Customer Reviews
Interesting but LAME ending 
2007-09-05
I was a huge fan of Ellis' prequel to this volume - he has a voice that is unmatched in intensity, perfectly suited to a new, hardcore Iron Man. This follow-on wasn't bad, decent enough mystery going on, and it had a few interesting things to contribute to the Extremis concept.
However, all that went out the window with the inexplicable climax and last-page ending. I won't give it away, but suffice it to say that it didn't feel to me like it logically flowed from anything we'd seen up to that point. Instead, it felt more like the author realized he only had a few pages to wrap up the broad storyline he'd created - and the last scene was a pure bolt-on, just serving to provide a bridge to the Civil Wars storyline (though I don't buy that Stark would've come to such an arresting conclusion out of the blue).
Grrr, bring back Ellis!
Iron Man - on the run! 
2007-02-26
Strictly speaking, Iron Man: Execute Program is the follow-up to Iron Man: The Inevitable. In reality, the Execute Program trade paperback, which collects issues 7-12 of the current Iron Man series, is the logical follow up to Iron Man Vol. 1: Extremis. While the Inevitable storyline that ran in Iron Man issues 1-6 came immediately after Extremis, it all but ignored those important events in favor of a more retro Iron Man tale. The Execute Program storyline is focused on the events that occurred during Extremis, and the consequences of those events.
In this storyline, someone is executing Tony Stark's enemies, and that someone looks disturbingly like Iron Man. Now that the Iron Man armor is inextricably linked to Tony Stark, Stark falls under suspicion of his Avengers teammates as well as Nick Fury of SHIELD. Iron Man hasn't been this hated since the Armor Wars.
Writers Daniel and Charlie Knauf deliver an Iron Man tale that is packed with action and intrigue, and one that successfully builds upon Warren Ellis's groundbreaking Extremis saga (go check it out if you haven't already). Their take on Tony Stark is what you always thought the character should act like. The billionaire playboy shtick has been replaced by the manic, obsessive, super genius inventor persona, which seems so much more appropriate to the man that created so many technological marvels. The Knaufs also set up tensions between Captain America and Iron Man that, combined with Stark's revelation at the end of the story, make a nice transition into Marvel's epic Civil War (Marvel Comics) saga.
While Adi Granov's brilliant painted artwork on Extremis has probably ruined Iron Man for all other artists, Patrick Zircher does an admirable job here. His style has progressed considerably since his last Iron Man project (Iron Man: the Iron Age), and is reminiscent of Steve McNiven and Trevor Hairsine's styles. I think his pencils could have benefited from a more prominent inker, but overall the book looks good. Plus, the painted covers by Granov are flat-out awesome.
Overall, Execute Program is another fine Iron Man adventure, and one that bridges the gap between two important Marvel events (Iron Man: Extremis and Civil War).
Great Story With Relevance to Civil War 
2007-02-24
In the first Iron Man arc by the Knauf brothers, Tony Stark's decision from the Extremis storyline is coming back to haunt him. His teammates on the Avengers are losing their trust in him due to his decision to inject himself with the Extremis serum to make Iron Man even more powerful. However, the trust issue becomes the least of Stark's worries when people connected to origin of Iron Man begin to die, and the prime suspect is Iron Man. Even worse, now that Stark used Extremis, he is the only person who can pilot the Iron Man armor, so he cannot claim that someone else stole his armor.
The Execute Program story is great, but the story serves as a great lead-in to Civil War, giving Stark an epiphany about the position he will come to head in the upcoming war...
Liberals should stick to Newspapers 
2008-06-21
the story line was pushing a very liberal ideology, and thats not something i enjoy in comics
A Zucchini In the Closet 
2008-03-25
I picked up this volume hoping for a continuation of the themes and tone established by the superb Iron Man: Extremis. Unfortunately, Execute Program does nothing quite so well as make you appreciate the subtle ways in which Warren Ellis made Extremis a satisfying whole.
