Iron Man 2020 #1 Review

Writer: Dan Slott & Christos Gage / Artist: Pete Woods / Marvel Comics                                                                                           Marvel is fond of trying to make “fetch” happen. They have also cornered the market on lending a cultural connection to their heroes that makes it easier for them to fall into the collective consciousness. Having said that, I’m not entirely sure about how this month’s “fetch” Iron Man 2020 will fare establishing itself now in its titular year. According to Slott logic, Tony Stark has been dead for years with an artificial intelligence living out his life in a cloned body…or something. In the wake of this reveal, Arno, Tony’s long lost adoptive brother has helped someone formerly known as Madame Menace take over Stark Unlimited while Arno becomes the new Iron Man. Throughout the lion’s share of the book, despite his cast-iron stomach for being in proximity to unconscionable things, Dan Slott’s hard sell on Arno Stark as a more villainous Iron Man doesn’t quite feel earned unless you’ve read all the content leading up to this title.

A new reader with a passing curiosity wouldn’t see much difference between the two Starks. And the fact that a considerable amount of the book seems devoted to either waging war on A.I. {for some unearned reason} or reminding us that something is coming instead of establishing who the title character is in comparison to the title character we all know…is concerning. There should b…