I can hardly wait for the next issue. Read Full Review

Iron Man has never been at the top of the Marvel NOW heap. But with the improvements that have already been made with this prologue issue, there's a good chance that might change in the coming months. Read Full Review

A great jumping on point that perfectly marries the past and the present, The Secret Origin of Tony Stark already feels like it could be the crown jewel in Gillen's run. With some excellent banter between Tony and Death's Head, a visual upgrade courtesy of Dale Eaglesham and an intriguing does of mystery, Iron Man may yet have earned a reason to make it back onto your Pull List. Read Full Review

I gotta say. I'm preferring Dale Eaglesham's art over Greg Land's. There's more expressiveness. When it comes to Tony, anyways. I got a good feel of what Hope's Pustule is like in three panels which is a testament to Eaglesham's attention to detail. The only thing I found weird was Death's Head fluctuating height. He seems way taller than he was drawn in the last two issues. Read Full Review

This arc promises a change or two, so it's worth reading. It's not the most new reader friendly, but I think it could still work. Read Full Review

Or perhaps they're already looking ahead to the Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Read Full Review

While I'm enjoying it 'so far' this is either going to be an absolutely fantastic storyline or turn me off the Iron Man franchise until they retcon or forget that it ever happened. Read Full Review

We’re 2 days away from Iron Man 3 and while the character in the movies seems to be going forward, the character from the comic is going backwards. It’s not a complaint, but merely an observation. Read Full Review

Unlike Bendis, Gillen knows how to make a set-up issue fun, from the witty repartee between the two main characters to the big reveal at the end of the issue, which feels far more substantial than Marvel's big event comics that lean on decompressed storytelling. Gillen could stand to get more comfortable with action and build-ups, but there's no denying he knows how to draw readers into his stories with his deft characterization and knack for fun dialogue, and as a result, "The Secret Origin of Tony Stark" might be the real Iron Man blockbuster to beat this year. Read Full Review

Iron Man #9 is mostly set-up, with a cute bad-merc story as its basis. The real verdict will have to come when we know what Howard's revelation is really going to be. The preview looks interesting" Read Full Review

Honestly, this issue is 3 stars for most of he ride, but it hits a strong twist and the events which follow warrants a boost to 4 stars from me. A lot is now weighing on the next issue. Will it be a brilliant twist or a disaster that'll outrage Stark fans? Only time will tell, but for now, this is a good jumping on point for the crowd that gave up on this book. It's worth noting the last story won me over with its intro but went downhill with its final act. So, let's hope history doesn't repeat itself! Read Full Review

One thing to point out is that most readers would go into this book expecting the story of Tony's “secret origins”, yet this all instead lead up to it starting at the very end. Though it was an interesting twist to see that 451 actually knew Tony's father and has some connection to him through a plan that took a long time to execute. Read Full Review

The latest issue of “Iron Man” stands at an interesting precipice. It is not part of the last arc, yet it serves as an epilogue; it is not part of the new arc, yet it serves as a prologue. This is the type of issue that would supposedly do well for new readers, yet also lightly insinuates that the reader should have some of previous events before entering. In spite of it all, though, it's a rather solid issue of “Iron Man”, and with Dale Eaglesham on art you can easily expect great things to come. Read Full Review

As for the "Secret Origin of Tony Stark?" Well, you don't get any of that until the last few pages. But Kieron Gillen, master of the unexpected, sets that up with a clever reveal that will bring you back for the next issue. As usual, I'll avoid spoilers, but let's just say that Howard Stark shows up...with some unusual company. Marvel has been promising that this arc will "rock the character to his core" and if that last page is any indication, they aren't just blowing smoke. Read Full Review

Although this series doesn't seem to have changed much since I dropped it, the set-up for the Secret Origin of Tony Stark story was very interesting, and although I'd have liked more of it, it was probably the right thing to give less. Besides this however the issue was very slow, and dull, with some good humour, and some terrible humour, and if it wasn't for the ending I wouldn't be optimistic for this storyline. I'd only recommend this to anyone that's either already getting this series, or likes are like me, and likes to get prologues to stories, as besides that it's better just to wait till the proper start in next issue, which I'm hoping will be amazing. Read Full Review

Kieron Gillen gets a couple of decent lines out of Tony ("Hush, P.E.P.P.E.R. Making my own mistakes now," as well as a line about robot racism), but there's so much focus on Tony's determination to bring in genocidal robot 451 that Gillen doesn't actually sell us on why it's so personal. Read Full Review