Tony Stark: The Invincible Iron Man Appreciation 2023

[Frontier]

I like them as well, but only at their Silver Age/Knaufs levels.



Here's an example of what I mean: the Mandarin creates some illusions, and the illusions are juuuuust powerful enough to let him get in a cheapshot with his superhuman martial arts abilities while Iron Man doesn't know which Mandarin to dodge. That's so much cooler than if he had overwhelmed Iron Man with Xavier-level psionics, or wrapped the world in a psionic illusion. The rings are cool when they are low-powered tools with just enough OOMPH to COMPLIMENT his personal abilities without rendering his personal abilities SUPERFLUOUS.

In the case of the above, the Mandarin comes across as a next-level version of a ninja, and the rings as next-level versions of a ninja's smoke-bombs and throwing dirt in the other guy's eyes. That's really cool. Mandarin as a Ninja-Lord with a Ninja-Lord's next level tools.

Whereas if you retcon the rings to be cosmic, you destroy all that. The rings no longer compliment his personal abilities, but instead replace them. He ceases to be this brilliant genius schemer with superhuman ninja-lord skills and next level ninja-tools, and becomes this boring Herald of Galactus type. The kind of character who has no scheme, because he is so straight-forwardly powerful that no schemes are needed. Cosmic rings destroys him as a schemer and a martial artist, and it is the fact that he is a schemer and martial artist that makes him interesting.

I feel like it can be a mix of both and not dependent on being cosmic, but that's just me.

[Tony Stark]

I feel like it can be a mix of both and not dependent on being cosmic, but that's just me.

I think it could be a bit off both as well. Although I think the way the Knaufs used them were the best I’ve read.

[MichaelC]

What do you mean by "a bit of both"?

[Frontier]

What do you mean by "a bit of both"?

The rings can have a cosmic origin and diverse powerset but Mandarin can still be physically capable.

[MichaelC]

Diverse is fine, it's the raw power that becomes a problem past a certain level.

For example, there's a story where Tem Borjigin schemes to get a bio-weapon aboard the helicarier that acts like a cross between the Re-Animator's potion and the Zerg, consuming all life aboard the ship. It was a cool, and disturbing scene that displayed the Mandarin's cunning, sneakiness, and knowledge of science.

Had the rings been written as cosmically powerful in that story, he would have simply floated to the ship and blasted it out of the sky. That would have been incredibly boring and a betrayal of the traits one wants to see from The Mandarin.

The Mandarin is Devious, Savage, and Exploitative. When the rings are written at moderate levels, they compliment these traits. When the rings are written as cosmically powerful, they replace these traits, and he becomes just some forgettable Herald of Galactus type.

If the rings are so powerful that Mandarin can't be Devious, because he can wave his hand and achieve better results than any amount of scheming would accomplish, then the rings have become too powerful.

If the rings are so powerful that Mandarin can't be Savage, because he can wave his hand and achieve far better results than even the most chi-amped of martial arts abilities, then the rings have become too powerful.

If the rings are so powerful that Mandarin can't be Exploitative, because he can wave his hand and achieve far better results than any amount of resource-stealing, and enslavement of scientists and laborers could ever accomplish, then the rings have become too powerful.

As I said, diverse is fine. I liked that Mandarin used a weak illusion, and combined it with skillful devious manipulation, to get Maya Hanson to reveal her Extremis secrets. That's an awesome example of the rings being used in a way that compliments his personal abilities without rendering them superfluous. I would have hated it if the rings had been written so powerful that he could have simply brute-forced those secrets out of her with Xavier-level psionics.

I like when Mandarin does something like, say, trapping Iron Man's feet with the freeze-ray or matter-rearranger ring, and then follows it with his chi-amped martial arts attacks while Iron Man is immobalized. Those are great examples of the rings being written in a way that compliments his personal abilities without rendering them superfluous. I hate it when, for example, the matter-rearanger ring is written as so powerful it can bring a multibillion ton mountain to life and have it fight Iron Man while Mandarin just stands there. That's rendering his personal abilities superfluous. That's making the rings the star. Any idiot can wave their hand at a mountain.

