Iron Man [2020] #8 - Marvel Comics

IRON MAN No. 8, June 2021

Considering that Christopher Cantwell’s narrative for Issue Eight of “Iron Man” doesn’t actually feature the Golden Avenger in any way whatsoever, preferring instead to replace Tony Stark’s ongoing battle against Michael Korvac with a bizarre exploration of Hellcat’s seriously damaged psyche, it is somewhat doubtful “America’s #1 Teenager” landed particularly well with Shell-head’s fanbase. Indeed, considering that the vast majority of this twenty-page periodical arguably just concerns itself with a lack-lustre rehash of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” it was probably hard for some readers not to shake the impression that the American author was, for some inexplicable reason, having to pad out Patsy Walker’s attempt to rekindle her long-dormant psychosomatic powers for almost the entire comic book.

Of course, the sudden appearance of Moondragon and Walker’s subsequent surprising visit back to her old High School days does produce a modicum of momentary interest when first presented, especially when Hellcat’s “old friend and psychic mentor” indicates she hopes to make her pupil’s access to “the ol’ psychoactive radio waves” stronger than ever. However, Heather Douglas’ guest-star appearance does raise a few questions considering the Guardian of the Galaxy is apparently perfectly capable of reaching out across time and space to Patsy in order to imbue her with a considerable cerebral boost, yet unable to mentally attack Korvac when the “would-be deity” is in close proximity to Hellcat.

Similarly as illogical is Walker having to cheat at a history examination by reading the mind of her old teacher and fending off her former husband, Daimon Hellstrom with a couple of office chairs. This entire sequence lurches from set-piece to set-piece, including a disagreeable hospital bedside scene in which the heroine’s mother actually tries to convince her daughter to kill herself, simply so the Defender can supposedly show her own inner fear some kindness; “Your fear. Fear of your own mind. With a soft touch free it. Accept it. Hold it. Deep down, Korvac is afraid. If you are not… You can win.” 

Adding to the feeling that this particular publication is little more than a ‘filler’ edition are Angel Unzueta’s layouts, which whilst proficient enough, debatably lack the visual impact of series regular artist Cafu. This difference in consistent quality is particularly noticeable in the Spaniard’s pencilling of the events housed within Centerville, with the sketching of Mister Brown’s angry outburst over a decimated red apple proving particularly poor when compared to the drawing of Jim Rhodes’ desperate attempt to loop back upon an enemy spaceship in an attempt to destroy it with missiles.

The regular cover art of "IRON MAN" #8 by Alex Ross