Iron Lad
Encyclopedia
Iron Lad is a fictional character
, a superhero
appearing in books published by Marvel Comics
, in particular Young Avengers
, a team of which Iron Lad is a member. He first appeared in Young Avengers #1 (April 2005), created by writer Allan Heinberg
and illustrator Jim Cheung
. He is an adolescent version of Kang the Conqueror
, armed with a bio-metal suit that responds to mental commands. He is named after the father of Reed Richards.
adult self, the villainous Kang the Conqueror
, moments before bullies would cause him to be hospitalized for years of his life from a knife attack, an event that originally shaped his development into a villain. Kang takes his teenage
self through time to witness the future battles and glory that would result in his transformation into Kang the Conqueror, hoping to inspire his younger self. However, it backfires and Nate is horrified at the life of evil
his future self shows him. Kang presses Nate to accept his future by killing the bully who would have hospitalized him. Instead, Nate takes the time travel technology given to him by Kang and transports himself to the past, hoping to avoid his sinister destiny.
He seeks the Avengers for assistance, but finds the Avengers
disbanded
. Seeking answers, he downloads the remnants of the destroyed Vision
's operating system into his armor. This reveals a fail-safe
plan created by the android to reform the Avengers should they disband or fall in action by locating the next generation of Avengers, all whom have some tie to the original team. Using this plan, Nate assembles his new team, the Young Avengers
, with the sole purpose of defeating his future self and reshaping his own future. He models his armor after the Avenger Iron Man
, calling himself Iron Lad. He forms a brief romantic relationship with fellow Young Avenger teammate Stature
.
Eventually, Kang comes to the past looking for Nate, wanting to return his younger self to his proper place in the timestream. Nate refuses to return, unwilling to become the infamous future villain. The team battle the Growing Man, a robot created by Kang, and are able to defeat him. Kang battles the remaining Avengers and the teen heroes, seemingly gaining the upper hand when Iron Lad runs Hawkeye
's sword through Kang's chest. This kills Kang, but the ramifications cause several changes to the timeline, including all the Avengers being dead and Young Avenger Wiccan
disappearing. Iron Lad realizes that the only way to restore everything is to go back to his time and assume his role as Kang the Conqueror. In doing so he will also lose his memories of his time in the past as a Young Avenger. Before he goes back in time, he asks his teammates to forgive him for the actions he will commit in the future and kisses Stature goodbye. He leaves behind his armor, which has activated the Vision's operating software, effectively recreating the armor into a sentient being—an inexperienced "young" Vision. The new Vision carries Nate's brain patterns, similar to the original Vision and Wonder Man
.
Stature and the Vision eventually feel attracted to one another, due initially to Nate's mental imprint. They later begin a relationship. While fighting the cosmic cube
altered Absorbing Man
, during the "Dark Reign
" storyline, the new Vision (now a joint member of the Young Avengers and the Mighty Avengers) is affected by the cube's cosmic radiation and splits into both Iron Lad and the original Vision. Iron Lad appears to maintain the memories of the events prior to going back in time. After the Absorbing Man is defeated, the original Vision and Iron Lad merge back together as the new Vision once again.
Iron Lad appears in the 2010-11 miniseries, Avengers: The Children's Crusade, in which he prevents Wolverine
from killing an amnesiac and de-powered Wanda Maximoff
(whom Wolverine feels presents too great a threat
). Iron Lad states that he does this because the future depends on their survival.
song "Nrrrd Grrrl": "Wanna conquer her like Kang, When you kiss like Cassie Lang."
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
appearing in books published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, in particular Young Avengers
Young Avengers
Young Avengers is an American comic book series written by Allan Heinberg and published by Marvel Comics. It follows a group of young superheroes, each of whom patterns themselves after a member of the long-established Marvel superhero team the Avengers....
, a team of which Iron Lad is a member. He first appeared in Young Avengers #1 (April 2005), created by writer Allan Heinberg
Allan Heinberg
Allan Heinberg is an American film screenwriter, who wrote Young Avengers for Marvel Comics, and has been a writer and producer on The Naked Truth, Party of Five, Sex and the City, Gilmore Girls, The O.C., and Grey's Anatomy.Heinberg's Young Avengers was a sales success for Marvel, though faced...
and illustrator Jim Cheung
Jim Cheung
Jim Cheung is a British comic book artist, known for his work on the series such as Scion, New Avengers: Illuminati, Young Avengers and Avengers: The Children's Crusade.-Career:...
. He is an adolescent version of Kang the Conqueror
Kang the Conqueror
Kang the Conqueror is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Avengers #8 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
, armed with a bio-metal suit that responds to mental commands. He is named after the father of Reed Richards.
Fictional character biography
16 year-old Nathaniel "Nate" Richards is rescued by his time-travelingTime travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
adult self, the villainous Kang the Conqueror
Kang the Conqueror
Kang the Conqueror is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Avengers #8 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
, moments before bullies would cause him to be hospitalized for years of his life from a knife attack, an event that originally shaped his development into a villain. Kang takes his teenage
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
self through time to witness the future battles and glory that would result in his transformation into Kang the Conqueror, hoping to inspire his younger self. However, it backfires and Nate is horrified at the life of evil
Evil
Evil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...
his future self shows him. Kang presses Nate to accept his future by killing the bully who would have hospitalized him. Instead, Nate takes the time travel technology given to him by Kang and transports himself to the past, hoping to avoid his sinister destiny.