[Frontier]

Still a banger:

[Tony Stark]

Still a banger:

I really enjoyed Armored Adventures. They did so many things right. I still bring out my Seasons 1 and 2 to remember how well done a show it was. When it first aired I thought the animation was stupendous and haven’t seen much like it since.

[K7P5V]

I really enjoyed Armored Adventures. They did so many things right. I still bring out my Seasons 1 and 2 to remember how well done a show it was. When it first aired I thought the animation was stupendous and haven’t seen much like it since.

Indeed. The majority might not agree, but I still dig their take on The Mandarin

[Frontier]

Indeed. The majority might not agree, but I still dig their take on The Mandarin

I think they had a really cool take on Mandarin too.

Heck, by the time the show ended Team Iron Man couldn't even beat him outside alien interference .

[Huntsman Spider]

Still a banger:

Hells, yeah.

I really enjoyed Armored Adventures. They did so many things right. I still bring out my Seasons 1 and 2 to remember how well done a show it was. When it first aired I thought the animation was stupendous and haven’t seen much like it since.

Same here. I should rewatch it at some point now that it's available on Disney+ and all.

Indeed. The majority might not agree, but I still dig their take on The Mandarin

Oh, yes. The best take on the Mandarin, bar none.

[SteelOsnick11]

https://www.reddit.com/r/marvelstudi...on_hour_style/ - created a montage around Iron Man 2 as if it were an episode of Marvel Action Hour, primarily Iron Man TAS - Season 1. Enjoy!

[Tony Stark]

New Iron Man Hall of Armor with threezero's Mark 7 DLX figurine.
https://bleedingcool.com/collectible...-7-dlx-figure/

[Huntsman Spider]

https://www.reddit.com/r/marvelstudi...on_hour_style/ - created a montage around Iron Man 2 as if it were an episode of Marvel Action Hour, primarily Iron Man TAS - Season 1. Enjoy!

While I'm more of a fan of Season 2, this is still pretty cool. Thanks for sharing.

New Iron Man Hall of Armor with threezero's Mark & DLX figurine.
https://bleedingcool.com/collectible...-7-dlx-figure/

Nice.

[K7P5V]

While I'm more of a fan of Season 2, this is still pretty cool. Thanks for sharing.



Nice.

I know, right?! Season Two has yet to be surpassed (IMHO):

[MichaelC]

Iron Man issue #2 review

spoilers:

Stark seems to think that Zhong Wei having a large block of Stark Unlimited stock makes it immune to takeover, but that really wouldn't stop a bearhug. Perhaps Feilong is too impatient for a bearhug? He certainly has the money for one, but you've gotta wait for the the betrayal of fiduciary responsibility lawsuits to start flowing in for that to work. The poison both made Stark appear drunk, and caused him heart problems. If Stark weren't in a genetically modified new body I can't help but suspect it would have killed him. It's a really vicious way to attack him: give him a poison that makes him appear drunk, then causes a fatal heart attack. It's a way of laughing at both of Stark's older weaknesses while you kill him. There's a giddy cruelty to it. It gives me a queasy feeling thinking about it. I like it. It seems like some lookalike framed Stark for kidnapping Living Laser and experimenting on him. So again we have mockery, this time of Stark's mad scientist tendencies, here exaggerated into outright villainy. Stark's often had mad scientist tendencies, but always in the service of fighting death. Here that tendency is exaggerated into Mengele behaviors. Yeah, the villain, most likely Feilong, is mocking everything about Stark: his alcoholism, his heart problems, his mad scientist tendencies. Like Morgoth turning elves into orcs, he's making Stark into a caricature of himself. What's left to mock? Stark's seeming immunity to grief, and Stark's fractious relationship with his "friends". That probably comes next.

end of spoilers