Rescue #1

I really should have known better. I know that the Rescue armor is passive and built for rescue only, so I'm not sure what I was hoping for in this one-shot. Sure enough, Pepper Potts engages in "rescuing" some folks trapped in a fire, and it was fine for what it was. I even enjoyed the whole talking with a ghost thing when Pepper spent the aftermath of that event talking with her dead husband Happy Hogan. Heck, we recently saw Tony doing the same thing in his Director of SHIELD book!

But there is no fighting in this at all. When HAMMER shows up (this takes place before Siege) Pepper just runs. I understand why, but what a bummer. What this one-shot made me realize is that the use for this character are quite limited. I think she works great as a supporting character in Invincible Iron Man, but I'm never going to be sold on series starring a power-armored person with no offensive capabilities. Why read that when you can read about War Machine or Iron Man himself? Kelly Sue DeConnick wrote Pepper perfectly in character and did a fine job, I just realize that Pepper might not be someone I'm interested in reading about.

Give the Rescue armor some weapons and put her up against some baddies and I'm in, but that really dilutes the whole point of the armor and character, so I don't see it happening.

Andrea Mutti's art is fine for the content, he does a nice job drawing the fire and Rescue's armor looks fine (although those gloves look awfully pointy and painful). I'm not sure Mutti would work on a bright super-hero book but I bet he'd draw a cool Moon Knight or Shroud.

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