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Iron Man 2.0 #12: Review

Dec 2011
Nick Spencer, Mirco Pierfederici

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Story Name:

The Palmer Addley infection, conclusion

Review & Comments

Rating:
4.5 stars

Iron Man 2.0 #12 Review by (March 12, 2013)
As I mentioned in #8 James Rhodes never actually gets called Iron Man 2.0 in this series. (But I don't think he gets called War Machine either.) At the end of this issue he asks Stark about modifying the armour. And when he returns to the Iron Man series in armour in #513 he's back to being openly called War Machine, but also has what looks like the old War Machine type of armour, with prominent guns and no sign of stealth capabilities. Rhodey makes several guest appearances around the end of this series. In all of them he's called War Machine (if named at all). He continues to make sporadic apps in Secret Avengers. In #20 he has the 2.0 armour, but in #21 (a different story) he has the old armour with guns. He guests with the SA team in Hulk (2008) #42-43. Here he has the 2.0 armour but with pop-up guns. I don't think he uses his stealth capabilities. In X-Men (2010) #20-23 he has the old-look armour, but the guns are retractable. Again I don't think there's any sign of stealth. This suggests a sequence SA#20, H#42-43 and some order of XM#20-23 and SA#21 (and some more SA). They all probably happen after this series, and before IM#513-515. Just to confuse things, in IM#517-524 Rhodey will wear yet another suit, with familiar stealth functions, which the Previews blurbs refer to as Iron Man 2.0. Although once again no-one in the comic calls it that. And just to confuse things even further, the blurb to #521 claims that Iron Man 2.0 and War Machine are *both* in the story.

The end of the arc and the end of the series. This issue boasts 4 artists again. Once again I reckon one is the colourist (Andy Troy). I think the other 3 are penciler & inker for their own sections. I'd Carmine Di Giandomenico does the most pages this time, starting from the beginning. Mirco Pierfederici does the last 5 pages, and Ariel Olivetti the preceding 5. This is a pretty good finale to the series. The stakes ratchet up and Suzi Endo gets to be heroic (and hand-waving science explains what's happening). As usual in comics the villain's scheme doesn't make too much sense. But then he *was* insane. It seems he was going to take over the world by having his virus self take over every individual in it. (There is no indication that any master copy of the virus would rule the rest, from say Tony Stark's mind. Everyone would just *be* Palmer Addley.) But if that was the plan, then why all the terrorist acts, and why the murderous crowd rage? Probably because he was a sick b*st*rd and liked it that way.




 

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Iron Man 2.0 #12 Synopsis by Rob Johnson
Iron Man 2.0 was flying Suzi Endo to the Baxter Building to talk to Mr Fantastic about beating the Palmer Addley Infection. But on the way they were attacked by the original Iron Man, who's been taken over by the virus.

James Rhodes beats off Iron Man, rescues Suzi from falling, and resumes racing towards the Baxter Building, chased by Iron Man. At the last instant Invisible Woman throws up a force field to keep Iron Man out.

Reed Richards is trying to improve Tony Stark's vaccine, but the virus keeps mutating beyond it, as it did last issue. Suzi suggests they stop trying to defeat the virus in the bloodstream, because genius Palmer Addley had made that impossible. She suggests instead they defeat it in the brain. It takes but a few seconds for Reed to work out what she means. (But of course we're still in the dark.)

Iron Man has somehow made it past Invisible Woman, so Rhodey goes out to fight him. He tries to get through to Tony Stark, but his opponent's voice informs him that Addley (via the virus) has taken over completely. It also says that the virus is not Addley. Palmer Addley is truly dead. But the virus is what Addley wanted to be. And the stage where the infected people fight each other is just a step on the way. Soon those infected will be under the virus Addley's complete control. Now America, soon the world.

Meanwhile Reed and Suzi have devised a light show that they'll broadcast all over New York. It has been tuned to attract the attention and calm the recipient down. But once again the effect only lasts a short time. Reed realises that the system needs a human brain to drive it to be properly effective, and puts on a helmet that will connect him.

But Addley/Iron Man isn't going to give him another chance. He drains the Building's power with an EMP, even Reed's lab. As Iron Man 2.0 flies in the EMP hits his armour too. Stark's own armour is of course not affected.

Then Rhodey sucker punches Iron Man with what looks like a taser blast. If it had really been Tony Stark inside the suit, he's have known the 2.0 armour was also immune. And that armour can now act as a power source for a new transmission.

Reed is still reeling from being caught in the helmet when Iron Man attacked. So Suzi Endo puts it on, despite the inherent dangers Richards had warned her about. The light show is broadcast again, with Suzi's message to calm down superimposed over it. And this time New York really is saved.

But Tony Stark's brain is still occupied by Palmer Addley. Iron Man has been operating with his mask open (which is how he got infected last issue). Rhodey signals for Mr Fantastic to sneak a hand round and close the faceplate. Even though this cuts him off from the light transmission.

Jim then uses info given him by Tony as a safeguard for situations like this. He can infiltrate the Iron Man armour. Once inside he calls on the buried Stark to fight back, and throw Addley out of his mind. Which of course he does.

Then the 2 Iron Men head out to save the rest of America, and then purge the rest of the world of the Palmer Addley Infection.


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Barberoids 1 cover original artwork on ebay

Mirco Pierfederici
Ariel Olivetti
Andy Troy
Salvador Larroca (Cover Penciler)
Salvador Larroca (Cover Inker)
Frank D'Armata (Cover Colorist)
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos.
Editor: Alejandro Arbona.

Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Invisible Woman
Invisible Woman

(Sue Storm)
Iron Man
Iron Man

(Tony Stark)
Mr. Fantastic
Mr. Fantastic

(Reed Richards)
War Machine
War Machine

(James Rhodes)

Plus: Suzi Endo.

> Iron Man 2.0: Book info and issue index

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