Iron Man [2020] #3 - Marvel Comics

IRON MAN No. 3, January 2021

If Christopher Cantwell’s aim for Issue Three of “Iron Man” was to depict a truly despicable Tony Stark desperately trying to find a place within an equally detestable world, then the American producer almost certainly succeeds with “The Land Wherein Thou Art A Stranger.” Indeed, it is hard to imagine a less depressing twenty-page periodical than this particular publication, where the billionaire industrialist lurches from punch-up to punch-up, becoming increasingly irate that the general public don’t seem to “see how strong I am”, fail to understand “what I am capable of”, and are apparently all-too “blind” to his universal greatness.

Admittedly, in the past the Golden Avenger has often proven somewhat difficult to root for due to his overwhelming ego and sheer arrogance. But in this instance, Cantwell actually asks his audience to believe that Shell-head would purposely fly an unconscious Melter up above the city skyline, simply to then lethally drop and subsequently save the villain at the last minute in an effort to show his critics just how all-powerful the supposed super-hero apparently is; “I dunno, you were talking about, um… don’t have to play by our rules… and… whether we should thank you for being Iron Man…”

Unfortunately, the Chicago-born writer also seems intent on destroying Hellcat’s character as well, portraying the Defender as some sort of suicidal has-been who is literally “walking a razor’s edge” between taking her own life and fighting crime every second of the day. There’s no doubt that Patsy Walker has had her fair share of emotional rollercoasters since first appearing in the Marvel universe way back in 1944, and ‘working her way back from being dead’ has clearly taken its toll. However, it is difficult to imagine the former occult investigator persistently experiencing such dark thoughts now she is (supposedly) free of Daimon Hellstrom’s demonic influence.

Disappointingly, this comic’s quite significant cast of supporting villains don’t fare too well either, with the likes of the Gladiator, Madame Masque and the aforementioned Melter, all simply being penned as some sort of short-lived ‘comedic relief’. Bruno Horgan’s successor is arguably especially poorly served by this book’s script, with the former member of the All-New Sinister Six apparently tracking down Stark’s Lower East Side home just so he can melt his arch-nemesis’ car into bubbling scrap and make Tony mad at him.

The regular cover art of "IRON MAN" #3 by Alex Ross