COMIC REVIEW: Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. #29

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Iron Man and his elite squad of Alphas are called to Kirikhstan to chase down some nuclear warheads that threaten the region. A nuke detonates and a new villain from Tony's past emerges to claim responsibility for the explosion. Meanwhile, a nanotechnology scientist who has worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. for decades decides to take certain matters into his own hands to prove how much S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't need Tony Stark.

Writer Stuart Moore is filling in for the next few issues and he's building a world around Tony Stark that actually draws from his position as the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. and weaves together a tale that pulls more from The Bourne Conspiracy than from Stan Lee. Moore has stated in recent interviews that he has done a lot of research into nanotech and it shows. The nukes use nanotech and the rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Nick Weir, is a master of creating nanotech devices. Not being a master of nanotech myself, I don't know how accurate this story is but it all seems plausible in the realm of a man who wears a metal flying suit. It's a nice break from the sci-fi and superhero stories that Iron Man is usually involved in.

The main problem with the story stems from the fact that Moore introduces 2 new characters that are supposedly part of the history of the Marvel Universe. Nicholas Weir is apparently known as "The Other Nick" in S.H.I.E.L.D., in reference to the organization's long time leader Nick Fury. Weir even takes credit for creating most of the pre-Stark S.H.I.E.L.D. technology and innovations. The other new character, Nasim Rahimov, is apparently someone from Tony's past. Stark claims that Rahimov's problems are his fault, yet this character has never been seen before. They don't kill the story by any means, and new readers will hardly care, but long time Iron Man fans will be left scratching their heads.

The art chores are broken between the stories with Roberto de la Torre covering the Kirikhstan pages and the team of Carlo Pagulayan and Jeffery Huet handling the pages concerning "The Other Nick." Both styles work well together well and most readers may never even notice the transition from one to the other.

A few hiccups aside, Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. #29 is a very entertaining comic that should satisfy modern comic book readers. This issue is available at your local comic book shop and retails for only $2.99.