This week in the comic world, writer Joshua Williamson teamed up with artist Carmen Carnero for a new run of Marvel’s Iron Man main comic series.
After last year’s abrupt cancellation of Insurgent Iron Man, Marvel moved quickly to rebrand the armored avenger with a new creative team.
The first issue of the run was released on Jan. 28, 2026. Joshua Williamson, most notably known for his DC work on Superman, came over to Marvel to begin a new journey writing one of the most popular super heroes of all time, Iron Man; the millionaire, highly intelligent and charismatic man in an iron clad outfit.
This new issue, however, is legacy #681 in the series.
Right off the bat, the issue takes the essence of Iron Man and portrays it to the max. Iron Man, also known as Tony Stark, is grandiose, charismatic, popular, etc. The book perfectly captures what makes Tony Stark who he is.
The essential question this issue asks: What makes Tony Stark so special?
The first couple of pages take a spin on Iron Man’s origin story; where Tony Stark was stuck in a cave; kidnapped by adversaries; and built the first Iron Man suit on a pile of scraps.
The scene intentionally invokes the imagery from Iron Man (2008), the entry point of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But they used this instead to reintroduce a classic villain, Madame Masque. The current enemies are attempting to get someone akin to Tony Stark by restaging his origin with other highly intelligent people.
A rather daunting introduction, setting the tone for the conflict in this series.
Williamson, who has never written Iron Man, has done a great job solidifying himself with the first issue. It feels like a natural passing of the baton from Spencer Ackerman, who had won a Pulitzer Prize, to Williamson.
Tristan Timones
It’s both noticeable that the series has fallen under the roof of a new writer, and respectful of what Iron Man has been for decades.
Although a popular hero in the movies, Iron Man hasn’t had a significantly popular run of comics for a while — not since Matt Fraction’s Invincible Iron Man back in 2008 — perhaps Williamson and Carnero will change that.