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Episode #14 - Man and Iron Man Original Airdate - August 21st, 2009 Mister Fix is back, and this time he’s equipped Whiplash with a virus designed to destroy Iron Man’s armor from the inside out. Iron Man survives the attack, but something’s gone wrong. Fix’s virus has caused the armor to become sentient. It’s alive, thinking for itself, and it intends to carry out it’s primary objective… to protect Tony Stark from any and all danger, even if it means making Tony a prisoner inside the armor for the rest of his life. Story Editor Christopher Yost Written By Thomas Barichella Directed By Stephane Juffe and Phillipe Guyenne Review by Arsenal Review: I had an epiphany while watching “Man and Iron Man.” In this episode, Tony upgrades his suit until it reaches a level of sentience. It starts by taking control of Tony while he’s fighting. It makes him more powerful, capable of destroying villains he barely survived beforehand. The armor becomes ruthless and dangerous, threatening his loved ones. Finally, Tony is forced to fight the armor which has protected him. No doubt about it. This is Iron Man fighting the symbiote. I’ve accused Iron Man: Armored Adventures of being a Spider-Man pastiche before. However, this theft seems unintentional. By taking the Frankenstein trope—man must fight the monster he creates—the writers have inadvertently ripped off one of the bigger Spider-Man plot lines of all time. Whether you want to call it a rip off, homage or coincidence, the similarities are distracting. And that’s too bad because, otherwise, “Man and Iron Man” is one of the stronger episodes of the series. It’s well acted, focuses on the series’ strengths (the trio of Tony, Rhodey and Pepper) and features the return of two of its better villains (Whiplash and Mr. Fix.)
The only knock I have is the Spider-Man association. |
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