[Continuing my issue-by-issue look at Iron Man: The Inevitable.]
Goddamn, Frazer Irving owns this comic. Dr. Maggie Dillon makes her first contact with the Living Laser via a weird technological energy telepathy connection machine and it just gives Irving a chance to draw these expansive, strange, surreal landscapes in pink neon glow. Dr. Dillon also has an odd look that pays off wonderfully when she wakes up in the hospital after it all goes wrong. Plus, there's the Ghost vs. Iron Man. Action! Excitement! Corporate espionage!
The Ghost is recruited by the new Spymaster to steal the Living Laser from Stark. What I love is how the Spymaster doesn't pay the Ghost anything. Instead, he pontificates on the brotherhood of villainy, the role of villains, what a hypocrite Stark is, and, yet, he also represents everything the Ghost hates. What's the difference between Tony Stark and Sinclair Abbott? Every time we see Abbott, he's hosting some charity fundraiser, spending his massive wealth, and schmoozing. The Ghost is an anti-capitalist anarchist that wants to tear the system down and he's manipulated by another rich prick. Abbott doesn't fall directly into the Spymaster tradition as he himself admits in a way, telling us of the previous Spymasters. But, he does fit into the tradition of Iron Man villains as fellow businessmen, reflections of Tony Stark. In some ways, pre-'enlightened' Stark.
Dr. Dillon's attempt to communicate with the Living Laser begins her obsession with it. It nearly kills her and she won't back down. She specialises in superhuman psychology and seems bitten by the same bug as many superheroes: her first contact with something big and wondrous leaves her wanting more. She goes from reluctant to take the job, unsure of the point, and if she can even accomplish what Stark wants to a raging fury at the idea that she won't be allowed to continue. She's a poser and she'll pay the price.
The issue ends with the Ghost raiding the Stark facility and fighting against a robotic Iron Man, defeating it. The message is clear: only Tony Stark is the real thing, the only thing that can measure up.
In 30 minutes, Tony Stark gets an offer most men wouldn't refuse.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative! (Details in this post.) After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
Exceptional X-Men #4 annotations
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