Renowned comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis has returned again to bring radical change to a classic comic character, coming in the form of Invincible Iron Man issue No. 1, released Nov. 9.
Tony Stark is missing and someone has to step into the metal boots. That person is 15-year-old engineering student Riri Williams. Since her announcement, copies of Invincible Iron Man have sold out at the distributor level, according to Fuse.com. Comic fans are split between excitement and skepticism of a teenage African-American girl replacing one of Marvel’s most famous characters, a white billionaire playboy.
For such a bold addition, Riri’s backstory is remarkably drab. She is a teenager who experienced a tragic loss and has occasional trouble interacting with people due to her intellect — a typical superhero origin story.
And so goes the entire book. Nothing feels new or daring. The story starts with Riri in the heat of the action fighting various monsters. There are flashbacks within, detailing Riri’s home and school life. Both the fight scene and the flashbacks lack originality or excitement. The tragic moment she experienced early in life lacks impact and doesn’t seem to affect her character.
The writing is solid, except for the opening scene, which fails to capture attention. Bendis shows off the casts’ personalities well. The characters are likeable, even if lacking in creativity. Riri is human and organic.
Stefano Caselli’s pencils are consistent and sharp, giving the comic life. His facial expressions are particularly impressive.
This is a solid comic but it fails to do anything new. Bendis has worked magic in reinventing characters as he has done twice with Spider-Man. This time Bendis doesn’t strike instant gold as he did with previous efforts. It’s not bad, but it’s nothing impressive. Invincible Iron Man is off to an underwhelming start. For this, Invincible Iron-Man No. 1 earns six out of 10 stars.