The Invincible Iron Man, Volume 8: Unfixable

The Invincible Iron Man (2008) (Collected Editions)

by Matt Fraction, Salvador Larroca

Why should Tony Stark be the one to benefit from all of his technology? What right does Stark have to keep his miracles to himself? A familiar threat in other corners of the Marvel Universe comes demanding answers - and salvation - from IronMan. And because it's not enough to remake the world with free and limitless energy, Stark Resilient takes on the challenge of remaking another world: Asgard! Plus: Witness Rescue in action, as Pepper Potts lets loose with her bleeding-edge suit and astonishing power! And Iron Man and Thor find themselves facing an enemy unlike any they've fought before!

Collecting: The Invincible Iron Man 501-502, Iron Man/Thor: FCBD 2010, Rescue 1, & material from The Invincible Iron Man 503

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Comic Book, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Science Fiction

120 pages, Hardcover

First published September 14, 2011

About the author

"How he got started in comics: In 1983, when Fraction was 7 years old and growing up in Kansas City, Mo., he became fascinated by the U.S. invasion of Grenada and created his own newspaper to explain the event. "I've always been story-driven, telling stories with pictures and words," he said.

Education and first job: Fraction never graduated from college. He stopped half a semester short of an art degree at Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri in 1998 to take a job as a Web designer and managing editor of a magazine about Internet culture.

"My mother was not happy about that," he said.

But that gig led Fraction and his co-workers to split off and launch MK12, a boutique graphic design and production firm in Kansas City that created the opening credits for the James Bond film "Quantum of Solace."

Big break: While writing and directing live-action shoots at MK12, Fraction spent his spare time writing comics and pitching his books each year to publishers at Comic-Con. Two books sold: "The Last of the Independents," published in 2003 by AiT/Planet Lar, and "Casanova," published in 2006 by Image Comics.

Fraction traveled extensively on commercial shoots. Then his wife got pregnant. So Fraction did what any rational man in his position would do -- he quit his job at MK12 to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time comic book writer.

Say what? "It was terrifying," said Fraction, who now lives in Portland, Ore. "I was married. We had a house. We had a baby coming. And I just quit my job."

Marvel hired Fraction in June 2006, thanks largely to the success of his other two comics. "I got very lucky," he half-joked. "If it hadn't worked out, I would have had to move back in with my parents.

- 2009. Alex Pham. Los Angeles Times.

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nerd Fight! or Revenge of the Nerd or Who is a Bigger Ass: Tony Stark or Dr. Octopus?!

Dr. Octopus like most sociopathic criminal master minds holds a grudge and Tony Stark, like most billionaire, playboy, industrialist, inventors is a superior jerk. The two met at a scientific conference a long time ago when bowl haircuts still weren’t popular. Words were exchanged, insults traded, animosity festered.

In the present (right before Superior Spiderman), an ailing and dying Doc Ock, his malevolence towards Stark bursting at the seams entraps his rival and threatens him – Either fix me or admit that you can’t. If you try to power up, I’ll nuke Manhattan. As insurance, he has one of Stark’s employees kidnapped and under guard, so if anything goes wrong, blammo*, early retirement! The bad doctor doesn’t count on a kick-ass Pepper Pott’s as a fly in the ointment.

Fraction continues his excellent Iron Man run. He’s brought more nuance to both Stark and Pepper and made Iron Man bearable – you know longer want to Krazy glue his helmet on. There are two add-on issues – one a Thor/Iron Man team-up, the other a Pepper Potts solo issue that takes place around the Dark Reign crossover event.

* Okay, it's Electro and Sandman so not blammo; more like ZAP! or Mumph! respectively.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okayish volume like it has one story of Pepper rescuing people which was fun and then the big story of Tony vs Dr Octopus who wants to cure him of some condition but mostly something else and we get to see their past and its messed up for sure but you can see why Doc Ock hates Tony so much and the predictable and yet weird ending which didn't accomplish much but leads into some other arcs of ASM (at the time) well and also its fun to see Iron man vs Dr Octopus and Pepper also gets some good focus here and many people might like it, it really shows Pepper coming into her own as "rescue" and Tony and his prior actions in the past creating so many enemies. Next up: Fear Itself!!

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. This next volume continues the new trend of doing another random story. Here, Doc Oc comes at Tony with a ransom style attack. Trying to get Tony to admit he can’t do something. This story, just like last volume, comes out of nowhere which gives it a jarring feel as it deviates from the amazing stories that were being told in the first six volumes. Some of the stuff Tony does in here were pretty cringe worthy. Then there was the free comic book day issue. A piece of tech Tony developed falls into the wrong hands and it’s up to Tony and Thor to shut it down. This was decent. The final issue, Rescue #1 was the best. Shows a flashback with Pepper in rescue mode saving people from an accident. All while getting a pep talk from someone about not quitting. Pretty great issue. Unfortunately the main story with Doc Oc drags this book down.

