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Column by Scott Green
Honestly, the first round of Marvel comic adaptations from much lauded anime studio Madhouse (Redline, Ninja Scroll, the Satoshi Kon movies) would have to be called under whelming. Iron Man, Wolverine, X-Men and Blade didn't have the English language writers or Japanese anime talent that the original pilots and hypes promised. Ultimately, the end results didn't ignite a Japanese interest in Marvel comics or fuel an American interest in anime. Like the Batman: Gotham Knight anthology or Halo Legends, they struck me as sadly mediocre, a sorely missed opportunity for anime to reestablish itself for genre fans.
Well, maybe I'm a sucker, because given the resumes involved, I'm at least mildly excited about the newly announced Iron Man: Rise of the Technovore, which see Hiroshi Hamasaki, the talent behind some top mature audience anime such as Texhnolyze and Shigurui: Death Frenzy take on the armored Avenger.
According to MTV Geek, the feature, hitting DVD next year from Sony, will feature Iron Man going head-to-head against the Matt Fraction and Barry Kitson-created villain Ezekiel Stane, son of Obadiah Stane. After Stane unleashes a terrorist attack and sets Tony up to take the fall, Iron Man must evade S.H.I.E.L.D.’s man hunt and find a way to clear his name.
Marvel will be revealing more about the feature during their Jeph Loeb-led Marvel TV Presents Panel during New York Comic-Con on Saturday, October 13 at 4:15pm in Room 1E13.
