They say “nothing gold can stay,” a phrase that should hit close to home for Iron Man writer Christopher Cantwell. He closes out his 25-issue run on the Golden Avenger’s latest series, but moves on to another businessman/adventurer. Norman Osborn, the repentant Gold Goblin, gets a new mini series focused on his attempts to atone for his past sins as the Green Goblin. Other one-shots and minis beginning this week include Blade: Vampire Nation, Captain America & the Winter Soldier Special and Murderworld.
Book the Week – Iron Man #25 (Review score: 42 Points; 16 Characters). Cantwell’s final issue of Iron Man wraps up Tony’s unsuccessful courtship of Patsy Walker and follows up with Tony’s Space Friends. The book also marks the 650th issue for Iron Man adventures and features a couple backup stories with special appearances by Thor, longtime nemesis Mandarin, and a surprising team-up with Madame Masque. The issue ends with a special preview of incoming writer Gerry Duggan’s upcoming run.
Hero of the Week – Iron Man (Review score: 14 Points/1 Appearance; 14.0 Pts/App). It’s Shellhead versus Canucklehead as the battle for top character comes to a head. Iron Man takes advantage of Wolverine’s absence and brings himself within one point of the lead. Iron Man’s fifth Hero of the Week title also trails Wolverine’s total by one, but Tony is topping the year so far in both Appearances and Team-Ups.
Antagonist of the Week – Mystique (Review score: 9 Points/1 Appearance; 9.0 Pts/App). Immortal X-Men continues to set the stage for the upcoming “Sins of Sinister” event. And at the center of that story is the longstanding history between Mystique, Destiny and Mr. Sinister. Mystique’s seven Power usages includes an Investigate ability in this Holmesian story detailing the trios first meeting back in 1895 London
Top Characters (by review score). Iron Man (14); Gambit, Shang-Chi (10); Mystique (9); Blade, Dryad, Spectrum, Winter Solider (7); Cat, Leiko Wu (6)
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Key: TU – Team-Up; LT – Lead Team; SC – Save Civilian; CD – Character Development; DA – Defeat Antagonist.
| Blade: Vampire Nation #1 (11) |
| Blade – Business, Intellect, Investigate, Stealth, Weapon, DA (Vampire guards) Antagonist(s) Dracula – Business, Deception, LT |
| Captain America & the Winter Soldier Special #1 (14) |
| Dryad – Computer, Gun, Melee, Weapon, TU (Winter Soldier), DA (Guards) Winter Soldier – Business, Computer, Gun, Morph, TU (Dryad), LT |
| Gambit #5 (14) |
| Gambit – Blunt, Energy, Melee, Precision, Projectile, Weapon, TU (Bounty), SC, DA (Bonehead) Lila Cheney – Weapon Storm – Vehicle |
| Gold Goblin #1 (6) |
| Spider-Man (PP) Antagonist(s) Green Goblin – Energy, Tech, Vehicle, DA (Jack O’Lantern) |
| Immortal X-Men #8 (18) |
| Antagonist(s) Destiny – Investigate, Melee, Sense Mr. Sinister – Assassin, Crawl, Melee, Morph Mystique – Agility, Blade, Investigate, Melee, Morph, Stealth, Weapon, DA (Guard) |
| Iron Man #25 (42) |
| Bethany Cabe Captain America (SR) Frog-Man Gargoyle Hellcat Iron Man – Computer, Durability, Energy, Flight, Influence, Melee, Shield, Strength, Suit, Tech, TU (Madame Masque), SC, DA (Stone sentry statue) Ironheart – Tech Rescue Sleepwalker – Flight Spider-Man (PP) – Swing, SC Thing Thor – Creature, Durability War Machine Antagonist(s) Madame Masque – Gun, Weapon, TU (Iron Man) Mandarin Radioactive Man – Durability, Melee, Strength, Weapon |
| Murderworld: Avengers #1 (4) |
| Antagonist(s) Arcade – Assassin, Deception, Explosive |
| Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings #5 (22) |
| Cat – Agility, Energy Defensive, Melee, Speed, TU (Shang-Chi) Leiko Wu – Artifact, Energy, Melee, Strength, Will Power Shang-Chi – Agility, Energy Defensive, Influence, Melee, Speed, Weapon, TU (Cat), LT, DA (Wyrm of Desolation) |
| Thunderbolts #4 (5) |
| Eegro the Unbreakable Hawkeye (CB) Ms. America Persuasion Power Man |
| Wakanda #2 (12) |
| Spectrum – Energy, Energy Offensive, Flight, Morph, Sense, TU (M’Baku) Vibraxas – Vibrations, Vibrations Defensive, Vibrations Offensive, TU (M’Baku) |
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