[James DeSantis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just okay. I thought it was cool to see Tony be using his brain instead of fighting. But honestly this felt like a filler episode in a anime. Doc Ock wants tony to save him but mostly to prove he's smarter...silly. A 2.5 out of 5.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts off with exactly the kind of smart writing I keep coming back to Fraction for. Great conflict set-up btw Doc Ock and Tony Stark, and I was really intrigued how well Fraction kept thwarting Stark from his 'easy answers'. Not sure I'm a fan of how it ended, but if this becomes the seed for future plotlines then I'm all in. Grubby, flawed and broken actors in comics: far too interesting not to read.

The one thing that distracted me from fully enjoying the story was Larocca's art. He's very talented in almost everything he commits tithe page, save one thing: Tony Stark's lips. He looks like a teenage girl with heavy lip gloss, in every single scene. That *has* to be a deliberate choice but I don't know why.

FCBD issue was fun and a good story for attracting newbies to comics. Seems more like filler here, but I'm getting used to Marvel and DC using whatever they can to bulk up the trades.

The tag-along issue 1 of Rescue (Pepper Potts as iron maid) was passable - solid writing, decent art - but no more remarkable than any of a hundred standard-issue issue 1's.

[Sineala · Rating 1 out of 5]

All Tony's enemies want to humiliate him in Fraction's run. Now it's Doc Ock's turn! Ugh.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Invincible Iron Man Volume 8: Unfixable. A continuation of my Iron Man revisit.

Like the previous volume, this continues the unfortunate trend of being a mixed bag. With a mix of good, entertaining but filler storylines.

The main plot of Unfixable revolves around the Spider-Man villain Dr Octopus, the rivalry him and Tony Stark had earlier in their respective careers. That is then brought into the present day to haunt Tony. With a dying Doc Ock coming to Tony for help.

Carrying on a trend of this series, this is light on the action. It is more about intellect vs intellect, rather than super powered fight scenes. Which is fine, I’m just hoping for some Iron Man action before the end of this run.

This main plot also seems to take place not long before the crazy shenanigans that caused the Superior Spider-Man storyline. This part is by far the highlight of the graphic novel. The Unfixable story then ends with a lead in to the Fear Itself crossover event.

Making up the rest of the page count of this volume we have: Free Comic Book Day 2010: Iron Man/Thor - Fair Weather, plus issue one of Rescue: Rescue Me.

The former is an entertaining and fun romp involving the moon and climate change. It is also cool to see these two characters team up. The latter gives us some solo time with Pepper Potts as Rescue, set during the events of Dark Reign. It is good to see her new status quo get fleshed out a bit more.

Overall a fun, but not essential read in the series. More for the big Iron Man fan, rather than someone that is curious or just getting into the character. Due to the different stories collected there are varying art styles, rather than a consistent style throughout.

[Alex Memus · Rating 1 out of 5]

The resolution of Otto's arc is even cringier than the beginning in the previous volume. The art quality reaches the bottom (and it won't recover during this run). Mandarin's origin story and Rescue's one-off issue are skippable at best and awful at worst. I can see why Marvel comic book sales steadily went down in 2010s.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty entertaining if brief entry in Fraction's Iron Man run. In the central storyline, Tony Stark is kidnapped by Dr. Octopus and forced to try to somehow cure Octopus's brain tumor/trauma/something (it's never explicitly stated what's wrong with his brain). What follows is a battle of two incredible egos that has some pretty interesting moments but ultimately felt like a bit of stretch to drag across three issues. I think the same story could've been told in a single issue and had a lot more punch, but this just felt kind of repetitive.

In addition to this, we also get the one-shots "Free Comic Book Day: Iron Man & Thor" and "Rescue," a potential series starring Pepper Potts' new alter ego. Each of these are quick and easy stories with solid dialogue and pacing, though they aren't doing anything super fresh ultimately.

Overall, this book feels kind of like Vol. 7, in that it doesn't really feel like we're dealing with the meat of Fraction's Iron Man stuff, but are rather just kind of killing time until a finale.

Additionally, I've read several books lately they end with a tease for Fear Itself. I've gotta say, Fear Itself seems like the least prepared-for crossover I've ever seen. Every single issue I've read that comes before a Fear Itself storyline just all of a sudden has something happen in the distance and everyone goes "Huh?" and then "Next: FEAR ITSELF!" appears. This book is no different. Did Marvel just decide to all of a sudden have a huge crossover event? It's so weird how nothing ties into Fear Itself at all and there appears to be no planning for it. Well, whatever. I guess I'm about to find out how Fear Itself worked no matter what.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Unfixable story proper is interesting, though it doesn’t really seem to go anywhere [7/10]. The Free Comic Day story has great characterization and great art, but no depth [6/10]. The Rescue story isn’t interesting at all and should have been included several volumes ago [5/10]. Overall, another kind of disappointing volume, though I think it’s in large part a problem with the vagaries of TPBs versus monthly comics. These last couple of volumes included enough junk that it really stalled things out, while in the comics, that just would have been four issues telling different stories.

