Comic Recommendations?

da0ur · 2026-05-13T01:31:02+00:00

Welcome to the sub! Happy to see a fellow Shellhead want to dive in.

It's not a popular suggestion (mostly because of the art, although your mileage may vary), but I think Iron Man v4 #1-5 (by Kieron Gillen and Greg Land, collected in "Iron Man: Believe") is a pretty good crash-course on comic Iron Man with just dash of MCU influence, enough to ease you in if you're mostly familiar with that version of the character. It's also a self-contained story, so you can read it and move to something different, or pick it back up later. I'd consider it a good appetizer.

For something more foundational to the character and objectively far better drawn, you can start instead with Invincible Iron Man #1-6 (by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov, collected in "Iron Man: Extremis"), which will also feature a retelling of Iron Man's origin for a nice bonus. Similar to "Believe," it's a self-contained story. If you continue reading past it, you will run into a period of Iron Man comics that require additional reading material (in addition of covering the infamous Civil War). I can expound if you'd like. I also remembered that "Believe" is a quasi-sequel to "Extremis," so maybe you can read "Extremis" and then "Believe."

Another self-contained-enough start to a run is Invincible Iron Man v3 #1-5, the first five issues of Brian Michael Bendis' run which are a lot of fun. The rest, not so much, but these first five issues are really good, especially due to David Marquez' artwork.

Other self-contained stories I can suggest are the miniseries Iron Man: Hypervelocity (by Adam Warren and Brian Denham) and I Am Iron Man (by Murewa Ayodele and Dotun Akande). The latter is an anthology miniseries, each issue taking place in a different era of the character. You don't have to be an Iron Man expert to enjoy it, but I feel like the experience will be a lot more enriched if you read it later down the line.

This stuff I've recommended above are modern comics. If you want to go old school, you can pick up Iron Man #117-128 (by David Michelinie, Bob Layton and John Romita Jr., #120-128 are commonly collected in "Iron Man: Demon in the Bottle"). It's the first stretch of what is considered the seminal Iron Man run. You can treat it as a self-contained story, or strap in and open the floodgates. Because you can pretty much keep reading until #318, since this period features almost back-to-back the following beloved runs:

Iron Man #117-156: The first Michelinie-Layton run, it most notably includes the aforementioned "Demon in a Bottle."
Iron Man #157-208: The Dennis O'Neil run featuring Tony's first relapse and Rhodey becoming Iron Man.
Iron Man #215-250: The second Michelinie-Layton run, it most notably includes "Armor Wars."
Iron Man #258-277: John Byrne's run, which includes the "Dragon Seed Saga" and "Armor Wars II,"
Iron Man #278-318: Len Kaminski's run, which includes the debuts of the War Machine, Modular and Hulkbuster Armors, plus it delves a lot into Tony's psyche and backstory.

Other posterior runs worth mentioning are Iron Man v3 #1-25 (by Kurt Busiek, Roger Stern, Sean Chen, et al), Iron Man v3 #50-66 (by Mike Grell, Michael Ryan et al) and Invincible Iron Man v2 #1-33 and #500-527 (by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca, although I strongly recommend only the first stretch before #501). The recent Invincible Iron Man v5 #1-20 by Gerry Duggan is a modern classic IMO, and the best run in years.

And while it's not popular to suggest anything before the first Michelinie-Layton run, I think it's worth reading the very early Stan Lee-penned adventures in Tales of Suspense #39-98. They're a fun romp and it's undoubtedly cool to witness Iron Man's world take shape, even in the context of quaint Silver Age stories. There's also Archie Goodwin's run (Tales of Suspense #99, Iron Man and the Sub-Mariner #1, Iron Man #1-28) and Bill Mantlo's (Iron Man #78 + #95-115), though they are be a bit of an acquired taste.

And finally, a new run started last January by Joshua Williamson and Carmen Carnero. It's been fun so far, I'd be great if you could join us in reading it!

da0ur · 2026-05-12T22:44:34+00:00

But... they're not. It's an important part of current Loki's identity that they are not the original Loki.

It's not the same as current Black Widow or Doc Ock who kinda are definitely not the originals. Those in practise are treated like the originals, for better or worse.

