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'Generations: Iron Man And Ironheart #1' Review: Awful And Utterly Bewildering

Published Thu, 24 Aug 2017 13:05:05 -0500

The Drill writes for Bleeding Cool:

Generations: The Iron with Tony Stark and Riri Williams is one of the worst superhero comics I've ever read. It takes some of the most egregious Bendis writing habits and runs wild with them. 30 painful pages filled with mismatched art from three pencilers, four inkers, and three colorists. It's so clear that this was a last-minute production with little to no editorial oversight — no one at the wheel.

The other Generations issues have been uneven, but the basic idea of "hero meets past version of same hero" creates a natural bond between them and a sense of nostalgia. But not this time. Even though the cover and pile of variants show classic Iron Man with Riri — that never happens. Instead, Riri is flung into an alternate future where Tony Stark is a 126-year-old Sorcerer Supreme and he's surrounded by the children of famous Marvel heroes. Tony brags about how great the future is and Riri gets inspired to do stuff when she goes back.

That's it. That's the whole thing. 30 pages. Talky and preachy without going anywhere. Tony plays show and tell presenting the future and how innovative it is while Riri passively follows him around and does nothing. The children of Marvel characters are trotted out and they compliment Riri for things she hasn't done yet, puffing up her ego and giving her knowledge of the future she shouldn't have.

We never see any regular people in Tony's future overlord world. They don't matter at all. It's all superhero kids and alien buildings without any action or emotional stakes. The tiny whiff of a conflict shows up when Morgan LeFay appears but she's dispatched on the next page by Tony with as much difficulty as making a piece of toast. It's awful and utterly bewildering.

Making the thing worse are mindbusting panel layouts. Each penciler has some good work here and there, but none get to shine as they try to match Marco Rudy's trippy look. It's clear he ran out of time and a brigade of other artists were called in to bale water and finish the book. Maybe the script was late, maybe the art dragged out but the result is painful. Riri does nothing other than arrive in the future because of the cosmic cube. Everyone talks at her and she stands or floats around. Crazy page layouts do not make it exciting, and at times make it hard to read or recognize where we are and what is happening.

Unfortunately, Generations: The Iron is a waste of time, talent, and money. Spend yours elsewhere.

GENERATIONS IRON MAN & IRONHEART #1
(W) Brian Michael Bendis (A) Marco Rudy (CA) Skan
• Riri Williams is given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet Tony Stark…Sorcerer Supreme!
• Join Ironheart as she discovers things about the Iron Man legacy that will change her forever.
• IRON MAN writer and Riri co-creator Bendis teams up with the award-winning multimedia artist Marco Rudy to give you a beautiful, unique look at the first step into a new era of Iron Man!
Rated T+
In Shops: Sep 06, 2017
SRP: $4.99

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