Invincible Iron Man #16: Review

Mar 2024

Gerry Duggan, Creees Lee

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Invincible Iron Man #16 Review by Rob Johnson (March 22, 2024)

This Fall Of The House Of X issue continues to have a voiceover by Tony Stark describing the events as in the past. This rather undermines the contention that he didn't know whether he'd survive the battle or not. This also all part of the conceit that this whole series is part of his autobiography.

This is what Stan Lee used to call a 'big battle' issue, which is why my synopsis is short. But it does what it set out to do.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #16 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

It's time for Iron Man and the mutants to fight back against Feilong and Orchis in 1 do-or-die combined assault. Last issue Tony Stark and his 'wife' Emma Frost split up. As Emma went to rejoin the X-Men fighting Orchis, Tony headed for the Australian outback in his new mysterium-based Mark 72 armour, luring all Feilong's Iron Sentinels there. IM rendezvoused with the 5 mysterium-based 'spaceships' that Ironheart and Forge had created but they turned Transformer and combined into a giant IM armour, dwarfing the 30-foot Sentinels, called the Mark 73 Sentinel Buster with IM inside as pilot.

Now the battle commences with the Sentinel Buster destroying Sentinels with giant fists and an array of weapons. The Sentinels, based on Stark's own designs, are proof against any attacks except brute force. In mid-fight Feilong himself turns up in his War Machine Sentinel. Tony knew his ego wouldn't let him stay away. But as the battle continued Stark realised that he'd underestimated just how many Sentinels there were and he knew he'd wouldn't be able to destroy them all before the Mark 73 ran out of power. Covered in a swarm of Sentinels like ants he slams the Buster into the ground.

Then he leaves it to fight on in auto-pilot and taunts Feilong to meet the Mark 72 1-on-1. The War Machine's weapons prove extremely powerful, and only the mysterium armour allows Iron Man to survive. The Buster grabs armoured Feilong but he smashes a fist into its chest as Stark re-enters it to take control. The Sentinel Buster seizes up and falls over with half the Iron Sentinels still active.

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