Solar Flare: Science Fiction News

Comics Continuum reports that acclaimed science fiction writer Orson Scott Card will be writing the new Ultimate Iron Man comicbook from Marvel.

Card is probably best known for this series of science fiction books including Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead. He has also written a popular fantasy series, Tales of Alvin the Maker, starting with Seventh Son.

Ultimate Iron Man is an extension of Marvel Comics “Ultimate” universe, which re-works classic Marvel superheroes in a contemporary fashion. This will be Scott Card’s first comic writing experience and the initial storyline centers on Tony Stark’s childhood and how his parents’ experiments with re-creating and rebuilding human skin/armor led to the death of his mother.

The series will be illustrated by Andy Kubert.

This has to be great news for both Marvel and comics readers. Orson Scott Card is a talented writer. His science fiction background should play well with Iron Man who is one of the most science-fictiony (yes, I know thats not a word) of Marvel’s superheroes. So on the one hand we have the potential for some great comics stories and on the others, Card might persuade a few of his previously non-comics-reading fans to pick up some books.

On the plus side for Orson Scott Card, Ultimate Iron Man won’t carry the continuity baggage that the regular title does. Instead Card gets to take the core elements and play with them to his satisfaction.

There is of course a segment of fans who loathe the Ultimate universe as some sort of warping or distortion of the true Marvel universe. But they take this stuff waaay too seriously. The important thing here is that potentially we could get some great Iron Man stories. And its been a long time since there have been any of those.