Tony Stark’s emerged from the Roxxon-Stark War relatively victorious, but one question remains: how does he free his suits from the magic influence of the Iron Monger? Simple: he calls in a magic expert. In this case, Iron Man #4 finds Tony contacting the Scarlet Witch to learn exactly why he can’t access his old armors. The path leads Tony and Ironheart into conflict with the Heat, a group of vigilantes stalking Chicago’s streets.
Spencer Ackerman has been pulling from different eras of Iron Man history while crafting this new tale, and this issue features him drawing a connection to Tony’s days in S.H.I.E.L.D. It turns out that when you run a massive peacekeeping organization, you end up signing off on some initiatives that come back to bite you and draw tensions between you and your allies. For Ironheart, it’s her home city that’s come under attack; for Melinda May, it comes off as feeling like Tony doesn’t trust her.
I also love how Ackerman writes Scarlet Witch into the picture. A recurring trope that’s irritated me in superhero media is when a scientific character, despite all evidence to the contrary, waves off magic as not being real. It never made sense to me – in a world where there’s actual gods and sorcerers, you’d have to acknowledge magic. To Tony’s credit, he freely admits that magic isn’t his deal, which is why he brings in Wanda.
Marvel
Iron Man #4 also features a change in artists, with Javier Pina stepping in. Pina’s artwork brings a sleekness to the action sequences, including a splash page where Iron Man, Ironheart and May conduct a raid on the Heat. In the space of several panels, repulser rays send mercenaries flying while May dives from the air and tackles a target – and it looks absolutely gorgeous.
Pina isn’t the only artist who boards Iron Man #4. Rod Reis steps in for a two-page spread where Scarlet Witch investigates the Iron Monger medallion, and the results are trippy. Thousands of shadowy shapes start swarming her, until they finally converge into a form that resembles the Iron Monger – or rather, Iron Man’s original gray armor. It’s absolutely terrifying to witness, but it’s not surprising; anyone who’s seen Reis’ work on C.O.W.L. or Dark Web: X-Men knows this man can draw some truly unique superhero comics.
Though the artists may have changed, Alex Sinclair and Joe Caramagna keep up a level of consistency with their color and letter work. Sinclair plays with different shades of red, as Iron Man’s armor is a lighter shade of red while Scarlet Witch’s dark red robes are a perfect match for her chaos magic. Caramagna’s letters provide distinction for Iron Man and Ironheart, as the latter has round speech bubbles with red and yellow while the latter’s are hexagonal and lined with purple.
Iron Man #4 proves that magic and machinery do mix, as a new story arc begins. With the ending bringing back another face from Tony Stark’s past, the Armored Avenger’s fight to reclaim his life has only just begun, and I’m fully strapped in for the ride.
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