A BRIEF HISTORY OF COMIC BOOK MOVIES

A BRIEF HISTORY OF COMIC BOOK MOVIES. Wheeler Winston Dixon and Richard Graham. Palgrave Macmillan; 2017.

This is indeed a very brief overview of comic book and comic strip adaptations that comes off more like a long article than a book. Chapters look at characters from the DC Comic universe, such as Superman and Batman; the characters of the Marvel Universe, such as Iron Man and the Fantastic Four; Japanese anime; and independent films such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The book is breezily written for the most part, makes some good points about these movies, but in some ways comes off like a well-done term paper. There are no photographs. It's strange that the publisher didn't invest in some pictures and thicken the book's page count.

Verdict: Publish or perish? **1/2.

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. **.

THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN

THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN (2007). Directed by Patrick Archibald and Jay Oliva.

This full-length animated movie was released direct-to-video before the theatrical films Iron Man and Iron Man 2. Trouble begins when Anthony Stark (Marc Worden) initiates a project to raise an ancient Chinese city, along with the temple of an ancient warlord known as the Mandarin [actually Iron Man's arch-enemy in the comics]. In a revised origin story, Stark creates the Iron Man armor as a reaction not only to his heart being damaged in an explosion but to the threat caused by 4 "elementals" seeking rings of power that will help resuscitate the Mandarin. [Although it turns out that he had already developed numerous Iron Man suits in private.] A sub-plot deals with Stark's problems with his father Howard (John McCook) and the board of Stark Industries. There is also a pretty young lady, Lei Me (Gwendolyn Meo), who doesn't seem to know which side she's on. Although the animation and voice characterizations are acceptable [if not necessarily first-rate] The Invincible Iron Man suffers from a mediocre storyline. The elementals are uninteresting antagonists, and the Mandarin [now a battle with him might have been something] doesn't even show up until the movie's almost over, although there is a lively fight with a good-looking dragon. Stark's secretary Pepper Potts is given a British accent for some reason. Stark's status as a lover boy is given emphasis in Greg Johnson's screenplay with him cavorting in a hot tub with a gal and showing up late for an appointment sporting a lipstick kiss. For more on the comic book adventures of Iron Man see The Silver Age of Comics. For Iron Man paperback fiction click here.

Verdict: Big, noisy, and still a bit on the dull side. **.

IRON MAN 2

IRON MAN 2 (2010). Director: Jon Favreau.

Antony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) returns as the armored hero in this sequel to Iron Man. The plot doesn't really matter, but Stark mixes it up with the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Whiplash (Mickey Rourke), and Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), all of whom first appeared in the Iron Man comic books. The Widow pretends to be an employee of Stark Industries, Hammer has a sinister plot afoot involving dozens of Iron Man clones, and Whiplash is really Ivan Vanko, a Russian scientist who uses electronic whips to slash automobiles in half. However, the best sequence has a drunken Iron Man [Stark is a reformed alcoholic in the comics] battling his pal Rhody (Don Cheadle) as the latter is dressed in his own armor as War Machine. Iron Man 2 is colorful and has some exciting sequences, although it's too long and drags at times. Downey is fine as Stark; ditto for Gywneth Paltrow as his assistant Pepper Potts [whom he makes head of Stark Industries] and the rest of the supporting cast. Mickey Rourke looks fairly grotesque but he nearly steals the picture with his intense portrayal of Ivan Vanko. Nice theme music by John Debney.

Verdict: Noisy and splashy and at times entertaining. ***

IRON MAN

IRON MAN (2008). Director: Jon Favreau.

This big screen version of the long-time [since about 1963) Marvel comic book character comes very close to being an opulent bore, but at least it has a fairly exciting climax. The movie tells how munitions manufacturer Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is injured by one of his own weapons in Afghanistan, has to wear a special device over his heart, and develops a super-suit with many devices to not only escape, but later to save lives and battle his adversary, former friend Obediah Stane (Jeff Bridges), who objects when Stark decides to get the family company out of the weapons business. The movie takes forever to get going, is slow and tedious for a good hour, until finally the revamped model of Iron Man makes its appearance and things finally pick up. The climax is a battle between Iron Man and Stane in an even bigger mechanical suit. The FX are fine, the acting isn't bad [Bridges absolutely walks away with the movie as the loathsome Stane], but one has to hope that the sequel will be a whole lot better. Terrence Howard is Rhodey; Gwyneth Paltrow is Petter Potts. Downey plays Stark like an overgrown frat boy. Stan Lee, who created Iron Man, has a cameo as Hugh Hefner! The film is not very well directed for the most part.

Verdict: Read the comic books instead. **1/2.