Review: Iron Man: Noir #3

The moment you’ve all been waiting for: Iron Man shows up. With how little noir there is in Iron Man: Noir, it would’ve been fun if Scott Snyder completely omitted Iron Man, just to completely screw with everyone’s heads. But yes, that damn suit of iron, or “resilient plate-male”, shows up. Two of them do, actually, and they shoot Nazis. That makes up for the earlier absence, right?

You may know Scott Snyder for writing American Vampire, and if you do, you may think he has an obsession for violently beating his artists until they draw two different styles per issue. Poor Manuel Garcia has to alter his usual style for a flashback between Tony and his father, which is what poor Rafael Albuquerque has to do on every issue of American Vampire.

As I’ve said before, Manuel Garcia pencils this series well, but his inker and colorist are overbearing, often removing the emotions of Garcia’s characters. However, the overbearing colors and inks do make for one interesting look, which is the Iron Man itself. Iron Man appears textural, almost as if it were painted. I doubt this same look would be achieved by Garcia’s pencils alone. The aforementioned flashback style is innocent, with rounder, cartoonish characters. This contrasts nicely with the gritty, pulp-inspired look for the rest of the issue, with Tony struggling as an adult, of course.

Yes, Tony struggles, because Scott Snyder understands him. He knows that his flaws should alienate his friends, and they do. Tony’s also got some daddy issues. But it’s ok because Tony will save the day. Snyder also understands the Marvel universe, putting Iron Man against Nazi villains like Baron Strucker and Zemo, while including special appearances from the likes of Namor, and an especially twisted cameo from Thor.

Ultimately, this series is just supposed to be fun. After all, it ends with Iron Man and War Machine storming a Nazi castle to save Pepper Potts, who’s chained up like a maiden from a Conan comic. That’s good readin’!

Grade: B

-Bruce Castle