The last episode gave us a shocking revelation and a bit of a sneak peak into Tony’s past. This week is another challenge for Iron Man as Zodiac utilizes other means in order to cause disharmony and disrepute for our iron clad hero.

Plot Outline:

We see Tony, being the quirky inventor that he is, attempting to reach the outer heaven known as space solely on the Iron Man suit’s capabilities. Unfortunately, the suit just doesn’t seem to cut it and Tony returns to his lab to further modify his suit and also to assign his lovely secretary Miss Pepper the role of investigating on the background and whereabouts of Yinsin. The plot thickens when Tony receives an urgent word from Dr. Tanaka that he is required back at the arc station. Meanwhile, Nanami and her assistant camera man Masuda-san in their drive around town and quest to gain an audience with the billionaire encounter a young lady suffering from emesis of a peculiar blue colour. As the ailing lady is taken to Lab 23, it is revealed she isn’t the only one and there have been other similar cases. On the other side, Captain Sakurai (the good samaritan) is called into the JSDF where it is revealed that the Japanese surveillance satellite has been hijacked and the government has no crafts which will be able to reach it. As the virus spreads and the more people throughout the city fall ill the arc reactor is sealed off and all its members of staff, including Tony and Tanaka, are detained as it is being considered the root cause of the problem. The situation reaches to the point where Tony is actually considering causing a ruckus and escape when he is approached by Sakurai with proposition. As it is revealed that the satellite is hijacked by a device by the Zodiac organization and that its being used in order to cause the infection by aiming its solar panels at the arc reactor and spread the resulting radiation. The stakes are raised as even Nanami-chan falls prey to the ailment and Tony is left with no choice but to work in collaboration with Sakurai in order to save the city.

A/A+

The Good:

This episode helped giving Tony’s character further development as we see another side to the illustrious billionaire. His willingness to put himself in harm’s way for the safety public also enabled to further develop his relationships with Tanaka and Sakurai. In a way, I enjoy how the characters are maturing into their roles as the series progresses and not leaving with what would seem like filler episodes and no progression. The pace of the episode was just right as the animators were able to capture the scenario of the epidemic and the battle to avert it in just 20 minutes without the episode feeling rushed or delaying and pushing it into another episode.

The Ugly:

The fact that Tony didn’t hit on Tanaka for a change was quite disappointing but considering the gravity of the episode I will let it slide. Other than that I have not found anything which I would say is a downfall for this episode, surprising as it may seem.

Bottom line:

This episode was true to the Iron Man theme that we all enjoy. The characters are maturing and relationships are being further built and developed per episode. The meld of the severity of the virus spreading and action in the space was done really well by the animators. I would like though a bit more peak into Tony’s past and other guest appearances from major Marvel characters to spice the series even further.

Preview:

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Next time, Tony has a handful with cyber terrorism at the arc station. Hope to see some of his genius intellect in this electronic warfare.