When reading a story, ever get that sense that you read it before? Well that is exactly what I felt like when i sat down to read “Iron Man Versus Kala, Queen Of The Netherworld!” From Takes Of Suspense #43 for my comic book review.   In this case, I can’t help but feel every aspect of the plot has been taken from another story, some even from Iron Man’s Origin.

Here is a synopsis of the story: a vain and evil queen of an underground empire decided that she is going to invade the surface world.  In order to accomplish this task, she kidnaps the one brilliant mind she needs to help her in the task, Tony Stark.  Then sets forth to put Stark to work on building the weapons she needs to complete the task.

Story

I will talk about how I feel this comic book is unoriginal, and taking every aspect of the plot from one of a couple other sources below, in the Originality & Continuity Section.  But the fact that it is so unoriginal has to be considered here as well.

But beyond that simple fact the story its self is not a bad one,  they at least reused elements that work well together and in such a way that the story remains compelling, even if it becomes quite predictable.

The story was also well designed to give Tony Stark a small named supporting cast, something he has lacked up until now,  it remains to be seen how long Jim and Evans will be seen in iron man stories,  I would not surprise me if this is there first and last appearance.

Art

Artistically the issue was quite strong, so much so its hard for me to decide what to share with you.  Jack Kirby did a fine job on this iron man story, and Don Heck inked it appropriately.  This is one issue where I think the inking had as much to do with how good the art was as Kirby’s sketching.

From the beginning where you have the ruptured wind tunnel, the lines, and the lack of color do a wonderful job showcasing just how strong the winds are,   I could not have asked or hoped for a better panel to convey the feeling then that.

The artwork remains strong in the details of the scenes.  In fact about every panel of the netherworld / Atlantis  is filled with  great detail,  some even featuring the world more than the characters.  I feel that Jack liked showing off the worlds that he designed.

The details do a great job at providing depth and realism to the fictional subterranean city.  It also works well to showcase their weapon’s and advanced technologies at the same time.

Originality & Continuity

At last we get to the true topic of this story; and discuss how it does not even come close to meeting up to my standards for Originality & Continuity.  The simple fact is, this story more than any I have read in a while  fails this test.

First, we have seen at least two other stories so far, with an invasion from below;  while the Mole Man story may have been able to stand separate from this one,  Tyrannus does not.

In addition to that,  the underground civilisation; and their city is Atlantis. Last time I checked, Atlantis was already accounted for in the marvel universe with Namor and his people.

But all that I could have gotten past,  if it did not get worse. As the story progresses, it ends up leading to the same plot as Iron Man’s Origin. A captured Tony stark builds an Iron Man suit to engineer his escape.  While if this was some time later, it may not have been bad to repeat it, it has only been a few months from the origin.

Characters & Development

Iron Man and Friends

I have said this already above, but I will repeat it in this section.  It is good to see Tony get some level of supporting characters in this story, even if they are temporary.

Beyond that, I feel this work offers little in the way of development for the ongoing Iron Man plot.

Comic Book Review Summery

I find this issue quite stunning artistically,  but when it comes to the story it is unoriginal.  it might be a good comic to read if you do not read many or if you are focusing just on iron man. But if you read a lot of the other marvel works, it will seem quite familiar to you. likely even just as an iron man fan you will realize that part of its plot is recycled.