Review: ‘Invincible Iron Man’ #20 Is A Modern Finale For Better Or Worse

Ending a series in the modern age can be a tricky thing. No series ever really ends — more often than not, they’re simply concluding to be relaunched a few months down the line in some form, with a new direction or a new creative team. Even a “canceled for low sales” series is just one decent pitch away from being revived in some form. As such, a lot of final issues these days have to do the work of both closing out their series and laying some groundwork for the next one. That’s the case with Invincible Iron Man #20, the final issue of the current series’ run. It’s more a goodbye to Gerry Duggan‘s take on the character than an actual series finale (especially given the issue concludes with an announcement of the next Iron Man series launching in the fall). As such, it works well enough as both a capper to this status quo and in terms of “putting the toys back in the toybox” even if it doesn’t make any sweeping statements about Tony Stark as a character and feels a bit workmanlike in execution. 

 

In and amongst all that, though, Tony remains the focal point of the issue. He addresses and deals with the fallout of the fight against Fei Long and Orchis, but everything is filtered through his perspective, with an eye on closing out these plot points to clear the deck for whatever is coming next. A consummate professional, Duggan is careful to leave Tony, Jim Rhodes, and Riri Williams in a place that both acknowledges the events of the preceding twenty issues but establishes a relative blank slate for future writers: Riri is free of the influence of Mandarin’s rings, Tony and Rhodey are friends again and working together on a new venture, and thanks to Emma, Tony is wealthy once more. That Duggan pulls this off in a way that doesn’t feel like its washing twenty issue of story down the drain is commendable. 

Yet all of that feels a bit workmanlike; a little too “seeing how the sausage gets made.” What really sings in this issue is the art. Andrea Di Vito isn’t always the most dynamic of artists (“reliable but unexciting” seems like a good characterization of his style) but his work here, inking himself, is particularly lush (tip of the hat to colorist Bryan Valenza for this as well). He manages to imbue what is essentially a talky issue with a lot of energy. For instance, when Tony remotely checks in on Fei Long, whom he has imprisoned on Mars, he does so via a headless suit of armor with a hologram of his head projected from the armor’s neck. It’s an effective sci-fi visual that gives the scene a little visual pop. But at the same time, Di Vito also energizes the conversation by shifting perspectives and bursts of action (like Fei Long suddenly blasting at the Iron Man drone via an image that overtakes the page) all rendered in rich detail.

Furthermore, while Di Vito’s rendering of Emma suggests he doesn’t quite understand (or is ignoring) the effect of gravity on boobs, his depictions of the Tony/Emma “break-up” is equally adept. He manages to express the characters’ emotions through facial expressions and body language, and the reveal that Emma is conducting the conversation remotely via telepathy is pulled off in a way that heightens the sadness Tony is feeling at having to say goodbye to his one-time wife.

Invincible Iron Man #20 is far from a groundbreaking or sophisticated issue: it does the job it sets out to do in a fairly straightforward way (and a moment towards the end where Tony and Riri put up a monument honoring the fight against Orchis is too cute by half). But Di Vito at least ensures that everything looks as good as it can. And despite the lingering X-Men business, Duggan manages to wrap up his run in a way that feels definitive for his take on the character, which is more than many final issues get to do in this day and age.