Extremis features, among many other things, a mystery done right: you are slipped the necessary clues early on, so that when the characters puzzle out the solution, you think, "Oh! Of course!" and feel slightly dumb for not having figured it out yourself.
Execute Program, on the other hand, features what an acquaintance of mine called "Zucchini In The Closet" syndrome: near the end, someone throws open a door and exclaims, "Wait! There's a zucchini in the closet! This explains EVERYTHING!" We, the readers, are left to wonder why we should care about characters affected by a plot development we could not, indeed were intended not to, see coming.
I finished this book feeling not only that I'd misspent my time and my money, but that I'd managed to cheapen the memory of Extremis in the process. (Re-reading the latter a few times, and pretending that Execute Program never happened, has helped to largely wash that nasty aftertaste away.)
Failure to Execute 2007-11-18
This collection of Iron Man #7-12 builds nicely for the first five issues, thanks to intrigue, pacing, and characterization courtesy of television writers Charlie and Daniel Knauf. When the final issue (#12) begins, though, the story devolves into a generic action-packed mess that doesn't follow the logic set up in the first five issues. Perhaps it had to be cut short for #13's Civil War tie-in?
Interesting but LAME ending 2007-09-05
I was a huge fan of Ellis' prequel to this volume - he has a voice that is unmatched in intensity, perfectly suited to a new, hardcore Iron Man. This follow-on wasn't bad, decent enough mystery going on, and it had a few interesting things to contribute to the Extremis concept.
However, all that went out the window with the inexplicable climax and last-page ending. I won't give it away, but suffice it to say that it didn't feel to me like it logically flowed from anything we'd seen up to that point. Instead, it felt more like the author realized he only had a few pages to wrap up the broad storyline he'd created - and the last scene was a pure bolt-on, just serving to provide a bridge to the Civil Wars storyline (though I don't buy that Stark would've come to such an arresting conclusion out of the blue).
Grrr, bring back Ellis!
Iron Man - on the run! 2007-02-26
Strictly speaking, Iron Man: Execute Program is the follow-up to Iron Man: The Inevitable. In reality, the Execute Program trade paperback, which collects issues 7-12 of the current Iron Man series, is the logical follow up to Iron Man Vol. 1: Extremis. While the Inevitable storyline that ran in Iron Man issues 1-6 came immediately after Extremis, it all but ignored those important events in favor of a more retro Iron Man tale. The Execute Program storyline is focused on the events that occurred during Extremis, and the consequences of those events.
In this storyline, someone is executing Tony Stark's enemies, and that someone looks disturbingly like Iron Man. Now that the Iron Man armor is inextricably linked to Tony Stark, Stark falls under suspicion of his Avengers teammates as well as Nick Fury of SHIELD. Iron Man hasn't been this hated since the Armor Wars.
Writers Daniel and Charlie Knauf deliver an Iron Man tale that is packed with action and intrigue, and one that successfully builds upon Warren Ellis's groundbreaking Extremis saga (go check it out if you haven't already). Their take on Tony Stark is what you always thought the character should act like. The billionaire playboy shtick has been replaced by the manic, obsessive, super genius inventor persona, which seems so much more appropriate to the man that created so many technological marvels. The Knaufs also set up tensions between Captain America and Iron Man that, combined with Stark's revelation at the end of the story, make a nice transition into Marvel's epic Civil War (Marvel Comics) saga.
While Adi Granov's brilliant painted artwork on Extremis has probably ruined Iron Man for all other artists, Patrick Zircher does an admirable job here. His style has progressed considerably since his last Iron Man project (Iron Man: the Iron Age), and is reminiscent of Steve McNiven and Trevor Hairsine's styles. I think his pencils could have benefited from a more prominent inker, but overall the book looks good. Plus, the painted covers by Granov are flat-out awesome.
Overall, Execute Program is another fine Iron Man adventure, and one that bridges the gap between two important Marvel events (Iron Man: Extremis and Civil War).
