Review: Iron Man 2020 #1 Is A Complicated Debut By Slott, Gage And Woods
by Tony Thornley
For years, one of the greatest conflicts of the Marvel Universe has been predicted. Now, we’ve finally reached the year 2020, and we get to meet Iron Man 2020 in his time…
Dan Slott, Christos Gage, Pete Woods, and Joe Caramagna kick off the Iron Man event of 2020.
Arno Stark is Iron Man, he has taken control of Stark Enterprises, and resurrected his parents. He finally has everything he ever wanted. However, the AI Rebellion could bring it all crashing down and destroy everything he has worked so hard for. And the leader of the great rebellion is an incredibly unexpected face…
There’s two sides to this issue that are hard to reconcile. When the story is focused on Arno, it’s flat and unemotional. Though Arno is clearly the antagonist of the story, he’s the title character and he has noble intentions. However, he’s not at all sympathetic, and there’s nothing here to make a connection with him.
However, when the story focuses on the AI, it’s a thrilling story. Machine Man, our POV character for the AI Rebellion, is incredibly engaging and fun. Because of that, the twist that closes the issue is very effective, even if it’s not perfect.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Woods’ work in a comic, and by far it’s the best part of the issue. His characters are extremely expressive, and for many of the AI’s its done entirely through body language. His color work is especially great, starting with a base of neon-bright color, and adding light and effects to bring the story to life.
In the end, it’s not a perfect issue, but it’s engaging, and has great art. I’m interested to see where it goes from here, and hope that it lives up to its potential.
Iron Man 2020 #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
