The Order #1: Review

This series will feature Pepper Potts in a central role. It's her 1st appearance since the death of husband Happy Hogan during Civil War in Iron Man #14 (but there will be many flashbacks for her in this series that the Marvel Chronology Project put between IM#14 and here). I must say that she appears to have got over the grieving widow stage, though she does mention it at 1 point this issue. It's unclear whether Henry Hellrung is being interviewed for the job of leading the Order or giving a press interview about getting it. Personally I favour the latter. It doesn't sound like he's speaking to either Tony Stark or Pepper Potts, and the Marvel Chronology Project doesn't put either of them behind the scenes in that part of the story. The flashback where Henry introduces Tony at Stark's 1st AA meeting obviously takes place after TS's 2nd bout of alcoholism ending in (original series) Iron Man #182. (The 1st bout ending in #128 didn't seem to lead to the AA). A statement that he's 5 days sober probably ties in with the week he spent in hospital at the end of #182. His slightly tousled look could be equivalent to the dishevelled appearance Tony sported for many issues after #182. However the statement here that he's in LA on business doesn't quite fit. Stark has lost his company, but he and his friends do move to Silicon Valley and set up a small company over #184-186. In that flashback Hellrung says it's his 5th soberversary. That puts is TV career before IM#128 (in real world time and well before it in Marvel time). Which fits with the flashback of Tony's careless drinking. MCP estimate it to be between IM#67 and Power Man #17. There is a problem with the whole Hellrung backstory here. It suggests he played both Iron Man *and* Tony Stark in the TV series. But this should mean that their dual identity was publicly known, which won't happen until many years after IM#182.

This comic says that the (original) Order members have been training for a year, which has to be an exaggeration. The Order were 1 of the 1st Initiative teams created during Civil War, then known as the Champions and with characters using Greek gods as codenames. They featured in CW#6-7 featuring all of the members that begin this issue. Calamity, Maul and Pierce were in #6 (as shown in the background image for the opening text page of this issue), with Heavy mentioned. Calamity missed out in #7, but the other 3 were joined by Avona, Corona and the Bannermen. There is another figure who may be supposed to be Anthem but doesn't look like him. (But then there are differences in some of the other characters, the worst being Avona's skin colour.) (Both issues also have a Hercules figure who isn't seen again, and #6 mentions Aphrodite who never shows up.) The Unofficial Appendix suggests that Bannerman Brown and Green were previously seen in Marvel Boy (2000) #2. There were 3 Bannermen there but only Bannerman White was named, and he died. But the description of what the Bannermen are isn't consistent. #9 will suggest that Mulholland Black's power mallet is the same as Maul's energy mallet. Infernal Man will reappear in #8-10 as part of the ongoing plot involving the 'man in black'. Pierce and the Bannermen won't be seen again. Avona will turn up dead next issue and her body will hang around through to #4. Corona will also return to die in #5. But Maul will play a more significant role later in this series.