Invincible Iron Man #30: Review

Aug 2008

Stuart Moore, Steve Kurth

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With iron hands, part 2 of 4

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Invincible Iron Man #30 Review by Rob Johnson (February 24, 2016)

This issue seems to have 3 art teams. Carlos Pagulayan is here again with inker Jeffrey Huet, and Roberto de la Torre inking himself. I presume that new penciller Steve Kurth teams up with inker Andrew Hennessy as he does in some later comics. My guess is that Pagulayan does the opening flashback, de la Torre takes over for the central section up to where the Overkill Mind sets off to find the helicarrier, and Kurth finishes the issue off with the fight over the nukes and the arrival of the OM.

Tony drinking champagne should put the flashback before his 2nd serious bout of alcoholism starting with #167 of the original series. And his company being Stark Industries would push it even further back to before #73 in the early 70's. If the Kirikhstan banking crisis is connected to the Soviet break-up in 1991 then this is an example of Marvel's past continually moving forward in time.

Iron Man thinks that Paladin works for SHIELD but the mercenary says he had a better offer. Paladin was working for SHIELD in Heroes For Hire during Civil War when he tried to apprehend Captain America amongst other things. But he was working independently in Last Defenders #3-4, even though SHIELD were involved there too.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #30 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

Tony Stark remembers an evening with Nasim Rahimov and his wife, back when he was still drinking (and in control of it). We learn that Stark Industries is financing Rahimov's weapons research while his personal fortune is tied up in Kirikhstan's banking crisis. He's developing miniature nuclear bombs with minimal radioactive fallout.

In Kirikhstan in the present day Iron Man and SHIELD are investigating a nuclear detonation with minimal fallout. He replays a recording of another miniature nuclear device that he deactivated last issue. That 1 had 4 tiny lasers hovering around it, that would have neutralised any radiation emitted. Nasim was the terrorist who planted the bombs.

While dodging fire from local Kirikhi forces Stark reports back to Dum-Dum Dugan and Maria Hill on the SHIELD helicarrier. He tells them that when the Soviet Union collapsed a totalitarian government arose in Kirikhstan. Either to get hold of his research or his fortune they imprisoned Nasim and killed his wife. Rahimov was then reported dead also. But now he has reappeared, disfigured and seeking revenge.

Iron Man detects a stockpile of Rahimov's thumbnail nukes, and calls for Team Alpha to help him deal with them.

Meanwhile the mutated and growing Overkill Horn erupts out of the centre of the Pentagon and takes off into the sky. It has become an AI that calls itself the Overkill Mind. Fighter planes attack it but it doesn't fight back. Soldiers have captured Nicolas Weir whose nanites are responsible for its evolution. But it sucks its maker out of their grasp with a vortex beam.

Inside the Overkill Mind Weir discovers that it can't go on the offensive without human authorisation, as Nick had intended. But the Mind physically invades his brain to build the necessary human component into its system. However Weir refuses to comply until the Mind 1st does something for him. The Mind agrees.

The next thing we see is that the OM has reshaped itself to look like a giant brain, complete with a brain stem hanging below it. And the whole thing suddenly jets off in the direction of the helicarrier.

In the helicarrier infirmary Gomez is recovering from his injuries last issue, while Iron Man leads the remaining 3 members of SHIELD's armoured Alpha Team to the nuclear bombs. Colletti goes for the nukes while Carstairs and Farrell drive the guarding mercenaries out to meet the Golden Avenger.

The plan works except the mercenary Paladin is among them with a hologram message from Rahimov. The hologram tells Tony to leave, backed up by a special gun Paladin uses to cripple IM's armour. Stark realises the gun must have been designed using technical info he had allowed Nasim access to when they worked together. As the other mercenaries help Paladin overwhelm Alpha Team.

And up above the Overkill Mind has arrived. It wants permission for its primary function - neutralising offensive weaponry like the helicarrier. But Nick Weir still wants to give Tony Stark a more personal demonstration.

Story #2