[Pturingan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume was just mostly filler. The only good thing, for me, was that they made Doctor Octopus look really, really strong. Maybe that was the point of the whole storyline?

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best part was seeing the cocky and egotistical Tony Stark humbled.

[Harrison Delahunty · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the first book in Fraction and Larroca's run that I would endeavour to call actually bad.

We open with the three-issue "Fix Me" storyline, in which Doctor Octopus is retroactively written to have a grudge against Tony, and in which Spider-Man makes nary an appearance. In my own personal opinion, any story you write with such a major Spider-villain without actually including the character that makes that villain matter is a failure. Especially considering that both Ock and Iron Man basically treat Spider-Man as barely even worth mentioning in their little grudge match. I'm sorry, huh?

Regardless of that little irritant, the story itself just isn't very good. We have Tony durdling around for two issues, then in issue three we see Ock humiliate him, and then that's just kind of it. Nothing was really gained here, and I wasted fifteen minutes of my life on three very lacklustre issues.

The Free Comic Book Day issue is a slight step up, if only because Romita Jr.'s art is a lot of fun. It is similarly shallow, however.

Rescue #1, on the other hand, is unabashedly the best issue in this book. We get a really neat character study of Pepper Potts as Rescue, and it has more genuine depth and intrigue than any other issue collected here. Its inclusion here (as unnecessary and odd as it might be on paper) is the only thing that elevates this book above a 1 for me.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, way disjointed. I don't know how much of that to put on Fraction as a writer, though - it really feels like the book is being afflicted by classic Marvel Syndrome, where if you haven't read the fifty crossovers and tie-ins you don't really know what's happening in any of them.

Gah. So far, my foray out of reading Image etc. back into Big Two comics is mostly just reminding me why I mostly stopped reading Big Two comics in the first place.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tony Stark vs. Otto Octavius in a battle of the wits to the death!

But Otto keeps changing the rules because he's not getting the reaction he wants.

And Tony just doesn't care.

It soon becomes clear that the book was just in a holding pattern for the next big event (Avengers Hammerfall or whatever.)

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fine story, with dying Dr. Octopus kidnapping Tony. It was a nice mini-arc, different from the usual. I liked it. The two one-shots at the end were fine, but badly placed, chronology wise. They're clearly supposed to be around the time of Siege, which sucks because no matter where I put them I can't make it right.

[Shahriar Shafin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume, and the last one are just dragging things along, making slow progress to the eventual Mandarin-Iron Man showdown. This volume has Dock Ock trying to humiliate Tony, and that's it apparently.

Not bad, not good. Just okay. And the art is still pretty to look at.

[Ellen Schoener · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually quite liked the story of Tony and Doc Oc (and I have always thought that the concept of Doc Oc was pretty ridiculous).
This continues with the character driven stories, and I like that.
And now I am really curious who the mole in Tony's new company really is...

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still Fraction+Larroca+Iron Man, so still good, but this volume suffers in comparison due to the inclusion of a pretty forgettable one-off Thor-Iron Man team up (on the Moon!) story by a different artist and an issue dedicated to Pepper Potts' new armored incarnation, Rescue.

[Anthony Rizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I can see why some find this a dip in quality, I personally loved this book. If you know what was going on in Amazing Spider-Man around this time with Doc Ock, Ends of the Earth, and later Superior Spider-Man, this adds a new dimension with some neat contrast between Stark and Octavius!

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another extremely well written story. And I love the cartoony drawing for the Iron Man-Thor crossover.

[Vikas · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Jessy · Rating 4 out of 5]

62/100

[Armando Ramirez (libra) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book because it is very interesting and exciting. But I gave this book a 4 stars because sometimes in the book it got a little confusing when they go from one scene to another so sometimes I didn't really understand who we are talking about. I chose this book because I like superheros and I wanted to know what this book was about, because this looked very interesting.

[Jedhua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Info: This collection contains Invincible Iron Man issues #501-503.


ABSOLUTE RATING: {3/5 stars}

STANDARDIZED RATING: <3/5 stars>

Yet another wobbly volume for the series. I'm becoming a little concerned at this point. I want Fraction to stop messing around, and go back to what made this series so appealing in the first place. And I would much rather do without any more backstory at the end of these issues, at least if they're illustrated by Chaykin. I remember skipping an entire Captain America issue he drew after reading just one or two pages.

