'Iron Man 2020' #1 Preview: Arno Stark might come off as a villain but his heart is mostly in the right place
The comic book Tony Stark's life (or afterlife, to be specific) has been turned upside-down after the world found out that he's more AI than human now thanks to Captain Marvel killing him during Marvel's 'Civil War II' event. He'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 the world needs an Iron Man and Tony's brother Arno Stark is ready to step in as Iron Man 2020, an upgraded Shell-Head with the weapons and the brain to not just replace Tony but possibly even outdo him. Here's how Christos N Gage, who's penning the new series alongside veteran writer Dan Slott, described Arno to Newsarama.
"Arno Stark is the biological son of Howard and Maria Stark, but due to a potentially fatal illness, he was essentially raised in a bubble/iron lung for much of his life," he said. "Now he's out. He's as smart as Tony - maybe smarter - but due to a lack of human contact, people often confound him, and he can be a bit removed in how he relates to them. Dan compares him to Mr. Spock or Sherlock (in the BBC series) and I think that's a perfect example. But one thing about Arno — he has a mission to save the world, and he is going to stop at nothing to do exactly that."
Based on how he appeared in 'Tony Stark: Iron Man', Arno comes off as a cold-hearted person with no regard for morality or even basic freedoms. Alongside Sunset Bain, he's basically caused AIs to lose all rights and be treated as slaves, triggering the Robot Revolution that will be the first major arc of the upcoming series. But there's more to Arno than meets the eye.
Previews released for the upcoming #1 reveal 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 will reportedly be attempting to take control of Earth's AIs and create a robot army, which is what Arno is actually scrambling to prevent.
He's not your conventional hero but he's not a villain either and while his methods might be questionable, Arno's ultimate goal is the preservation of all life on Earth. And for better or for worse, Arno Stark is Iron Man.
'Iron Man 2020' #1 will be released on January 15.
