“Tony Stark paced the lacquered wooden floor outside his father’s office, chewing one stick of gum after another.”

From Eion Colfer’s Iron Man: The Gauntlet.

Tony Stark, or Iron Man if you prefer the superhero name, is a genius millionaire that has spent the majority of his life inventing all kinds of machines that are decades ahead of the competition. We begin with a teenage Tony and a glimpse into what makes Tony Stark so eccentric and sarcastic as a super machine-clad hero. Then jump to modern day (think Avenger-era movies) Tony who is still pushing S.H.I.E.L.D.’s boundaries, but also saving the world one millionaire step at a time. Stark is pushing and prepping for a huge environmental summit in Ireland while also squeezing in a covert Iron Man mission here and there… business as usual for Stark and his many high tech suits. On the way to make a dramatic entrance at the summit, party pack (a suit designed for parties instead of battle) Iron Man veers off course to check an abandoned island. While flying over, the AI (Friday) and suit go dead and Stark literally falls into a trap that was unknowingly set by an Irish teenager named Saoirse. Now Tony has to save himself, save the girl, and save the world; all in classic Tony style, of course.

Marvel’s expansion into the young adult fiction world has gained another solid addition to the collection. Eion Colfer brings Tony Stark to life through the words, thoughts, actions, and attitudes he presents in the book. The story moves along very quickly while still providing a satisfying read; there is not an over abundance of minuscule details, but every character, device, and setting are easy to visualize. Characters are believable and endearing; the characters in the book seem to provide a bridge between the world of the comic books and movies and the real world. The book doesn’t seek to recreate Tony Stark, but rather to give the reader more of the Iron Man we love. The Gauntlet is a very enjoyable read for Iron Man fans, old and new alike.