Invincible Iron Man #1

by Ryan.L on November 09, 2016

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Stefano Caselli
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Publisher: Marvel Comics

There has been a lot of controversy over the past several months since this series was announced. The fact that a young African American girl would be taking over for one of the most popular characters in comics was not an idea loved by most.


Some people said that Marvel was pandering to it's audience and that this tactic of adding in more diversity to it's characters was forced. Others loved the idea, and praised Marvel for it's choice. One market that had been severely lacking was that of the young female demographic. Yes we had Captain Marvel, Black Widow, Thor and even Ms Marvel. But comics for decades had not really celebrated strong female characters and with that young female characters so it was about time. 

Controversy or not Riri is finally here. I was excited to pick up this book because I liked the idea of Riri as a character. I was never a fan of Iron Man, and I've never actually read an Iron Man book for that reason. The same was for Spider-Man but when Spider-Gwen was announced my interest was peaked. I decided to give her a try and ended up loving her and her series. Could the same happen here with Riri? Turns out the answer to that question is a little too soon to tell.

This book does a great job of mixing in Riri's past and present to keep you engaged and wanting to find out more about her and how she grew up a super genius. It really brought me back to my childhood. I am just your average guy, but my friend growing up was what you would call somewhat of a genius. he skipped grades in school and was very socially awkward just like Riri.

We also get to see Riri in her Iron suit and out battling her first villain. Things don't go as smoothly as she had hoped they would. I really enjoyed seeing Riri try and figure out what to do on the fly. She is a super genius but that doesn't mean things are always gonna be easy.

The art for this series is what you would expect from a high profile book from Marvel. There seems to be a general look and aesthetic and this book fits right into that. One thing that would have made this book stand out is if like Infamous Iron Man or Spider-Gwen we got an artist that really had a unique style to really set the series apart from everything else on the market currently.

This book overall is a lot of fun and I am looking forward to seeing more. It's though I want to like this book and Riri but I found that some of the things that Brian Michael Bendis gets flack for in his writing style was very apparent in this book. It wasn't enough to turn me off of reading the book, but enough that I did have trouble fully being engaged in the characters.

Also this book is full of Civil War II spoilers. The event had been pushed back so much that the series that were to follow it are now coming out while we are still in the middle of the event. This book like Infamous Iron Man hinted at, pretty much gives away a major part of the ending of Civil War II. 

So Riri Williams is here and I do think this series has the potential to be a great one. It may not have the perfect start but it was still pretty exciting and fun. I recommend picking it up and checking out her first flight. 

 

Our Score:

8/10

A Look Inside