Iron Age #3: Review

Oct 2011

Louise Simonson, Todd Nauck

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Story Name:

Dazzled

Review & Comments

Rating:

Iron Age #3 Review by T Vernon (August 20, 2021)

Comments: Main series takes place between IRON MAN (2011 series) and IRON MAN (2012 series). From the X-Men’s standpoint, it takes place at the time of X-MEN #134. The friends Tony sees in a vision in the second story are Steve Rogers (not Captain America at this time), Thor, Pepper Potts, James Rhodes, Reed Richards, and Phoenix. This alternate reality was called Earth-81191.

Review: Two stories that are technically one long one, centering on Dazzler as Tony gives her the pep talks he’s been giving everyone else so far and then swapping her out for the main X-Men team so he can encourage Cyclops not to give up. The first tale has the art style of the 1970s for a nice throwback while the second has a gritty 90s feel with the villain dominating the story. The episode has a satisfying feel, at least until the chaotic climax and then everything goes to pieces (literally) and the time machine Tony has been busting his armor to recover is destroyed. Nice cliffhanger for a separate issue to demonstrate that it is possible to get three issue #1’s out of a five-issue miniseries. More on that elsewhere.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Iron Age #3 Synopsis by T Vernon

The young Dazzler, just starting out as both a singer and a mutant comprehending her powers, is being pursued down a New York street by a band of armored hunters. When she is nabbed, she whips out a radio and switches it on to play “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar so she can use her light powers—but the bad guys are wearing visored helmets. But the song also attracts the attention of Iron Man, just arrived in that time searching for the components of Dr. Doom’s time platform, and he comes to her rescue. Then she reveals she has a gig at the Hellfire Club—and that’s where the tracker has revealed the next part Tony’s looking for is residing. So he reveals the truth, that he’s from the future and his unfamiliar armor is weakening him, and that his friend Tony will meet her out front of the Club. Sure enough, Tony Stark shows up, a hereditary member of the Hellfire Club, to escort her inside. They enter and are immediately spotted by Sebastian Shaw and Donald Pierce, who are surprised to see Tony looking so shabby, and also concerned that their attempt to snatch Dazzler outside had failed. Dazzler begins her show while Tony ducks downstairs and dons the armor. Shellhead battles a band of armored guards and makes his way to the armory to find the McGuffin being analyzed and then Pierce arrives to shoot him with an energy-syphon. Dazzler arrives and knocks out Pierce and must generate full sunlight to recharge Iron Man’s armor. They fight the guards, snatch the device and jet off through the ceiling. He takes her home, pays her the money the Club promised her (out of funds recovered from Obadiah Stane in issue #2) and assures her she will be a successful singer and a powerful mutant someday. And suddenly, Sebastian Shaw shoots Iron Man with the energy-syphon and recovers the device….

“Bad Moon Rising”

Writer: Rob Williams. Art: Roberto de la Torre. Colors: Dan Brown. Letters: Jared K. Fletcher.

Tony Stark has a vision of all of his friends, dead in the destruction brought about by Donald Birch, telling him he can’t change the past and it’s all his fault…and then he is awoken by Sebastian Shaw. The depowered Iron Man has so thoughtfully gathered all the components of the time machine Shaw and Pierce were interested in recreating and now he needs Iron Man to activate it. Iron Man does so and then punches Shaw’s lights out and prepares to return to his own time but—the power is cut. Then Wolverine arrives to battle Shaw; the helpless Avenger has just enough power to blast himself through the floor to escape and he bumps into Colossus. The metallic X-Man mistakes Tony for a bad guy but Nightcrawler bamfs him away to save his life. Tony returns to the building and finds Cyclops meeting Jean Gray who is Dark Phoenix; she leaves him but Tony convinces Scott to fight to save her because the past can always be changed. The other X-Men, including Storm, arrive to throw Sebastian Shaw out of a window. Then Iron Man is levitated down to the time machine in the basement by Phoenix—and watches helplessly as she destroys the device….

Story #2