Iron Man Epic Collection: Doom [New Printing]

No problem.

Why name the collection Doom, put him on the cover, and then not have any of him in the collection?

The tail end of Michelinie and Layton's second Iron Man run was a strange time due to their imminent departure. The first chunk of this book deals with Tony trying and failing to come to grips with the spinal injury that robbed him of the use of his legs, causing him to rely more and more on being Iron Man and less on being Tony Stark to the point where he thinks about not appearing in public as Tony Stark anymore, period. Overall it could be handled better, and the way Stark fails to cope with his new handicap and assumes everyone is looking down on him starts to get nerve wracking. Once Stark does finally learn to accept himself, he's conveniently given a spinal implant that cures him (which will have repercussions in the future but I digress).Even more irritating is the main story that picks up on the mysterious murder and replacement of Madame Masque in previous issues as the Maggia goes to war with A.I.M. and Hydra. Because they were leaving the book, this story is rushed to an unsatisfying conclusion and the new Masque's identity is never revealed making the whole thing feel like a waste of time as it was a setup without a payoff.The highlight here is of course the two-issue sequel to the classic "Doomquest" story proudly displayed on the book's cover and in its title. This one is a little sillier than the original story and hasn't aged as well (unless Radio Shack makes a comeback in 2093) but it's still good fun and well worth reading.The collection ends on a handful of mediocre filler issues before John Byrne is set to take over and aside from one issue having John Romita Jr. art there's not much worthwhile here.While the collection that comes before this one chronologically has a few decent stories that don't quite reach the highs of "The Armor Wars" and the following collection contains John Byrne's short but interesting run, this collection includes some of the weakest work from the esteemed Iron Man creative team of David Michelinie and Bob Layton packaged with uninteresting filler. Unless you really need some closure on Stark's injury and Kathy Dare's trial or you don't have the Doom story collected elsewhere, it's easy to recommend skipping this one.

Tony Stark's not having the best time of it as Volume 15 of his Epic Collections opens. The year is 1989, and he is currently paralysed from the waist down following an attack by a crazed stalker. He's able to function as he always did when enclosed in the Iron Man armour, but is spending more and more time as his costumed alter ego really the best answer? As often the case with ol' Shellhead's classic adventures, it's the personal life subplots (and a well-drawn supporting cast) that really keep the interest between all the armoured adventuring.Not that there's a shortage of superheroics - Iron Man finds himself caught in a war between the Maggia, AIM and Hydra, gets sent to the future with the dastardly Doctor Doom in the title story, and gets attacked by the Wrecker and Chemistro as part of the Acts of Vengeance. Writer David Michelinie and artist Bob Layton keep everything slamming together nicely, with Layton taking over scripting duties as well towards the end of the volume.Extras include 5 pages of original Layton art and the cover and introduction from the Iron Man vs Doctor Doom trade paperback. It's a solid volume for the golden Avenger, if perhaps not one of his very best runs - certainly the annuals collected here - Tony's parts of Atlantis Attacks and The Terminus Factor - aren't as good a quality as his monthly adventures, but it's a good collection nontheless.