Iron Man #1 (2026): Joshua Williamson and Carmen Carnero kick off a slick, character-first relaunch

Marvel just relaunched Iron Man in January 2026 with writer Joshua Williamson and artist Carmen Carnero, and the result looks and reads like a mission statement: this run is less about the armor and more about the mind inside it—and the terrifying idea that someone else might be able to manufacture a “Tony Stark” on demand.

The Iron Man Relaunch Premise: Build me a Stark

The cleanest pitch for the Iron Man relaunch is also its most unsettling: A.I.M. doesn’t want to copy Tony’s tech—they want to create the next Tony Stark. Madame Masque, positioned as the central antagonist here, pushes the concept into mad-science territory by treating genius like a resource that can be kidnapped, coerced, and industrialized.

The story opens with a twisted mirror of Iron Man’s origin—a cave, scraps, a suit—only the person welding their way toward survival isn’t Tony, and that difference matters. The point isn’t nostalgia; it’s thesis. Williamson’s setup asks: if the origin is a “recipe,” can a villain reproduce it until they get a result that rivals Stark?

That framing is clever for a relaunch because it instantly does two things at once:

1. It reminds new readers why Iron Man exists, without dumping continuity homework on them.

2. It re-centers Tony’s “superpower” as inventive will, not just hardware.

Tone: confident, glossy, and unapologetically “Tony”

One of the most consistent takeaways across coverage is how deliberately this debut presents Tony as magnetic—the showman inventor-hero who can walk into a room and make it his room. That tone matters because it’s easy to write Tony Stark as either a smug problem, or a guilt engine in a suit.

Williamson appears to thread the needle by making Tony fun again—witty, sharp, a little condescending—while still keeping the story’s shadow (the “what comes after Iron Man?” dread) hanging behind his grin.

In interviews, Williamson has emphasized he wanted the book to be about Tony as a person, not a catalogue of armor upgrades. That creative intention shows up in how reviewers describe the issue’s balance of action and character work.

Plot engine: spectacle with a purpose

The first issue of the Iron Man relaunch is structured like a strong blockbuster pilot episode: an unsettling prologue (the “not-Tony” cave sequence), a reintroduction to Tony’s current public identity, and then a central set-piece that turns the series premise into a personal crisis.

The issue moves fast but doesn’t feel rushed—helped by the extra-sized format—and that the action is story-relevant rather than random punching.

One detail I really like (and it’s a small but telling one): the concept of a Tony Stark Award for brilliant minds. Whether you read it as ego (“I’m curating the future”) or as legacy (“I want my genius to do more good than harm”), it’s a very Tony invention—and it’s exactly the kind of honeytrap a villain like Masque could weaponize. That’s good superhero storytelling: build the set dressing out of character, then let the plot stab the character with it.

The Villain

Madame Masque is a great anchor for this kind of story because she doesn’t just want to beat Iron Man in a fight—she wants to own the idea of Iron Man, to take the myth and privatize it. Even better, placing Masque with A.I.M. reframes A.I.M. from “science goons” into an organization aiming for something closer to institutionalized innovation theft. If you can build the mind, the armor becomes a product line.

Supporting cast

Two supporting characters keep popping up in different ways -Pepper Potts and Melinda May.

Pepper’s presence makes immediate sense—she grounds Tony, punctures him, and keeps him tethered to consequences. (Also: if you’re trying to write Tony as charismatic without letting him float away into pure fantasy, you need someone who can look at him like a human mess and still care.)

Melinda May is the more intriguing piece. Her role is as someone who sees Tony as dangerous and insists on keeping him in her sights—someone unimpressed by the hero brand.

That dynamic is perfect for this run’s theme. If the question is “what weapon comes after Iron Man?”, May’s perspective is basically: Tony might already be that weapon. That’s a great tension to build a long series on, because it can generate conflict even on issues where the villains aren’t throwing skyscrapers.

Art: Carnero sells the glamour and the humanity

If you’re relaunching Iron Man, you need art that can do two jobs:

1. make the tech look iconic

2. make Tony look like a person worth reading about when he’s not in armor

Carnero’s work nails both. The art has dramatic flair and kinetic visuals, including a transformation moment that lands like an event. Carnero excels at the human beats—facial acting, posture, the little choices that make Tony’s charm (or arrogance) readable panel to panel. That matters because Iron Man lives or dies on “Tony scenes.” Anyone can draw repulsor blasts. The special sauce is making a guy in a room talking feel as high-voltage as the suit-up.

Accessibility: a fresh start that remembers the past

This issue welcomes newcomers without ignoring history. The premise itself naturally re-teaches the origin (because villains are reenacting it), which is such a clean craft solution that you almost don’t notice you’re being brought up to speed. That’s what I want from a first issue relaunch: don’t pretend the character has no past, but don’t punish a new reader for not knowing it.

Why I’m in (and why you might be, too)

What makes Iron Man relaunch feel promising isn’t just that it’s slick—though it sounds slick as hell—it’s that the central idea is character-native.

Tony Stark has always been a walking contradiction:

• hero built on weapons tech

• genius fueled by ego

• public icon who’s privately terrified of what he can become

This relaunch aims directly at that contradiction by externalizing the fear: what if someone else can replicate what Tony is? If Tony’s mind is the “most dangerous weapon,” then a villain trying to mass-produce that weapon is the purest possible Iron Man threat.

Add in a supporting cast designed to challenge him (May), a villain who understands the power of masks (Masque), and an artist who can deliver both movie-scale spectacle and intimate expression (Carnero), and you’ve got the ingredients for a run that can be big and personal.

Verdict

If you’ve been waiting for an Iron Man relaunch that feels like a confident on-ramp—clear premise, stylish execution, Tony written with swagger and menace—this seems like the one. Between framing an “arms race for the next Tony Stark” and the strong set up with tight pacing and standout visuals, Williamson and Carnero look like they’re building a run that understands the character’s core and isn’t afraid to make it fun again.

MSS Rating: 5/5