What If…? (Vol. 2) # 8
(What If …Iron Man Lost The Armor Wars?)
Writer: Danny Fingerorth
Penciller: Greg Capullo
Inkers: Ian Akin & Brian Garvey
Letterer: Richard Starkings
Colorist: Tom Vincent
Cover Date: Mid December 1989
Rating: 
With the first episode of “What If..?” already making waves, I’ll take a look at “What If (Vol. 2) # 8” which takes a very dark and moody look at Armor Wars, one of the most memorable Iron Man arcs.
As everyone knows, Tony Stark finds out that armor contains circuitry based on designs that Stark that he shared from no one was shared with from other armor wearers from Justin Hammer, so as Iron Man, Stark embarks on a one-man crusade to get his technology back by taking down anyone with armor, alienating friends alike, even taking down Steve Rogers (The Captain at the time) and facing the onslaught of Firepower, an armor that was employed by the government to stop Iron Man, Stark then created a new suit of armor which he used to defeat Firepower and get his technology back, but in this new reality, things take a different turn….and it’s for the worst.
Justin Hammer quickly gains control of Stark’s technology and use him to destroy everything that Tony owns, but that’s before A.I.M. comes into the picture, so Tony teams up with other armor wearers (The Beetle, The Crimson Dynamo, and The Titanium Man just to name a few) so that he can make things right but seeing as this is a “What If….?” story, everything goes bad!
This story is a great read but I feel like the dramatic elements really overtook the issue in which you definitely feel bad for Tony Stark and the situation that he found himself in, so with that, it made for a depressing Iron Man story that changes everything about the character and the ending is just extremely sad (**NO SPOILERS**) and shows just how deadly technology is when it’s in the wrong hands; Iron Man fans may have mixed emotions about this issue but once you get past the heavy drama, this is a great story for any “What If….?” fanatic.
Well, that’s it for me this week. Thanks for sticking around and I will see you all next time with another review.
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