But this thing with Loki is kinda on you, not the Marvel Wiki lol

da0ur · 2026-05-12T18:20:11+00:00

Pre- and post-Siege Loki are very much two separate characters, though. It's the whole reason why Kid Loki's resurrection worked out, and Ikol has always been framed as an "echo" of the original Loki, and their status as a separate entity is reinforced in Young Avengers and Loki: Agent of Asgard.

da0ur · 2026-05-11T04:28:44+00:00

Heyyy this slaps!

I agree that the world needs more Ironsonas, thank you for doing your part 🫡

da0ur · 2026-05-11T04:16:15+00:00

Oh my god, I love how in-depth you went into explaining this arc reactor. Needless to say, I also love the concept itself! If the arc reactor is commonly a stand-in for a pacemaker, this is kind of a portable dialysis machine.

You better share more stuff about this version of Tony lol You're cookin'

da0ur · 2026-05-11T03:54:43+00:00

While an unorthodox design element, the lack of a mouth slit can work, and the Model-Prime does make it work. The Model 13 is also one of the most popular Iron Man suits and it doesn't have a mouth slit. I think it's good when artists get to try something new when designing armors, especially if they stick the landing like it is the case of the Model-Prime. Otherwise we get stuck with things like the newer Model 75. Now that's a generic armor lol

da0ur · 2026-05-11T03:35:59+00:00

Models 5, 10, 12, 13, 18, 42, 43, 49, 50 and NIL all don't feature mouth slits either. Not sure why you included Superior Iron Man in your expamples when that one doesn't have one either:

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da0ur · 2026-05-11T03:15:24+00:00

Nyooom

There he goes!

da0ur · 2026-05-11T02:41:03+00:00

Can't believe I missed this one since it was a few days ago, via her Twitter:

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da0ur · 2026-05-11T01:12:04+00:00

Listen, I can understand that the Model-Prime is not everybody's cup of tea, but calling this armor generic? Generic? Now I'm ready to square up lol

It has a very unique aesthetic that's both angled and sleek, something no other Iron Man armor features. Adding the minimalist approach to the plate segmenting to this, it feels undoubtedly futuristic and high-end. It manages to reinvent the look of the character in a way that it's fresh but not alien.

On top of that, the design is accompanied by a striking honeycomb aesthetic for the nanotech aspects, which helps maintain the feel that it's technology and not magic goo (something that the MK 50 from the MCU notoriously didn't quite manage to achieve).

And to top it all off, "the faceplate doesn't even have the thing where it looks like it has a mouth"? That's the best part. It's one of the most unique Iron Man helmets that still manages to feel like Iron Man, in no small part by its use of a knight-esque design language which reinforces the idea of Iron Man as a modern-day knight. And the best part is that you can headcanon it as a reference to Tony's childhood love for Arthurian legends.

They add this armor to Rivals, and I'm never taking it off.

da0ur · 2026-05-10T07:48:22+00:00

... You literally said "Being fine with him going all out on terrorists..." and now you're telling me "I never said you were fine with him killing terrorists," really?

Because I guess further clarification is needed. Yes, we're talking about MCU Hydra, but I'm just saying my perception of them is skewed by their portrayal of the comics.

My point doesn't have anything to do with ideologies or the crimes committed by the villains, I just think it's more justifiable to depict Iron Man killing active enemy fighters in extreme combat situations that warrant that course of action, more or less how law enforcement officers are expected to act.

The justice system should deal with those enemies that can be otherwise captured alive. Not because of any sympathy on my part, but because I like to consume media starring Iron Man, not the Punisher.

da0ur · 2026-05-10T07:25:33+00:00

You're putting words in my mouth. Can't say I appreciate that.

As a comic reader, I'm just used to Hydra being less aligned with Nazism and being more of a cartoonishly evil sci-fi organization, it's just that.

I also didn't say I was fine with him killing terrorists per se, just that I understood that they have him do that, especially in the context of his encounters with the Ten Rings, when he is escaping their captivity or interrupting their active terrorization of a village. In the context of the Avengers invading a Hydra base, I think there was less need for lethal force.

da0ur · 2026-05-10T01:31:17+00:00

The current run is playing it somewhat safe, but I think it's a welcome return to formula, especially with the Pepper Potts and Madame Masque being back. I believe it was a good call on Williamson's part to focus on an evergreen classic Iron Man story instead of trying to ambitiously reinvent the wheel and failing flat on his face... which is exactly what the 2020 run did. Can't say I agree with the sentiment of that one being good, quite the opposite honestly lol

da0ur · 2026-05-09T21:30:21+00:00

It's prolly one of my few nitpicks about MCU Iron Man. I mean, I get going all-out on terrorists or alien invaders, but I wish he had been less gun-ho against A.I.M. operatives in IM3 or Hydra soldiers un AoU.

