IRON MAN: RISE OF TECHNOVORE

Iron Man prepares for battle

IRON MAN: RISE OF TECHNOVORE (2013 direct-to-video animated feature). Director: Hiroshi Hamazaki.

"Next time I see you I'll buy you the best therapist money can buy."

Anthony Stark, aka Iron Man, prepares to launch a "Howard" [named after his father] satellite that will monitor and presumably safeguard activity on earth, but it is destroyed by a "weird kid" in strange armor that employs a technology unfamiliar to Stark. The kid is Ezekiel Stane, son of the late Obediah Stane, an old adversary of Stark's, and he is certifiable. Eventually Stane transforms into a hulking monster that Iron Man has trouble taking out. Guest-stars in this animated feature include Nick Fury of SHIELD, the Punisher, Hawkeye, and the Black Widow, some of whom, in a contrived bit of business, wind up fighting Stark. The movie has a wide range of styles, as well as that annoying anime influence, and the flat direction doesn't help. Stark is very well voiced by Matthew Mercer.

Verdict: Not very memorable. **.