Tony Stark: Iron Man promises to be ‘between Rick & Morty and Black Mirror’
By Nick Tylwalk
The new Iron Man series has one heck of a pitch and an interesting sounding take that will focus on both the machine and the man behind it.
As the Disney Imagineers who have had to continuously revamp Tomorrowland will attest, it’s tough to keep up with the future when it’s a continuously moving target. The pace of technological change continues to accelerate, and even for Tony Stark, it might be too much.
That’s especially true since he died and came back in the pages of Marvel Comics, and while he’s had revelations before, the ones that will fuel him in the new Tony Stark: Iron Man series from writer Dan Slott and artist Valerio Schiti sound more topical than ever.
As Slott told Nerdist in the interview announcing the relaunched book, the only way to do Iron Man justice in the 21st century is to keep pushing the limits:
"He wasn’t bitten by a radioactive spider. He took his own two hands and built everything he needs to stand side-by-side with Asgardian gods and super-soldiers! He’s always going to push the boundaries of science and tech to build a world he wants, and that’s going to lead to stories that go to insane places."
It’s possible Slott means “places” literally, since he describes the tone as “between Rick & Morty and Black Mirror.” Yet he also promises that this won’t be a tortured soul when it comes to Tony Stark, the man (though lord knows he’s had reason to be that way in plenty of comics in the past, but rather one who is “the real, new Iron Man: funny, charming and cool.”
Meanwhile, Schiti is talking up hundreds of different armors he has ideas to draw, taking inspiration in everything from classic anime series to modern day vehicles. You don’t see any of those armors in the preview pages Marvel is showing off for the first issue, but it’s fun to hear him as excited as Slott to take Shellhead somewhere new.
If this sounds like your kind of vision of everyone’s favorite futurist, be sure to visit your local comic shop, digital comics portal or anywhere new comics are sold on June 20 for Tony Stark: Iron Man #1.