new War Machine armour. When Stark turned up alive Rhodey quit in disgust and rejoined West Coast Avengers.

WM got his own series. But he quit and went civilian round the time of Heroes Reborn.

The WM armour was appropriated by Parnell Jacobs. But Rhodey got it back and used bits of it as part of the Crew.

Then he wore a different kind of armour as part of O*N*E's Sentinel Squad.

Later he was back as War Machine as director of the Initiative training program. But inside the armour he was a cyborg, Stark had rebuilt him after a terrorist bomb. That stint ended with Secret Invasion.

During Dark Reign WM got his 2nd series as a cyborg vigilante, ending with his rehousing in a clone body. After which he helped Tony to recover from World's Most Wanted/Stark Disassembled.

Now he's a member of Secret Avengers, and starting this new job with Babbage.



Loading cover...

Barberoids 1 cover original artwork on ebay

Carmine DiGiandomenico
Barry Kitson
Kano
Salvador Larroca (Cover Penciler)
Salvador Larroca (Cover Inker)
Frank D'Armata (Cover Colorist)
Letterer: Joe Caramagna.
Editor: Steve Wacker.

Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange

(Stephen Strange)
Iron Man
Iron Man

(Tony Stark)
Mr. Fantastic
Mr. Fantastic

(Reed Richards)
War Machine
War Machine

(James Rhodes)

Plus: Ernst Hoyer, General Babbage, Kaylie Harrison, Mike Zelinsky.

> Iron Man 2.0: Book info and issue index

Share This Page


Elektra