After reading the first "The Five Nightmares" arc of INVINCIBLE IRON MAN, I knew I was hooked. Reading this compendium both sated my hunger for good Iron Man story and whet my appetite for more.

The first half of the book I'd already read: during "The Five Nightmares" arc, we have Tony at his best and brightest. Stane successfully embodies and teases out Tony's fears, and Tony comes out the other side triumphant. At the end, I was partying, celebrating, and squeeing over how awesome Tony Stark is. "The Five Nightmares" is a feel good superhero story, where, though the battle was hard, Good won.

And then there was a Skrull invasion apparently, and the next arc is all about stripping Tony down, down, dooooowwwwwnnnnn until he isn't Tony anymore. Not recognizably, anyway. Fraction built Tony Stark almost to the level of Engineering God and then tore him down to a husk of flesh. I cannot begin to describe how freaking amazing the writing is, how vulnerable and tender and tragic. The plot is well-put together and doesn't miss a beat. The only reason I ever stopped reading was because I had to cry.

Norman Osborn as the slithering villain blew my mind and reminded me what pure hate felt like. Pepper Potts came into her own, becoming a super in her own right. Maria Hill's character was torn apart like Tony's was, and I loved that Fraction acknowledged that he didn't have time to properly put her back together, but Maria could do it. As much as INVINCIBLE was Tony's story, it was also Maria and Pepper's, and I really liked it that way.

I was a little confused as to why Rhodey didn't play more of a role: he appears and drops out rather abruptly. Fraction was also a tiny bit clumsy with Black Widow, but I forgive him for doing so well with Pepper & Maria.

All and all, the sparkling character work and excellent, above-and-beyond plot earned a 5 star rating. Fraction's another Marvel writer that I'm keeping an eye out for.