Iron Man [2020] #15 - Marvel Comics

IRON MAN No. 15, February 2022

Considering that in essence this entire twenty-page periodical simply consists of a closely-contested slugfest between Tony Stark’s Iron God persona with that of the cosmically-powered Michael Korvac, there’s a surprisingly substantial hook to be found with Christopher Cantwell’s narrative for “What Of Lazarus?” in the guise of an old Larry Lieber co-creation from October 1963. In fact, many of this comic’s readers were probably wishing that the American author focused far more upon the final exploits of Draconius’ sole-surviving Wobbow than the two “newly nigh-invincible entities” as they forcefully “vie for absolute dominance.”

For starters, whereas this publication’s central thread of Iron Man and his ‘arch-nemesis’ is debatably badly bogged down with a seemingly endless argument over just who will stop who from controlling the entire universe, the notion of a fatally injured shape-shifter desperately seeking solace upon the planet Satania so as to tell the true story of his hapless world’s destruction is incredibly engrossing. The Chicago-born writer doesn’t even bother to give the refugee a name, yet somehow injects the character with plenty of genuine pathos as the green-skinned alien flees his fast-disintegrating planet in a rocket ship “with a single copy of our great history.”

Likewise, Iron Man’s sudden confrontation with the Living Tribunal and “some friends” proves far more fascinating when viewed from the lone Wobbow’s perspective, than that of the self-opinionated Stark. This scene, which includes several other celestial-sized deities such as Oblivion, Eternity, Death and Mistress Love, should arguably have been seriously sense-shattering. But due to his massive ego, Tony talks to these ‘cosmic abstract entities’ as if they were equals, whereas the tiny extra-terrestrial, witnessing the exchange during his space-flight to safety, truly appreciates the sheer spectacle of such a galaxy-sized gathering; “But what I saw next… I’m a holy man, but never did I believe I would encounter so many gods on a single day… On our Doomsday…”

Quite possibly this publication’s biggest win however, is Ibraim Roberson’s excellent pencilling, which manages to provide the battle amongst the planets with all the civilisation-destroying grandeur such a colossal conflict would cause. In addition, the visual illustrator somehow manages to imbue the nameless Wobbow with all the bitter sadness and emotional torment a bibliophile might expect from a single being fleeing from the senseless end to his sun, world and harmless race…

The regular cover art of "IRON MAN" #15 by Alex Ross