Comic Book Review – Iron Man by Christopher Cantwell Part Two

Iron Man: Books of Korvac III – Cosmic Iron Man (2022)
Reprints Iron Man (2020) #12-19
Written by Christopher Cantwell
Art by Angel Unzueta, Cafu, Ibraim Roberson, Julius Ohta, and Lan Medina

Iron Man: Source Control (2022)
Reprints Iron Man (2020) #20-25
Written by Christopher Cantwell
Art by Angel Uzueta

There’s a new type of superhero story on the scene now. Well, it’s “new” because it’s only been prevalent for about a decade. I think it started with writers like Tom King, who, if you regularly follow this blog, you’ll know I’m not a fan of. His great concepts hook me, but the execution is woefully insufficient. These are stories where the writer seems to impose themselves onto the protagonist somehow, and I can honestly say most comic writers aren’t as interesting as people. Alan Moore or Grant Morrison can get away with it because they are incredible writers, so any self-referential nods are brief and don’t interrupt the greater narrative. Christopher Cantwell falls in the “not that interesting” camp as he turns Iron Man into such a story during this run.

Iron Man/Tony Stark is a character I’ve always had trouble connecting with. I think the angst of Batman, a similar character in concept, helps make him relatable. Stark has none of those things that appeal to me about comic book characters. I really hated how the MCU made Peter Parker his protege because the appeal of that character is how grounded he is. The movies take all that away to make him a little Iron Spider. Cantwell attempts to lean into Stark’s humanity through the long story, and I got to a point where I was reading quickly just to be finished.

There’s some fancy fighting onboard Galactus’s ship as Iron Man rushes to stop Korvac from remaking the universe. Iron Man fights some of his rogues under Kovacs control, but they are the equivalent of Foot Clan Soldiers or Stormtroopers, just zero character or personality. Hellcat shows up with her ragtag team of superheroes. The original Human Torch is introduced into the narrative so that Korvac can temporarily turn him evil, and during this fight, he’s back to being a good guy. It all culminates in Stark and Korvac being transformed into cosmic-level entities. 

This led to the two duking it out in a psychotropic, mind-bending couple of issues. Stark blinks between his past and present, a giant of colossal proportions towering over NYC and then microscopic running across a kitchen table. He and Korvac’s battle shatters whole planets. Stark wins but holds onto this immense power, believing he can use it to better mankind. His first move is to instantly upgrade everyone’s intellect. That leads to some interesting scenes, but again, we have seeds of compelling ideas clunkily written.

The problem with Iron Man is that he’s been seen in a light that doesn’t accurately reflect previous portrayals ever since the Civil War comics event. I’ve read more Avengers comics featuring Stark than I have his own comic and find he was undoubtedly in touch with what was going on with people, not this weirdly aloof genius that Cantwell insists upon. If you look at the similar and much better Immortal Hulk by Al Ewing, you’ll see how someone can take a character and explore similar themes while showing a fundamental understanding of them. Nothing Ewing writes about Bruce Banner contradicts what has come before; it, in fact, enhances those old stories by providing a more complex perspective. I did not find that to be true about Cantwell’s work on Iron Man.

Eventually, Doctor Doom and Silver Surfer will be called in to assist. They help Hellcat set up a trap to sap Stark of his cosmic powers. He, of course, sees it all coming and kills a bunch of them. But because Stark has cosmic powers, that’s quickly reversed. Cantwell decides to lean into Civil War as the defining event of the character’s life; he laments how all his friendships devolve into conflict. Well, that could be said of every character in the Marvel Universe. Peter Parker’s life is fraught with contentious friendships turned villains. The artwork is above my critiques. They are doing a fantastic job. Cantwell’s lackluster scripting fails to deliver interesting conversations or thrilling heroics, the lowest possible bar for a superhero comic.

The final volume here is post-Korvac and feels like a weird epilogue or continuation. I don’t know if Cantwell thought he would write for a longer period before Marvel forced another relaunch. The opening chapter gives us something very comic book-y, which I liked – a chess match between a supercomputer and a talking gorilla. Things go awry, and Stark suits up to fight the ape. But this just serves as a kick-off to the next story arc, which involves Starktech being sold on the international black market. Our hero teams up with War Machine, and they go after the buyers and sellers. There’s a reasonably interesting reveal involving the villain Cobalt Man, but I felt incredibly bored, like with everything else in Cantwell’s run.

Comic books have always been trendchasers. Marvel’s entire history from the 1960s onward has especially had many elements added simply because they were popular in other mediums, and the horror and kung fu booms of the 1970s led to several new Marvel books. The 1990s saw young upstart artists garnering praise, so Marvel made many of their books glorified pin-up collections. The trend is now influenced by prestige television, season- and series-long arcs that focus on characters being more introspective rather than doing anything. That can work in some instances. I credit Tom King for his Vision series from years back; it is a good book. 

Cantwell comes from television (Halt and Catch Fire), so he’s trying to layer this storytelling style onto Iron Man. I don’t think he understands the character or has an interesting take on him, making it a slog to read. I’ve heard fantastic things about his Doctor Doom ongoing comic, so I might check that out, but this Iron Man book has set the bar low.