Marvel Now Rankings, Part 9: 9-7

The ninth part of the Marvel Now Ranking, covering titles nine through seven.

These Marvel NOW books are all solo character stories, focusing on a new perspective for each character that the audience has not seen before and one that will catch their audience off-guard.

9. Superior Iron Man: Written by Tom Taylor with art by Yildiray Cinar

After the events of the AXIS crossover, Tony Stark has had his morals flipped, becoming a carefree alcoholic again and turning his back on his responsibilities. He moves out to San Francisco and starts up a new branch of his company that makes a lot of money capitalizing on people insecurities and then charging them insane amounts of money after a free trial.

This book provides a new look into Iron Man, he isn’t a villain but he does not try to be a hero. He no longer tries to save people, instead taking advantage of them for monetary profit. It makes Tony an antagonist in his own book, I like the inclusion of Daredevil and how the book shows both sides of the fight, while what Tony is doing is wrong he does have some good points the audience can understand why the people he is taking advantage of willingly pay exorbitant amounts of money for his product.

I would recommend this book to any fan of Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of Iron Man, as he is more like his movie counterpart in this book, except with some questionable decisions.

Image by Marvel Comics

8. Legendary Star-Lord: Written by Sam Humphries with art by Paco Medina

This book is a day in the life of Peter Quill, it goes over some of the adventures that he gets up to when he isn’t palling around with the other Guardians. After a few issues Kitty Pryde of the X-Men is also introduced into the book, with her and Peter dating and eventually being engaged.

The inclusion of Shadowcat to the book really brings it together, their interactions show off their relationship and make it seem realistic. They aren’t sure if their relationship will work out, but they want to try it. This book also provides a good look into Peter’s life on his own, presenting a different type of character than the showboating yet clumsy leader persona he puts on for the Guardians, Peter can be himself in this book.

I would recommend this book to any fan of the Guardians or any Kitty Pryde fan.

Image by Marvel Comics

7. Moon Knight: Written by Warren Ellis with art by Declan Shalvey

This book follows Moon Knight, also known as Marc Specter, also known as Mr. Knight, also known as Steven Grant, also known as Jack Lockley. Moon Knight has Multiple Personalities, but that doesn’t stop him from fighting crime and trying to make the world a better place. This book focuses on the Mr. Knight persona solving crimes around New York. Almost every issue he is dealing with a new crime, using his detective skills and crime-fighting prowess to solve the case.

Warren Ellis provides a new take on Moon Knight that feels like a Batman story but if Batman were switched out for a more brutal man who isn’t afraid to kill and who could change into different character in each issue. While this book is written in the fanatical world of Marvel Comics it feels grounded and real, with Marc dealing with important issues that are present in our world today.

I would recommend this book to any fan of Batman who wants to read some Marvel Comics, or to anyone who wants a street-level story instead of the world ending stakes some of the other books deal with.

The next part of the Marvel Now Rankings will cover a story of a character trying to find his identity, a new character taking up an iconic mantle, and a new team to take on any threat that faces Earth.