He seeks the Avengers for assistance, but finds the Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
disbanded
Avengers Disassembled
"Avengers Disassembled", referred to in some participating series as "Disassembled", is a crossover event between several Marvel Comics series. The general idea is that the major heroes are assaulted, not just physically, but emotionally...
. Seeking answers, he downloads the remnants of the destroyed Vision
Vision (Marvel Comics)
The Vision is the name of three fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The first Vision was created by the writer-artist team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in Marvel Mystery Comics #13 The Vision is the name of three fictional characters that...
's operating system into his armor. This reveals a fail-safe
Fail-safe
A fail-safe or fail-secure device is one that, in the event of failure, responds in a way that will cause no harm, or at least a minimum of harm, to other devices or danger to personnel....
plan created by the android to reform the Avengers should they disband or fall in action by locating the next generation of Avengers, all whom have some tie to the original team. Using this plan, Nate assembles his new team, the Young Avengers
Young Avengers
Young Avengers is an American comic book series written by Allan Heinberg and published by Marvel Comics. It follows a group of young superheroes, each of whom patterns themselves after a member of the long-established Marvel superhero team the Avengers....
, with the sole purpose of defeating his future self and reshaping his own future. He models his armor after the Avenger Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
, calling himself Iron Lad. He forms a brief romantic relationship with fellow Young Avenger teammate Stature
Cassandra Lang
Stature is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. She is the daughter of the late Scott Lang . Cassie Lang is a member of the Young Avengers and The Initiative...
.
Eventually, Kang comes to the past looking for Nate, wanting to return his younger self to his proper place in the timestream. Nate refuses to return, unwilling to become the infamous future villain. The team battle the Growing Man, a robot created by Kang, and are able to defeat him. Kang battles the remaining Avengers and the teen heroes, seemingly gaining the upper hand when Iron Lad runs Hawkeye
Hawkeye (Kate Bishop)
Hawkeye is a fictional character. She is a member of the Young Avengers, a team of superheroes in the Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe...
's sword through Kang's chest. This kills Kang, but the ramifications cause several changes to the timeline, including all the Avengers being dead and Young Avenger Wiccan
Wiccan (comics)
Wiccan is a comic book character, a member of the Young Avengers, a team of superheroes in the Marvel Universe. His appearance is patterned on that of Thor and Scarlet Witch....
disappearing. Iron Lad realizes that the only way to restore everything is to go back to his time and assume his role as Kang the Conqueror. In doing so he will also lose his memories of his time in the past as a Young Avenger. Before he goes back in time, he asks his teammates to forgive him for the actions he will commit in the future and kisses Stature goodbye. He leaves behind his armor, which has activated the Vision's operating software, effectively recreating the armor into a sentient being—an inexperienced "young" Vision. The new Vision carries Nate's brain patterns, similar to the original Vision and Wonder Man
Wonder Man
Wonder Man is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in The Avengers #9 .-Publication history:Wonder Man debuted in the superhero-team title The Avengers #9 Wonder...
.
Stature and the Vision eventually feel attracted to one another, due initially to Nate's mental imprint. They later begin a relationship. While fighting the cosmic cube
Cosmic Cube
The Cosmic Cube, called the Tesseract in the film Captain America: The First Avenger, is the name of a fictional object that appears in the Marvel Universe. The concept was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appeared in Tales of Suspense #79 .-Publication history:The first Cosmic Cube...
altered Absorbing Man
Absorbing Man
The Absorbing Man is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Journey into Mystery #114 The Absorbing Man (Carl "Crusher" Creel) is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first...
, during the "Dark Reign
Dark Reign
Dark Reign: The Future of War is a real-time strategy computer game for Microsoft Windows, developed by Auran and published by Activision in 1997. The game consists of a large single-player campaign but also supports multiplayer online games...
" storyline, the new Vision (now a joint member of the Young Avengers and the Mighty Avengers) is affected by the cube's cosmic radiation and splits into both Iron Lad and the original Vision. Iron Lad appears to maintain the memories of the events prior to going back in time. After the Absorbing Man is defeated, the original Vision and Iron Lad merge back together as the new Vision once again.
Iron Lad appears in the 2010-11 miniseries, Avengers: The Children's Crusade, in which he prevents Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
from killing an amnesiac and de-powered Wanda Maximoff
Scarlet Witch
The Scarlet Witch is a fictional comic book character that appears in books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in X-Men #4 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...
(whom Wolverine feels presents too great a threat
Decimation (comics)
Decimation is the late 2005 Marvel Comics storyline spinning off from the House of M limited series. It focuses on the ramifications of the Scarlet Witch stripping nearly all of the mutant population of their powers, thereby reducing a society of millions to one of scant hundreds.This event, which...
). Iron Lad states that he does this because the future depends on their survival.
Powers
Nate's Iron Lad armor is composed of neuro-kinetic nano-metal, and he can alter its appearance and shape with his thoughts. The armor enables Iron Lad to have superhuman strength and allows him to fly. It also enables him to fire blasts of various kinds of energy, and travel through time. Kang's psychic link with his armor also enables him to mentally control the Iron Lad armor from a close range.In popular culture
Iron Lad's attraction to Stature and identity as a younger version of Kang the Conqueror is referenced in the mc chrisMc chris
mc chris is an American rapper, voice actor, writer and improvisational comedian....
song "Nrrrd Grrrl": "Wanna conquer her like Kang, When you kiss like Cassie Lang."