‘Iron Cat’ #4 review: An iron-clad lover’s quarrel

A clash of armors and exes!

September 21, 2022

Iron Cat #4 kicks off with an argument that really gets to the heart of Tony Stark’s problem with Black Cat: Not only is she a thief and all-around troublemaker (even though she frequently helps out other heroes), Tony feels like she cannot see the bigger picture. Whereas Black Cat is typically up against street-level crime, Iron Man almost exclusively deals with world-ending threats. Every decision he makes in his superhero life and his civilian hours has the potential to effect billions — which might go a long way toward explaining why he seems so uptight compared to Felicia.

Of course, Felicia does understand what’s at stake, and this issue gives her an opportunity to prove it. As does Iron Cat, who realizes how badly she’s screwed up and tries to help. What ensues is a nearly issue-long action/chase sequence thrillingly drawn by Pere Pérez and colored by Frank D’Armata. The latter especially gets a chance to shine, as the various armors still pop from the page when submerged in murky waters or flying through dark sewer tunnels. Another highlight of the chase is a sequence in which the three heroes (well, one hero, one anti-hero, and one repentant supervillain) and the possessed Iron Man suits dodge each others’ blasts, resulting in a moment that feels like a deadly (but bright and exciting!) ballet.

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All the while, the trio are trading barbs and quips back and forth. It’s all a lot of fun, but it also gives Jed MacKay a chance to offer readers more insight into the history and baggage between Felicia and Tamara. They reference multiple previous jobs and the shortcomings they see in one another, bickering in the way that only bitter exes can, and it goes a long way towards fleshing out their story.

Meanwhile, regardless of how flippantly he speaks aloud, the narration boxes tell us that Tony Stark is anything but chill. This isn’t the first time he’s gone up against his own tech being used against him, but he can’t shake the feeling that one wrong move from any of them will lead to a whole lot of death and destruction — especially since the villain they’re up against this time can’t be killed or incarcerated like most other threats.

Unfortunately, beyond the hook that she can very much outpace and outthink many of Tony’s moves, Madame Menace just isn’t that interesting of a villain. Many of her lines are proclamations of assured victory and plenty of gloating, but there’s not much else there to hang onto. Maybe she doesn’t need to have a terrifically compelling motivation beyond revenge, but she does feel a bit “same-y” throughout this issue in particular.

Overall, this is a solid issue full of exciting, high-stakes action. The character explorations of Tony and Felicia are still the most intriguing aspect of this miniseries, and I’m excited to see where the pair end up when the dust finally settles in next month’s finale.