Iron Man [2020] #7 - Marvel Comics

IRON MAN No. 7, May 2021

For those readers interested in Frog-Man discussing his religious thoughts on the existence of a one, true God with the likes of the Gargoyle, Misty Knight and the Scarlet Spider, or negotiating a twenty-six panel sedentary sequence in which Michael Korvac waxes lyrical about his “one single entity”, Christopher Cantwell’s script for Issue Seven of “Iron Man” debatably delivered. However, for those bibliophiles anticipating any action whatsoever from this particular publication, “Overclock” probably left them feeling bitterly disheartened; “This collective aggregate knows only peace and calm. All acts are ones of softness and grace. Universal good is omnipresent and owned by no individual. Not even myself. The Self melts away completely. It serves only the aggregate.”

To begin with, the vast majority of this comic is padded out with Hellcat and Shell-head receiving an utterly befuddling update from this ongoing series’ lead antagonist as to just what the villain’s central goal of establishing a “Universal Harmony” means. Word-heavy and stretched to almost breaking point by a couple of Cafu’s prodigiously pencilled splash page illustrations, this dialogue-driven scene eventually concludes with the bizarre revelation that Korvac wants to turn all galactic life into nothing more than an existence of “crystals eating crystals.”

Admittedly, such an insane admission definitely shows just how completely mad the “would-be deity” has become, whilst simultaneously making it abundantly clear that the resurrected android must be stopped from carrying out his diabolical plan no matter what the cost. But arguably this book’s American author could have accomplished a similarly convincing ‘reveal’ in a quarter of the sheet space, and subsequently have enlivened this periodical’s lethargic tempo by focusing more upon War Machine’s disappointingly brief battle against a faster-than-light spacecraft.

Perhaps this comic’s biggest curve-ball though is Cantwell’s somewhat head-scratchingly surreal cliff-hanger, which sees Tony Stark somehow teleported to another world which is apparently populated by a group of exotic-looking extra-terrestrials and a futuristically-armed Canadian. Such a sudden departure from this title’s long-running narrative must have proved a little jarring to this comic’s audience, especially for those already puzzled as to just how the billionaire industrial somehow managed to ‘piggy-back’ upon Hellcat’s telepathic conversation with Korvac beforehand.

The regular cover art of "IRON MAN" #7 by Alex Ross