Warning! Spoilers ahead for Iron Man #8
Marvel’s ongoing Iron Man series has been pushing Tony to his limit, and based on the previews for issue #8, that isn’t going to change anytime soon. With the Armored Avenger soon to be out of commission, the responsibility of saving the day will fall on the shoulders of a minor MCU character – who secretly packs a major superpower.
Christopher Cantwell’s Iron Man pits the genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist against Korvac, the Avengers’ most powerful enemy you’ve never heard of. Since Korvac previously defeated all of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes combined, Tony would be a fool to face him alone. Enter Hellcat, a lesser-known Marvel hero who has served as both an Avenger and a Defender in the past. Hellcat has been Tony’s partner in crime for almost the entirety of this series, but in issue #8, she may have to step up and take the reins herself.
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Iron Man #4 revealed that Korvac is coming for Galactus, likely to reclaim the Power Cosmic and elevate himself to godlike status once again. The previews for issue #8, provided by League of Comic Geeks, imply that Tony fails to stop him, with the synopsis stating, “Tony Stark has vanished in the middle of outer space.” Not only that, but “his friends are moments away from death at Korvac’s hands. It’s up to a shell-shocked Hellcat to dig deep into her mind with the help of old friend and psychic mentor Moondragon, who reaches across the universe to help Patsy reclaim the once-powerful mental abilities she left behind.” As the quote says, Hellcat was previously trained in psychic abilities by Moondragon, a telepathic space-traveller who previously helped Earth’s heroes against both Thanos and Korvac. Hellcat actually declined full membership with the Avengers to train with Moondragon instead, but why she seems to have done her best forget those teachings remains to be seen.
Interestingly, the MCU’s Hellcat, who played a significant role in the Jessica Jones series, didn’t possess any psychic abilities whatsoever, instead focussing solely on physical enhancements. However, the differences between the TV and comics versions don’t stop there. When Jessica Jones season 3 finally delivered Hellcat, the character wound up being more of a villain, as she became obsessed with doling out her own, brutal style of justice. The Hellcat in Cantwell’s Iron Man certainly has her troubles, but aside from being mind-controlled by Korvac, there’s no danger of her turning to the dark side. However, issue #8’s previews hint that Patsy will need to face her inner demons to unlock her long-lost powers, which could have unforeseen ramifications.
Iron Man #8 won’t be on sale until April 14th, so readers will have to wait awhile yet to see how these events play out. Still, based on the preview alone, it looks like Hellcat is about to become a much more dangerous player in the fight against Korvac.
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