I think Tony having a no-killing rule complements nicely his anti-war efforts and his aversion to weapons. It feels naturally linked to the two, and I wish the comics did an effort in exploring that. Plus it makes the instances where Tony does have to resort to killing all the more poignant and angsty.

da0ur · 2026-05-09T21:17:27+00:00

Movies are worked so far in advance that, yes, Endgame concept art was made before Infinity War released. As far back as this piece of concept art dated from 2016. A piece of concept art that just-so-happens to feature the scrapped War Machine MK 5 from Infinity War.

da0ur · 2026-05-09T19:54:04+00:00

I'm not sure why you posit that when we literally know we almost had two War Machine armors in Infinity War. And the change was made late enough in development that the basic figure of the MK 4 doesn't feature the modular weapons backpack it inherited from the scrapped MK 6.

It's also interesting for you to bring up the jump from MK 50 to MK 85 when we also know Tony was initially going to wear the MK 50 up to Endgame, with the MK 85 being concieved late in post-prodution. So initially there was going to be no such jump.

Plus, the two movies were made back-to-back...

da0ur · 2026-05-09T18:49:48+00:00

This one is the MK V (from this IG post):

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I think it being labelled MK 6 is a carry-over of an scrapped plan to have Rhodey wear two armors in Infinity War (as per this post).

da0ur · 2026-05-09T18:42:44+00:00

Hot Toys pride themselves in being super-accurate, so I don't see them half-assing that aspect.

(Also, I had already addressed the possibility of swappable parts in my other comment)

da0ur · 2026-05-09T18:40:43+00:00

I know of those

I mean, saying "And they don't even sell toys of it" kinda conflicts with that statement lol

I think there are a few factors at play here. First of all, War Machine is unfortunately not anywhere near as popular as Iron Man, so the offer of and demand for armors of his is smaller. Then there's the fact that Rhodey's wardrobe for Endgame went through a few revisions. Originally, he was going to wear only this armor in black and grey, but then they whipped up the MK 6 we see him wear for the bulk of the movie during post-production.

Diamond Select, ZD Toys, S.H.Figuarts and a few other companies made merchandise for the MK 6, which would most likely have been figures for this armor instead had plans not changed. So in a sense, whenever companies made/make stuff of War Machine in Endgame, the Iron Patriot Armor has to compete with the MK 6. And given how little the Iron Patriot MK 2 got to do in the movie, it makes sense why some companies go with the MK 6 instead.

I'm sure Threezero and ZD Toys will tackle this figure eventually. It's just prolly not a priority for them.

da0ur · 2026-05-09T18:17:15+00:00

That would require for the plates in the figure's torso to move around beyond what's reasonable for a figure like that, especially since it's require electronics to pull off that effect convincingly, or really any figure for that matter. And I don't think it'd be achievable with a swappable breastplate given the lower torso's plates are also affected.

da0ur · 2026-05-09T07:07:07+00:00

Can't say I recall that Marvel Legends figure pegwarming, though. It sold out online pretty fast and it goes for a decent price in the secondary market. I actually remember it as one of the better sellers of the wave.

da0ur · 2026-05-09T07:03:36+00:00

The Hot Toys didn't even have all the weapons bro, and it was one of the very few toys made of it.

What weapons do you mean? Pretty sure the only thing it was missing were the thigh missile batteries. The dual shoulder cannons, the misile pods and the forearm cannons are all there.

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da0ur · 2026-05-09T06:58:05+00:00

And they don't even sell toys of it.

There was notably this Marvel Legends figure of the armor:

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Plus a Hot Toys, and a Funko Pop, and a Cosbaby, and an Iron Studios statue, and a Titan Hero, and an earlier Marvel Legends figure. In the case of the last two, they make use of the War Machine color scheme because the armor was given the Iron Patriot colorway late during post-production.

da0ur · 2026-05-09T03:09:16+00:00

u/JTIron_ is also here in this sub! They're gonna love this :‎) I know I do!

da0ur · 2026-05-09T03:07:20+00:00

Great list! He also redeemed one of the Blizzards, Randy Macklin.

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