Science fiction exists as a nebulous temporal anomaly. It spreads its wings and soars far into the future, imagining worlds yet to be. Science fiction can be hopeful and optimistic, offering visions of prosperity and productivity. It can also caution and warn of the impending perils society faces. Iron Man: Crash is one such cautionary tale, one that was accurate in prophesizing the current age of digital mayhem.

Released in 1987 under Marvel’s Epic imprint of graphic novels, Iron Man: Crash (by Mike Saenz) exists as a seminal publication as it is the very first comic to be composed digitally by computer software. This feat is doubly exciting as the high tech hero was the perfect venue to feature the full use of computer artistry. While 10 megabytes of bitmap imagery may not seem very impressive by today’s standards, the computer technology used to create Iron Man: Crash was cutting-edge back in 1987 and should be respected as such.

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Iron Man: Crash Tells a Future Story of Marvel's Armored Avenger

Iron Man Crash Conspiracy

Many decades into the future, Tony Stark is growing restless. The technology that he spearheaded to create his Iron Man armor is no longer his life’s greatest secret. With a foreign company ready to purchase Stark's technology, both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury raise their voices in concern. Allowing such sophisticated weapons technology to become available in the international market could be catastrophic.

Complications arise when Stark learns that the company planning to buy his tech had already stolen the code in question. Suiting up once again as the Armored Avenger, Stark infiltrates the rival company and engages an army of prototype Iron Man suits. Once the company’s scheme is foiled, Iron Man’s final mission is to hunt down and destroy the last remaining enemy suit. Tony is unable to do so when he learns that the suit has become fully cognizant and aware, a truly independent AI construct born from his original design.

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How Iron Man: Crash Predicted Today's Society

Iron Man Crash Hackers

The imagery within Crash paints a world of deceit, treachery, and regret. Deep shadows are complimented by rust-red skies; buildings scrape the skies and the terrestrial world itself is rarely shown. Many scenes are set within cyberspace, an endless expanse of soulless green and blue code. The digital universe is as omnipresent as the physical world and it is this supreme integration that Crash accurately foresaw.

Prior to this story, the majority of the threats Iron Man faced were tangible. However, this graphic novel introduced an entirely different enemy. Information that can reshape the world is under constant threat by legions of hackers all over the world. In this story, Iron Man is no longer the pinnacle of technological achievement. He is now at best a peer who stands shoulder to shoulder with the faceless and the unknown, challenged by people who are no longer intimidated by his prowess. Iron Man’s lasers and rockets mean nothing if the crime is committed in total anonymity from behind a computer screen.

The cyberpunk future predicted in Crash eerily mirrors today's society. Digital information is the currency of the world. International tensions rise and fall daily as fear and paranoia fuel the world's elite cybersecurity agencies. The singular man is as powerful as the most heavily outfitted military force when a nation’s worth of secrets can be stolen remotely. This is a terrifying world for Iron Man, and he struggles to adapt to the times. It’s an interesting position for Tony Stark considering the position he normally takes at the forefront of the world's technological prowess. For a man of such renown and pedigree to suddenly become as vulnerable as the rest of the world is a frightening, but realistic shift in power.

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Iron Man: Crash is a Dystopian Horror Story at its Core

Iron Man Crash AI

The world of Iron Man: Crash is horrific cyber dystopia, yet it is one that ends with an unexpected glimmer of hope. The newly birthed AI construct inhabiting Tony’s rogue suit seeks not war, but a means to identify its very existence. For the first and only time in the story a bright blue sky can be seen as Tony accepts the AI’s desire to find a place among the living. It’s a wry ending for a story so steeped in the terrors of an uncontrolled future.

Iron Man has always the been the walking embodiment of technology, a force capable of tremendous progress and good but also possessing incalculable amounts of destructive capabilities. Technology has become inseparable from the world today, and by proxy, the world of tomorrow. Iron Man: Crash depicts a world trapped within its own digital cell. As the world transitions closer and closer to the visions of the future born from the past, it is important to remember that hope, growth, and empathy can still flourish as long as the human spirit endures.