Generations: Iron Man & Ironheart #1
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencilers: Marco Rudy, Szymon Kudranski & Nico Leon
Inkers: Szymon Kudranski, Will Sliney, Scott Koblish, & Nico Leon
Colorist: Marco Rudy, Dean White, & Paul Mounts
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Variant Covers: Marco Rudy; Oliver Coipel & Laura Martin; Jack Kirby, Dick Ayers & Paul Mounts with Joe Frontirre
Release Date: 09/06/17
Rating: Rated T+
Price: $4.99
Teen prodigy engineer Riri Williams got noticed by Tony Stark for creating her very own suit of armor. Tony agreed to be her mentor as she goes down the road of a hero in her own right. Upon his “death” at the conclusion of the second superhero Civil War he gave Riri an A.I. for her suit, one that used his own memory engrams to help guide her as Ironheart. Soon after she became Ironheart she was thrusted into another superhero battle that saw the heroes pitted against the one they all looked up to, Captain America. Once the real Captain America is returned and the Secret Empire battle is won, Kobik “rewards” the Legacy heroes with a trip to the Vanishing Point which is how Riri winds up where she is in Generations Iron Man And Ironheart #1!
Plot: Riri is sent through the Vanishing Point by Kobik to the “Far-Flung Future” where she meets the very much alive 126 year old Tony Stark and the “Next Avengers” to inspire her before she is sent back.
Story: The story starts with Riri falling from the sky in Chicago with her armor not functioning despite everything seemingly ok, she is forced to crash on the roof of a building. She takes off her helmet and starts recording a vlog when she is met by the Next Avengers, the children of the original Avengers. The children are James Rogers (son of Black Widow and Captain America), Henry Pym Jr. (son of Giant-Man and Wasp), Francis Barton (son of Clint “Hawkeye” Barton and Mockingbird), Azari (son of Black Panther and Storm), and Torunn (daughter of the absent Thor and Sif), who starred in the direct to DVD animated movie; The Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, and appeared in Avengers, and Avengers World.
Now some may see this and know automatically that this is the future, but those people would have forgotten that this group of “Mighty Avengers” come from Earth-10943 and were stranded in the present day 616. That is one of many gaping plot holes that left me being taken out of this book and not enjoying it as much as I could, and to be honest should have. This has Riri and “Iron Man” character, who like Tony is a Futurist, so having her sent to the “Far-Flung Future” is awesome, or at least in concept. The execution here seriously lacked.
Riri learns from a 126 year old Sorcerer Supreme Tony Stark and the Next Avengers (yes they are called the Mighty Avengers, but this is who they are more known as) that is just going to be the best there ever was and even has Azari flirting with her telling her how hot she is, and Tony gives some vague mention that by hooking up with him she could become her own grandmother.
The future is essentially perfect with Tony and others bringing peace to it where skirmishes with formerly major pains like Morgan Le Fay are now ended before they even begun since Tony found solutions to them all. Tony tells Riri she can’t know anything about the future tech, but repairs her armor so it will function. He then takes her to Franklin Richards who tells Tony he doesn’t have the Time Machine, while Tony explains to Riri why she is here, she is here to inspire herself to be the futurist she is meant to be. Riri is swept back home with the modifications still in her armor where she goes home and builds one of the mini Iron Man Drones Tony had in the future to help remind her to stay focus on the future.
The big problems come from Riri being overpowered and the plot holes. How can Bendis create this group of the Next Avengers, and not recall that they are still in the present. That is one issue, but the biggest is how are they born? Tony is 126 years old, so that is at least a good eighty years into the future, but the Next Avengers appear to only be about 15-16 years old if that, so did Black Widow give birth at over 100? Franklin appears to be about 30, which again seems to be inconsistent with the 126 year old Tony, unless he is supposed to be like 90 years old now and he isn’t. Again these are things that just take me out of the story that had so much potential.
Art: The art here has several different pencilers, inkers and colorists and you can tell. The art does not blend into a great art jam, but instead make it appear a little murky to me. The panels here tried to be bold and inventive, but also seemed to clutter up the good that was there in the art making me disconnect from it and the story even more.
Verdict: Overall this issue was lacking seriously Riri essentially finds out how super-awesome she is going to be, and how everyone knows who she is throughout the galaxy, translation Bendis is overhyping his overpowered, Mary Sue again. Yes I called Riri what she is an OP Mary Sue. Bendis has made Riri, a character with great promise to be something unique, a superhero on the spectrum, and ruined that potential by just making her an annoying OP Mary Sue. I think she would do much better in the hands of another creator.
Rating: 2 ½ stars.