Ultimate Iron Man #2

The second chapter of Orson Scott Card's take on Tony Stark's origins opens with a quietly striking image: a young boy crouched over the Iron Man helmet, its eye slits glowing an eerie blue, wires and scattered components spreading out around him like a technological web. Andy Kubert and Danny Miki's cover art — spare white background and all — gives the scene an almost eerie intimacy, suggesting a story rooted as much in childhood and discovery as in high-tech heroics. If this series is exploring how Tony Stark became Iron Man, issue #2 promises that the journey starts younger and stranger than you might expect.