Iron Man is a fickle character, with numerous relaunches and high-profile creators over the last few years, and today he’s launching into his next era thanks to Joshua Williamson. We’ve seen the character become poor under Christopher Cantwell, get steampunk with Spencer Ackerman, and now Williamson and Carmen Carnero are bringing him back to the cave, so to speak. It’s an exciting premise caked in shiny, exceptional art, making this an excellent start to a new run.
Iron Man #1 is an extra-sized issue, and Williamson and Carnero really open up the pacing, making this a well-oiled, cinematic experience. It never feels rushed or like it’s doing too much or too little. In a way, this feels more akin to the Marvel Studios Tony Stark, with an opening that shows adoring fans cheering him on before he arrives on stage. Tony even makes an exciting entrance on a cool, futuristic-looking flying motorcycle, dons shades, and rocks out. This is a Tony Stark that’s not embarrassed to be who he is, and he’s loving every minute of it.
Meanwhile, the premise is strong. Essentially, AIM is attempting to recreate Tony Stark but forcing super geniuses to build a weapon in a cave, or die. It’s the same scenario that “birthed” Tony. It creates a nice parallel to Iron Man’s origin while setting up a potential enemy, or ally, who is as good as Tony Stark at the start of his heroic run.
Madame Masque is our main villain.
Credit: Marvel
The visuals have a great flair for the dramatic, with cool close-ups on the motorbike enveloping Tony Stark’s hands while he rides, transforming into the suit for an astonishing double-page splash. Carnero excels at human moments, and there are plenty of them since this is a Tony Stark/Iron Man book. Character acting is strong, and she makes Tony being back on top fun. Meanwhile, the new suit design is angular, modern in its bulk, and looks more focused on function than form. And that’s just the motorcycle suit; as we get another full page of another suit with a modern MCU synergy, you can see the details in the arms and rib areas.
Nolan Woodard’s colors are bright, with a heavy use of warm oranges and reds baking the backgrounds, or interesting yellow outlines in one scene to highlight Tony and Pepper. The colors never look too over-the-top either, grounding scenes well while making the superhero stuff really pop.
Joshua Williamson and Carmen Carnero deliver a confident, stylish relaunch that understands both Iron Man’s legacy and his modern appeal. By focusing on the cave that made him a hero, the creative team taps into the character’s core while letting Carnero’s dynamic art and strong character acting do much of the storytelling. This first issue doesn’t reinvent Iron Man, but it doesn’t need to. Its strength lies in execution, clarity, and a sense of fun that reminds readers why Tony Stark works best when he’s embracing who he is. If this issue is any indication, Iron Man is in very good hands.
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