Written by Tom Taylor
Art by Yildiray Cinar
Published by Marvel Comics
Superior Iron Man continues with its excellent character inversion of the beloved Tony Stark. The meat of the issue is mostly a single conversation between the titular “hero” and Daredevil. It’s a direct follow up from the last installment with Iron Man using his new Extremis strain on Matt Murdock to let him see again.
What little is accomplished story wise (compared to previous issues) is made up by Yildiray Cinar’s art work. Every scene with Daredevil is shown from a first person perspective. Cinar really sells these scenes with both his crisp, clean style as well as his creative use of reflections and mirrors. He really makes it look like he’s pulled off the blindfold and you’re seeing the world for the first time. Sadly, moments for the former blind hero to take in his new sight aren’t that many. However, Cinar reaches new heights when Matt Murdock looks over the sunny cityscape of San Francisco. The last two pages are a special tear-jerking moment onto itself.
Narrative wise, showing a majority of the issue from Daredevil’s perspective would seem only a little gimmicky. This title is called Superior Iron Man, and it’s odd to see these last two issues have Murdock as the real hero. This one is quite literally from his perspective. What this issue does is show the reader what Tony Stark really has become. His ego has fully enveloped him, he’s to build the greatest future he can imagine and is insulted that he isn’t praised for his greatness. He’s Ayn Rand objectivism to its ultimate, ugly extreme, self-centered, amoral end with a god complex to boot. Still, it feels odd that this book is only at issue three, and it has spent very little time on its own protagonist. It makes up for these shortcomings by fitting together some elements from issue one that felt at first unimportant and awkward. The presence of She Hulk and the new Teen Abomination from the start pay off with Tom Taylor planting the seeds for whatever twisted seeds Stark is to sow. More importantly is Pepper Potts planning to take down Tony herself with the aid of who would appear to be a Tony Stark from the past. Chances are he’s more than he appears as he never takes off his armor or lifts his visor.
Tom Taylor puts together a fun read build on strong character moments and interesting scenarios. What greater plan he’s building to will likely be the big read of the next few months. When the worst one can say about a book is a few badly drawn faces, it’s doing something right.