What I see here is Tony wanting to step back from his role as Iron Man and soon being forced to fall back into it full time to stop the new Mandarin threat. It's an interesting new direction for the character though I'm not sure how it'll fair when stacking up against Tony in whatever Avengers title that he's currently in. This is a great issue that is leading into the next story arc and as just the right tone for a proper introduction. Read Full Review

IRON MAN #18 is an exciting and intriguing start to a brand new arc, one that looks to continue to question what Tony Stark's role should be–whether he wants to be questioned or not. Gillen has shown time and time again that he gets Stark, and knowing that this arc will truly challenge Tony's ego and visionary label proves to be an exciting prospect as we consider Iron Man and Stark's role in the future of the Marvel Universe. Read Full Review

This was an excellent start of a new chapter in the lives of Tony and Arno Stark. Seeing that there is a legitimate focus for the world and seeing a glimpse of what could possibly be the future of Earth if they succeed without the failure the simulation predicted. If you are not following this story then this is a good time to see something new from Tony. Read Full Review

Ultimately, IRON MAN #18 is pure build-up for Gillen's next big Stark story. It does a more than thorough job laying out the basics of what Arno and Stark hope to accomplish while still teasing us with a more immediate thereat. It's somewhat disappointing there isn't more bonding between the two, but that will likely change once the story gets moving. It's a promising start and will likely be a better read in a collected edition, but for now, it is absolutely an ideal jumping on spot for potential new readers. Read Full Review

This story has promise. I'm sure this is what Gillen wanted to get to when he made the changes last issue. If he can deliver on this storyline, then those changes that he made may have been well worth it. I've gone from disappointed to intrigued. Read Full Review

After a shaky, but entertaining first year on the title it seems that Kieron Gillen is finally fully committing to the superhero sci-fi aspects of the title and we are it seems, just based on the ideas presented to us in this fast paced and ambitious issue that builds, quite exponentially on the already wildly idea heavy arcs before it, constantly shifting what we thought we knew about the world of Tony Stark, while moving us, as readers, forward on a bullet train of super science and unconventional superhero storytelling. This is Gillen given the keys to a kingdom and running wild, just like he did during Uncanny X-Men. He once described his writing for Marvel as "taking an established character or team and keeping it afloat in the best way possible, while maintaining my voice." Now, with Iron Man, Gillen has completely made imbued the world of Iron Man with his distinct stamp and set the title to flying once again. Read Full Review

This issue was a nice slow exploration of Tony and Arno's relationship and their plan for the future. Sci-fi fans will see a lot of cool ideas and art to match it. Even though not too much happens in the issue itself the ending does introduce some conflict in the Stark brother's future, and I can't wait for that story to start. All in all that was a very enjoyable issue but I feel like the real fun is on the way. Read Full Review

Joe Bennett takes over as artist with this storyline. His style, coupled with Scott Hanna's inks, results in something pretty similar to what we saw in the latter issues of "Secret Origin." The look is decent enough, but Bennett doesn't bring the tech elements to life as well as he might. That, coupled with a repetitive series of widescreen panels interspersed with splash pages contributes to a slightly dull look for what should be a more visually bedazzling story. Read Full Review

The first part of “Iron Metropolitan” looks to be a promising start to an intriguing series. The biggest problem would probably come from the relative decompression of the issue, but it's a comic that would read much better in trade than in floppies. Read Full Review

Not much truly happens here this week. It's more of a set-up issue than anything, but it does give us our first look at Tony and Arno's developing relationship with each other. I found Arno questioning his temperament refreshing. I was doing the same thing last issue, wondering why he's been so cool with being locked away from the world for his whole life. I think it's a great swerve on a situation that would typically breed a supervillain. Although there's a always chance that could be turned on it's head at a moment's notice. So, knock on wood. Read Full Review