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Title: Iron Man: The Armor Trap by Greg Cox ISBN: 1-57297-008-1 Publisher: Boulevard (Mass Market) Pub. Date: July, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.6 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Brilliant Novel
Comment: It would seem that there are a lot of people who have critiqued this book who are hardly worthy to call themselves iron man fans at all. As a man who has been with the Iron Man saga from the late 70's, I must say that Greg Cox did an excellent job with this book. Perhaps if the other people who did reviews were smart enough to understand the technicalities and "jargon", they wouldn't make hopelessly stupid comments about it and realise how important and intriguing the technical knowledge is with these stories. Iron Man is my favorite comic charecter by far, and it is Iron Man's legacy beyond the suit, the man, and his enemies...his very ability to overcome situations and beat the odds, that make this an absolute winner. Many of the ideas put forth for Iron Man came from very real backgrounds of science and mathematics that a lot of people seem to have trouble grasping when they write reviews. So before you listen to the cretons who rated this book poorly, buy it and read it for yourself optimistically. It's a good read, and Greg Cox did an excellent job with the detail as well as with the assignment of charecter to friends and foes.
Rating: 4
Summary: A fun read for ANY comic book fan...
Comment: I'll admit that Iron Man is not my favorite character, but this is still a darn good book. It does a great job of covering all aspects of Tony Stark/Iron Man's career/life including his origin, friends, enemies, and also personal tragedies (i.e. Tony' alcholism, health problems, etc.). It does have a little too much techno-gobleddygook talk for MY TASTES, but that's just me. Also, it tends too focus more on War Machine than on Tony/Iron Man, but War Machine IS cool, I'd just rather have seen him gotten his own book. Anyways, this is good one, enjoy!
Rating: 4
Summary: Not perfect, but an engaging and entertaining novel
Comment: Before I get into reviewing the novel, let me introduce my background. I've been a comics fan for over ten years, and while most of that time was spent collecting X-Men-related books, I've always had a passion for Iron Man.
Unfortunately, the Iron Man title often suffered from relatively lackluster writer/artist combinations, making for poor collectability - but the concept of a modern-day knight in shining armor always intrigued me. And there's just something about having so much sheer technological power and invincibility that appeals to me.
So when I saw The Armor Trap (and its sequel, Operation AIM) in the library a few years ago, I immediately checked it out. I enjoyed it thoroughly, but I never was able to find it again. So I purchased a copy through Amazon, and I re-read it.
Even after a few years, I remembered the plot of the novel enough that it wasn't entirely suspenseful reading. The gist of it is that Tony Stark is captured by a mysterious enemy who pretends to be Madame Masque of the Maggia. "Madame Masque" plays both sides of the fence, demanding that Iron Man steal an energy chip from AIM (which War Machine accomplishes), and forcing Tony to build a suit of armor for her.
The Armor Trap is a novel that lends itself more to conspiracies and intricate plans than all-out brawls, which is precisely the kind of opposition you'd expect for a hero that wears a suit of invincible armor (otherwise, it would get way too easy to beat everyone). Nonetheless, even the heavily armed War Machine has trouble with a massive underwater battle and some one-on-one combat with a dreadnought. At the end, the two team up for another heavy battle.
But while these are Iron Men, they aren't robots. There are people inside, and Greg Cox's real burden is making sure that they remain true to form. And he hoists that burden easily, correctly characterizing everyone from the chivalrous Tony Stark to the hot-headed Jim Rhodes to the harsh Bethany Cabe. The only thing that's out of place is Jim Rhodes' amiable relationship with Tony; in the comics, Rhodes dislikes Stark a great deal, and they never made amends.
And the novel suffers from carelessness in other areas. For one, there seem to be some chronal inconsistencies. Tony is described as being in his early thirties, yet he was captured during the Vietnam War - so when is this novel set? In 1980? And if that age is accurate, how could he have helped to found SHIELD "decades ago"? Furthermore, Cox claims that Hydra was formed a few years before the time of the novel, but it was actually founded during World War II. And there are spatterings of smaller errors, such as when Jim Rhodes notices he has 18 hours until a deadline and then later mentions he has "over a day." To someone who notices details, they stand out glaringly.
But, on the positive side, Cox gives great attention to the armor's details. He subtly mentions its various features, layers, and mechanics without bogging the story down in technical jargon. It's easy to forget what a technological marvel the suit of armor is when you see it over and over again, but Cox restores some of that mystique. Unfortunately, he asks me to suspend my disbelief too far at the end of the novel (basically, the premise is so scientifically implausible that I can't help but laugh at it), but that's not a major problem.
I would say that this novel introduces Iron Man well to new readers, and fans of the comic book will definitely enjoy what is an improvement on the comic. But if you don't like Iron Man and you consider the concept silly, The Armor Trap won't change your mind.
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Title: Countdown to Chaos (Fantastic Four) by Pierce Askegren, Paul Ryan ISBN: 0425163733 Publisher: Boulevard (Mass Market) Pub. Date: June, 1998 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: The Avengers and the Thunderbolts by Pierce Askegren ISBN: 0425166759 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: January, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: Daredevil: The Cutting Edge by Madeleine E. Robins, Max Douglas ISBN: 0425169383 Publisher: Boulevard (Mass Market) Pub. Date: June, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: Fantastic Four: Redemption of the Silver Surfer (Marvel Comics (New York, N.Y.).) by Michael Jan Friedman, George Perez ISBN: 0425164896 Publisher: Boulevard (Mass Market) Pub. Date: April, 1998 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: Spider-Man: Carnage in New York by David Michelinie, Dean Wesley Smith ISBN: 1572970197 Publisher: Boulevard (Mass Market) Pub. Date: August, 1995 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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