If there’s been any throughline across the tapestry of Iron Man’s comic book tenure, as well as the subsequent hit movie franchise that it inspired, it’s the idea of humanity. That ethos has bled into so many elements of Tony Stark’s existence, whether as a futurist who flies around in a purposefully-inhuman metal costume, an out-of-touch billionaire, a substance abuse addict, or some combination of the three. In the wrong hands, that struggle can become incredibly heavy-handed, or can be eclipsed entirely by cheap gimmicks and changes to Tony’s status quo. This is what has made the current Iron Man run, which has managed to be both a grandiose and cameo-filled space opera, as well as an intimate and agency-driven character study, an absolute revelation. The first chapter of that run, titles “Books of Korvac,” comes to an end in this week’s Iron Man #19 with a perfectly understated and infinitely compelling finale – one that also sets a perfect foundation for what’s to come.
