There may not be a more layered and thought-provoking superhero comic coming out right now than Iron Man. Christopher Cantwell has pushed Tony Stark in new ways, reintroduced him as a bit more humble, and dangled the idea that he could become a god right in front of his face. There have also been some creative writing ideas, like how a specific song was used in Iron Man #12. In Iron Man #14, out this week, Iron Man takes in his first moments with the power cosmic. Let’s just hope his ego can survive the experience!
Drawn by Cafu with Angel Unzueta, this issue goes to some mind-bending, trippy places. In fact, one might liken the way the creative team has visualized Iron Man experiencing the power of a god to tripping, or at least having an intense dream. The story is driven by Iron Man’s captions, which put us inside his head, but the visual artists also capture the weirdness and psychic trials Iron Man must overcome.
As the story plays out, Iron Man revisits his lonely childhood, first with parents who were too busy and then with parents who were tragically dead. Cantwell continues to do good work by probing Tony’s mind and adding new wrinkles to the psychoanalysis which has made this series so compelling. He’s a superhero, after all, and seeing him realize he can fix everything is understandable. The thoughts he has rolling this over in his mind are interesting.
Trippy stuff.
Credit: Marvel
Some tropes are at work here that will be familiar, like some Alice in Wonderland stuff that makes Iron Man taller than a skyscraper and smaller than a mouse. Hell, there’s even a scene with Iron Man going through a looking glass. The visuals may be familiar, but they are modern in their approach, including the colors by Frank D’Armata. You also can’t go wrong with Iron Man going full-on knight with a sword fight which looks rather cool as he swings in the void of space at Korvac.
Through visuals and self-realization, Cantwell is showing there is real growth going on for Iron Man that’ll matter when he confronts Korvac in the next issue. In fact, much of what happens in this issue is like a tease as we know Tony is uncovering truths about himself and the universe, but we don’t know what these truths will mean until the next issue.
Iron Man #14 sets up a showdown for the ages between Korvac and Iron Man, who is now upgraded to god tier in power. This not only sets up a test for Tony Stark against Korvac, but a test to see if Iron Man has learned and grown beyond the futurist egomaniac who thinks he can fix everything. As a setup issue, it does lack some bite, but it is saved by some incredible imagery.
Join the AIPT Patreon
Want to take our relationship to the next level? Become a patron today to gain access to exclusive perks, such as:
- ❌ Remove all ads on the website
- 💬 Join our Discord community, where we chat about the latest news and releases from everything we cover on AIPT
- 📗 Access to our monthly book club
- 📦 Get a physical trade paperback shipped to you every month
- 💥 And more!
You must be logged in to post a comment.