'Iron Man 2020' #1 Review: There are no good guys in this brave new world and both humans and AIs are to blame
This article contains spoilers for 'Iron Man 2020' #1
With the highly-anticipated release of 'Iron Man 2020' #1, a new Shell-Head is here and he is... a bit of a brat. After the world found out that Tony is actually an AI in a clone body, the hero's been stripped of his title, his company, and all his toys and the last time we saw him in 'Tony Stark: Iron Man' Issue #19, he had descended back into alcoholism, something he's fought against for most of his life.
But with Tony gone, there's a vacuum in the world and Tony's brother Arno Stark is determined to be the one to fill it, though we're yet to really find out if that's a good thing or not. Alongside Sunset Bain, he's basically caused robots to lose all rights and be treated as slaves, triggering the Robot Revolution that is the first major arc of the new series.
Previews for 'Iron Man 2020' #1 had revealed that Arno is destined to defeat a strange otherworldly monster, called the Extinction Event Entity who looks like a hybrid of technology and Lovecraftian horror. This creature apparently wants to take control of Earth's AIs and create a robot army, which is what Arno is actually scrambling to prevent.
Now that the issue's here, we find that there really aren't any heroes in this story. Arno and Sunset treat the more technologically-inclined employees of Stark Unlimited like Jocasta and Dr Shapiro the genius cat as if they own them — which they legally do now.
The Robot Revolution aren't exactly saints either, threatening to blow up a maternity ward after Arno and Sunset blew up their robotics factory. Right up until the last page, we're led to believe this story is going to be all about Arno going up against Machine Man, who appears to be the leader of the Revolution but the final page of the issue brings with it the biggest surprise of all: the real leader of the Robot Revolution is none other than Tony Stark wearing a replica of his first armor and calling himself 'Mark One'.
Pete Woods' artwork is absolutely on point with clear lines and excellent designs for all of the tech in the issue. Plus, Iron Man's new armor is a real thing of beauty and Woods actually manages to make the giant clockwork wheels on the shoulders look cool, which is quite the achievement. The issue, in general, was extremely fun and we can't wait to see where this story goes.
Here's the synopsis for 'Iron Man 2020' #1 by Dan Slott and Christos Gage, with art from Pete Woods: "IT’S A NEW IRON MAN FOR A NEW YEAR! The future is now! Artificial Intelligences present a clear and present danger to humanity and must be brought to heel! The Robot Rebellion battles for the establishment of robot rights! And Arno Stark IS Iron Man!"
'Iron Man 2020' #2 is scheduled to be released on February 12.