Written by: Gerry Duggan
Art by: Creees Lee, Walden Wong
Colors by: Bryan Valenza
Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover art by: Kael Ngu
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: May 1, 2024
Invincible Iron Man #18 concludes Tony Stark’s fight against Feilong, with a little help from Magneto, before Nimrod shows up to add his two cents.
Is Invincible Iron Man #18 Good?
Corny. The word that immediately comes to mind after reading Invincible Iron Man #18 is “Corny.” Quippy jokes of the MCU Phase 4 level of humor, magical developments that just happen to work out in favor of the heroes, and outdated pop culture references. As strongly as the series started out to take the Hellfire Gala fallout seriously, it’s now devolved into a mid-tier Disney+ show.
When last we left Tony Stark, he grappled with a concussion and subsequent hallucinations before he found Feilong inside the broken husk of the Sentinel Buster (Mark 73 armor, if you’re keeping track). The two fought, but the fight came to a screeching halt when Feilong explained Orchis and all players involved in the destruction of the mutants had been taken over by their A.I. counterparts, including Nimrod. With a world in chaos, Emma sends Magneto to give Tony a hand.
Now, Feilong realizes his plans are scuttled, so he offers to help Tony and Magneto find and destroy all automated Stark Sentinel factories across the globe. Magneto re-powers the Sentinel Buster (???) so the trio can visit each factory conveniently mapped in Feilong’s photographic memory to destroy them. The house cleaning goes well until Nimrod shows up to put a stop to the reluctant trio’s path of destruction. Magneto uses his powers to sic the increasingly mysterious Mysterium on Nimrod to stop the enemy in his tracks.
Meanwhile, Orchis forces pay Rhodey a visit in prison, so James activates the shrunken War Machine armor and breaks out of prison, taking Sandman and Living Laser with him, ripping the clothes off the warden (???) and making a Blind Melon reference that you have to be over 50 and into grunge music to get.
What’s great about Invincible Iron Man #18? You may not understand what Mysterium is, but this issue gives you more insight into what it can do from the perspective of the Master of Magnetism. Plus, Feilong gets put in his place for good (or at least until the X-Men get rebooted this Summer).
What’s not so great about Invincible Iron Man #18? Rhodey’s prison breakout verges on silly to the point of cartoonish. What was the point of ripping the warden’s clothes off? Does anybody remember Blind Melon beyond a blink-and-you-miss-it one-hit wonder? The whole prison escape sequence feels thrown together at the last minute.
In the main conflict, Feilong has somehow devolved from a calculating mastermind to a sheepish C-tier villain. Magneto “powering up” the Sentinel Buster doesn’t make any sense, and Magneto’s personality lacks any of his typical gravitas.
In short, everything about this issue feels off.
How’s the Art? Creees Lee and Walden Wong deliver the goods with plenty of action, energy, and movement. If you ignore the words coming out of everyone’s mouth, you’ll likely enjoy this comic.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Bits and Pieces
Invincible Iron Man #18 forces Feilong to switch sides when the Orchis tables turn in an issue brimming with corny quips, outdated pop culture references, and odd recharacterization of established characters. The art looks great, and things are moving, but this issue feels like everything wrong with the MCU Phase 4.
5.5/10