Alone, the three central issues in the arc involving Doc Ock were good enough to get a rating of 3.5. It certainly had its charm, and although Octavius came off as somewhat silly, he still managed to be quite formidable. But like I just said, he was silly, and this – coupled with Tony's blatant teasing (right in Otto's face) and the petty involvement of two other villains – made more of a mockery of heroes like Spider-Man than it did for the villains. I found that both amusingly peculiar and depressing at the same time.

The Rescue one-shot was cute, but certainly disappoints when held against Fraction's writing standard. I recently read Osborn (also written by DeConnick), and was very pleasantly surprised by her writing ability. The Rescue story doesn't really do that justice, but then again, I'm hardly ever impressed by one-shots; they're most often too short to be good. Still, I've often found that female comic writers struggle a bit to write at the same level as their male counterparts (especially when writing about male characters). Or at least they almost never are able to satisfy me to any comparable extent.

[Kahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes Marvel can be guilty of looking too far ahead, and forgetting that people are reading what's in front of them blissfully unaware of the huge events to come.
Which is why Unfixable is such an unsatisfying read.
It's not the main story - that's grand. Stark going head-to-tentacles with Dr Octopus is all you'd want it to be. It's funny, it's dramatic, and it takes a look at the characters behind the technology.
The side story with Pepper, Sandman and Electro is frankly neither here nor there. It doesn't detract from the main story, but it adds precious little to the drama.
And the artwork is of the usual high standard, so that's all good.
But the ending...
The ending is, well, to avoid spoilers let's say abrupt. And comes from out of nowhere. And seems to have precious little to do with what's gone before. And it's so abrupt that it actually manages to ruin the entire story.
Which is short enough as it is.
As an added insult, if you were lucky enough to pick up a couple of Comic Book Day freebies back in 2010, you at least didn't pay for two piffling stories that weren't worth being given away.
However, the rest of us unwittingly have now paid for them, as they've been slung in the back of Unfixable to basically pad the TPB version out.
I know things can't be amazing all the time, but when a series has been on such a good run, to drop the standards this far is almost painful.

[Eric England · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Invincible Iron Man Volume 8: Unfixable by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca (with assists from John Romita Jr., Kelly Sue DeConnick, and Andrea Mutti) is an intriguing collection of Iron Man stories. The main bulk of the volume focuses on a battle of the minds between Iron Man and the Spider-Man villain Doctor Octopus. The narrative fleshes out how these two men are natural enemies for one another despite the fact that they have rarely interacted previously. The banter and the flashbacks showing the unexplored past dynamic of Tony and Otto elevate the story into a truly fun tale packed with high stakes. The one shot stories that complete the volume are good if minor. The Thor Iron Man team-up displays a certain flair in blending topicality with action. The Rescue one-shot provides a great character-building vignette for Pepper Potts. Overall, I would highly recommend this volume.

[Mike Clooney · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of those mish-mash volumes, collecting a few shorter stories that couldn't merit a book of their own. Overall, the lengthy Fraction/LaRocca run on INVINCIBLE IRON MAN was nothing short of phenomenal, but the lead story collected here - "Unfixable" - is mainly an interlude piece before diving into the "Fear Itself" crossover, and does little to further the main multi-year arc of Tony Stark's redemption and repurposing. It does however offer an interesting take on Doctor Octopus as a creepy little toad with a severe case of scientist penis envy toward Stark. The IRON MAN/THOR and RESCUE one-shots that round out the volume are exactly what they're intended to be, filler fluff and nothing more. If you're a completist, wait for the Omnibus collection and read these as part of their greater whole.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matt Fraction continues to amaze telling great stories. This has to be one of the longest writer and artist collaborations in quite some time, perhaps after Bendis & Bagley and Brubaker & Epting. I would suspect this has to be longest any one writer and artist have worked together on an Iron Man title ever.

This collection tells a nice 3 part story with Dr. Ock. I can't believe how Marvel has ruined the look of that character and Elektro. After the 3 part tale the same writer, Fraction, has his Free Comic Book Day story from last May smack in the middle and then at the end Fraction's wife writes the first issue (or a one-shot?) of Rescue, which is a story about Pepper dealing with Hap's death and that wraps the book up nicely.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the idea of a genius super villain jealous and disgusted with the attention that Tony Stark gets. Sadly, the inclusion of Otto Octavious, Dr. Octopus, as that villain makes little sense. Even with some forced retconning, for the story's sake, its still obvious. Otto's machinations are fitting but misguided. Stark's solution was also out of character. The action was lacking here, especially considering characters involved. Pepper's scrap with other members of the Sinister Six was bland. The art was typical of Larroca but his faces are plain weird at times. Overall, the book could've been much better.