Marvel Database
Register
Advertisement

Quote1 Big K, I don't mean to #$%& in your wizard hat, but the Aggregate, the glass creatures? This is all about you. It's obviously--cringingly--about you. It's a vanity project, and if you worked for me...I'd fire your ass. Quote2
Iron Man

Appearing in "Overclock"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

Races and Species:

Locations:

Items:

Vehicles:

Synopsis for "Overclock"

Brief Synopsis[]

Aboard his own faster-than-light spaceship, Iron Man and his ragtag team of allies pursue Korvac through space. Tony has War Machine adjust his armor to double the strength of his punch, being confident that a physical attack strong enough will break Korvac due to his flawed graphene structure. Tony's team has a brief conversation about what is God.

Iron Man has Hellcat turn around the mental link Korvac has on her, pulling the villain into a shared mental landscape. Iron Man inquires Korvac about the details for his plan for universal harmony. Korvac reveals he intends to have all things, including himself, merge into a single entity called the Aggregate. Tony observes that Korvac's intended new conception of all life is completely homogeneous and virtually lifeless. Stark is abruptly blasted by a flash of light, blinking out of existence in both the mental landscape and in the real world. Before disconnecting from the mental landscape, Korvac leaves Patsy catatonic with an energy blast. Tony's and Korvac's ships have an aerial dogfight while Tony finds himself teleported to an unidentified planet, where he is approached by a group of aliens among who is Avro-X.

Detailed Synopsis[]

An advanced aircraft blast through the void of space. Halcyon is left at the controls after Iron Man calls War Machine away. Tony asks Rhodey if he thinks Halcyon can handle the controls on his own, and Rhodey assures him Halcyon is having the time of his life flying his first faster-than-light drive engine. Aboard the ship, Rhodey is tweaking the interior of the shoulder plate of Tony's armor, and expresses concern that they are pushing Tony's new armor to untested levels, doubling the force of its punch to 40,000 newtons and capping its strike speed at 500 miles per hour, something that would kill Tony if whatever he hits doesn't give. Tony ensures Rhodey he will be able to dent Korvac's graphene body due to its imperfect bilayer structure, and that they will be able to rip him apart after the slightest of cracks. Tony tells Rhodey to sit down so that he can tune up War Machine Armor, and Rhodey reluctantly agrees.

In the passenger section of the ship, Misty Knight informs the rest of Tony's ragtag team, Frog-Man, Scarlet Spider, and Gargoyle, that she has sent out an S.O.S. signal. Frog-Man brings up that they need a team name, suggesting "Star Warriors," but he is shot down. When he suggests "God Fighters," Misty ponders what does "God" mean in this universe. Scarlet Spider takes a hard scientific approach, stating that everything is just cells, molecules and atoms, and that the "you" is a byproduct of being alive. Frog-Man jokingly brings up that Ben, a test tube clone, is saying it's just science. Gargoyle interjects to explain that God is a sacred and delicate, but powerful balance; that scales are always tipped and what he and the rest do is fight and dedicate themselves to rebalance. And that is how he and the others worship and revere the universe. The rest of the team is left speechless.

In another part of the ship, Hellcat is telling Tony how Korvac showed her a vision of his promised paradise. Patsy warns Tony that since Korvac is in her head, he will know they are coming. Stark assures her that he wasn't planning and ambush and that he will be ready for the villain. Patsy expresses she wishes to kiss Tony, but since he can't remove his helmet due to his broken neck, she settles for kissing the mouth slit in his faceplate. Patsy tells Tony that she is a liability that gives Korvac an advantage, and Stark suggests Patsy tries using the mental link to reach Korvac instead of the other way around. Tony points out that Patsy used to be a "mind warrior," and encourages her to try despite her lack of practice. Patsy looks at Tony and holds his hands.

In the Remote Quadrant Zulu, Korvac's ship is entering the Goss Sector. Unicorn warns his master that Stark's ship is closing in. When Blizzard remarks that Iron Man's ship is more powerful than theirs, Korvac clarifies that he built his in only four weeks. Blizzard tries to explain that he didn't mean to criticize, and Korvac grabs him by the head, poking his fingers on Blizzard's eyes, telling him that they can't afford to wane in their faith or else they will lose their sight. Korvac lets go of Blizzard and turns to Unicorn to tell him decelerate and draw them closer to the sector to destroy them. Korvac's expression goes blank, and he suddenly finds himself in the idyllic vision he showed Hellcat during their last encounter, with Patsy standing behind him. Korvac berates Patsy, and Iron Man steps into the scenery. Korvac boasts that neither of them can hurt him since their minds are exhausted and angry, and that their ship will be blown in minutes. Tony tells Korvac to use that time to show him the utopia he plans to create. When Korvac points out that Patsy already got a glimpse, Stark clarifies that he wants to know how Korvac plans for his universal harmony to work. Korvac is taken aback, detecting sincerity in Tony's words, and is pleasantly surprised that Tony would want Korvac to share his vision. Korvac tells him that it's beautiful and perfect.

