Superior Iron Man #2: Review Daredevil vs. Iron Man

The fallout of the AXIS series has left Tony Stark a changed man. With a twisted idea of creating a utopia, Tony creates the Extremis application; an app that once downloaded, enables its user to achieve perfection.

By asking the reader if they would download perfection if given the opportunity, writer Tom Taylor has created some interesting moral dilemmas in this series. I think that most people, myself included, would take a free trial of perfection. In asking this question, Taylor is addressing two current moral issues regarding perfection. The first being, what is perfection? Taylor seems to portray it as the ability to achieve a state where one is most comfortable with himself or herself. If this is true, he asks how much are people willing to lose in order to be more comfortable with themselves. The second moral issue focusses on whether or not it is possible to obtain happiness through money.

Maybe I’m over-analyzing this, but it seems as if these are some fairly heavy concepts for a comic book. Some people may be uncomfortable with such philosophical concepts being hidden in something that is meant for entertainment purposes. I personally think it enables the reader to become more engaged in the story by allowing them to sympathize or relate to more than one character.

For example, if you were Tony Stark and had the ability to cure people of all of their sicknesses, wouldn’t you feel obligated to do so? Sure, most of us would like to think that we would offer this with better intentions. But in reality, most of us would do the exact same thing as Tony and succumb to greed and wealth. At the same time, after seeing (or sensing, in Daredevil’s case) the effects of the Extremis app, it’s pretty easy to side with Matt Murdock as he tries to put an end to Extremis.

Regardless of how things pan out for two of Marvel’s most popular heroes, it’s clear that Taylor has some unexpected twists and turns up his sleeve for this series. My guess is that these unexpected twists will challenge the readers to put themselves into the shoes of Daredevil and Iron Man. Enough of the philosophical analysis. Lets break down what happened in chapter two of Superior Iron Man.

Spoilers Ahead

Chapter 2: Daredevil VS. Iron Man

Realizing that the price of Extremis may have been unrealistic after only one free trial, Tony announces that he will be giving away an additional free trial.  This time, Tony puts some restrictions on just who is eligible. In order to have another free day of perfection, you needed to be within 50 feet of Iron Man at midday when he released the trial.

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The next day, thousands of people struggle for position in order to be within 50 feet of Tony Stark. To Tony’s surprise, the man closest to him was not a fan of Extremis, and instead was threatening to kill him. Not wanting any bad press, Tony bribes the man by claiming that he will clear his son of all evidence of a recent armed robbery, if he downloaded the free trial of Extremis and told everyone that his attempt to kill Tony Stark was all part of Tony’s plan. Willing to do anything to clear his son of the recent crime, the man accepts the bribe.

The party that follows the free trial leaves Tony incapacitated and passed out on his sofa. With Tony in an alcohol-induced comatose state, Daredevil breaks into Stark’s mansion and kidnaps him. Daredevil then takes Tony to an underground lair that he believes will keep Tony from being able to call upon his toys to rescue him. Daredevil’s plan is to keep Tony locked in the lair until all of San Francisco has come down from the high of perfection enabled by the Extremis app. Daredevil’s plan is ruined when Stark’s suit is able to locate him. Daredevil is no match for Iron Man and his new suit, not even putting up a fight before being knocked unconscious. The chapter closes with Matt Murdock waking up feeling as if something was wrong. The final page reveals that Matt Murdock is no longer blind.

Opinion

This series reads well for its lack of action. I’m interested to see what a Daredevil with sight will be like. Will he be more badass, or will he lose the enhancement over his other senses? Regardless, I think this Daredevil will be short-lived, as I can’t really see (pun intended) Taylor removing Daredevil’s most defining quality. Other than that, Yildiray Cinar’s artwork has been awesome throughout. I like how much detail is put into the characters; it seems as if a lot of artists today are focusing too heavily on their backgrounds, especially on pages with multiple panels. Cinar seems to have the opposite approach, giving his characters great detail even on pages with multiple panels.