Korvac proceeds to explain that all things will become one single entity called the Aggregate. When Tony asks if that entity will be Korvac himself, Korvac tells him that the entity that is not himself but that he will become a seamless part of it like everything else. As he lifts himself, Tony and Patsy off the ground, Korvac expounds that the Aggregate knows only peace and calm, and that universal good is omnipresent by the dissolution of the individual self. Unconvinced, Tony insists that Korvac is the Aggregate, but Korvac says no again. When Tony asks Korvac to show him the Aggregate, Korvac tells him and Patsy that all entropy will be reversed, and that this unity will know no hate, fear or war. Korvac lands with Tony and Patsy on a crystalline landscape surrounded by glass-like cattle melted into the ground. When Patsy asks, Korvac reveals that these life-forms are living extensions of the Aggregate, and the new conception of life across the universe. Tony observes that they are entirely homogeneous, limited to a singular type of experience with no freedom or deviation, "nothing things." Both Patsy and Tony reject Korvac's vision, causing him to lash out and accuse them of being unable to grasp beyond just survival, and he tells them that they are lucky to have him to care for them. Iron Man tells Korvac that this vision is very evidently about himself. A blue beam of light suddenly flashes above Tony and blips him away. Hellcat asks Korvac what did he do to Tony, but he tells her it wasn't his doing. Swatting Patsy away, Korvac berates her for doubting him as a savior. He tells Patsy to experience his vision for herself and blasts her, turning her body into crystals of glass.

In the floor of the ship, Patsy lies catatonic. Misty is standing at the door of the room, having seen Tony disappear, and noticing Patsy in the floor. Aboard his vessel, Korvac tells Blizzard to get to the aft cannons and have the Controller prepare all missile chambers. He then orders Unicorn to come around sharply to destroy the opposing ship. Back in Tony's ship, War Machine spots Korvac's vessel and notices it coming their way fast. Misty storms into the cockpit to alert him that Tony is gone, having blinked out of existence. Korvac's ship flies past theirs opening fire. Rhodey orders Halcyon to take evasive maneuvers.

Somewhere else, in some kind of meadow, a flash of light bursts and Iron Man appears. B.O.S.S. informs him that they are in an unmapped location and that his flight systems are hindered. Confused, Tony tries to make sense of his surroundings, wondering what happened, if it was Korvac's doing, and where is he. As soon as he thinks that it would be useful if there was at least one other living being out there, Tony's monologue is interrupted by somebody telling him not to move. Tony turns around to see a group of aliens of different appearances, and among them Avro-X. Identifying the group as a colony patrol, Avro-X tells Iron Man that he is a trespasser, and warns him that they will take him in. Iron Man is left bewildered by Avro-X's Canadian accent.

Solicit Synopsis

Iron Man and his small band of allies go interstellar as they pursue Korvac to the farthest reaches of the galaxy, even as the villainous android intellect tries to telepathically lure Hellcat and Tony toward his bizarre utopian visions. But after an unexpected left turn leaves Iron Man on a remote and uncharted planet, Korvac might take the opportunity to blow Shellhead’s vulnerable friends out of the stars once and for all.

Notes

  • This issue's legacy numbering should correspond to Iron Man #632, but the corner box reads "LGY #361."
  • When Iron Man's allies have a conversation about God, the Scarlet Spider appears to deny the existence of divinity, expressing a rational and scientific mindset. However, in Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider, the Scarlet Spider encountered the cosmic entity Death, became aware of the existence of the soul, crossed paths with Mephisto and was exposed to the divine nature of the Angel Gabriel.
  • While he's talking to Hellcat, Iron Man brings up that she used to be a "mind warrior" once upon a time, and she explains that she had her "driver's license revoked." In Avengers #151, Moondragon convinces Hellcat to refuse an offer to join the Avengers to instead train under her guidance. When Patsy next appears in Defenders #44, she reveals that Moondragon had briefly instructed her in mental powers as part of her training. In Defenders #77, Moondragon takes back Hellcat's mind powers since she had given Patsy a portion of her own mental strength to handle them, and she needed it back to stop the issue's villain.
  • When Korvac is berating Hellcat for bringing him into a shared mindscape and accuses her of not being able to understand his thoughts, she points out that she was almost valedictorian in high school. An editor's note cites the issue Patsy and Hedy #95, in which Patsy and the book's co-star Hedy Wolfe are about to graduate high school and compete for class valedictorian, but both lose to their friend Nan Brown, who was completely indifferent to the competition.
  • Among the aliens that approach Iron Man at the end of the issue is Avro-X, a Canadian armored soldier whose previous and only appearance had been in 1989's Marvel Fanfare #44. Writer Christopher Cantwell teased Avro-X's appearance in this run on his Twitter on January 27 with a contest promising a copy of Iron Man (Vol. 6) #1 signed by cover artist Alex Ross to the first person who could identify Avro from a panel of Marvel Fanfare.[1]

Trivia

  • A scientific breakdown of the strength of the Iron Man Armor by AIPT using the numbers mentioned in this issue can be read here.
  • This issue establishes that Korvac's body is made of graphene, which is one of writer Christopher Cantwell's established words for technologic jargon.[2]
  • War Machine sardonically calls Tony's ragtag team of allies the Harlem Globetrotters, an American entertainment group that performs exhibition basketball.
  • When Frog-Man suggests to name the team of Stark's allies, he suggests the names "Star Warriors" and "God Fighters." The Scarlet Spider shoots down the first idea arguing it sounds too close to Star Wars.
  • The Goss Sector of the Remote Quadrant Zulu appears in this issue. Both "Goss Sector" and "Remote Quadrant Zulu" are also some of the jargon words coined by Cantwell over the years that he uses for technobabble.[2] They were previously used in Doctor Doom #1, also written by Cantwell.

See Also

Links and References

References

  1. Cantwell, Christopher (27 January 2021) Christopher Cantwell on Twitter: "Name the character Iron Man is ... Twitter. Retrieved on 20 May 2021.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Marston, George (10 November 2020) Fantastic Four: Road Trip mixes "quintessential family story" with "visceral" body horror Newsarama. Retrieved on 23 March 2021.
Advertisement