Random Happenstance

Hmm. I had seen mention that the cyborg Coldblood was slated to appear in Iron Man 3, then forgot about it until I stumbled back across this one. From 1989, Marvel Comics #26, featuring Coldblood. "Rise and Shine, part 1: New York" Written by Doug Moench, art by Paul Gulacy.

Since the first chapter, like all MCP chapters, is just eight pages; there's not much room. The titular Coldblood wakes up behind the wheel of his sporty, gun-laden supercar; in the ruins of New York City. Since he doesn't remember anything, his onboard Computer has to bring him up to speed: this issue predates similiar conceits in videogames, but it feels like the first, training level. (And Coldblood and the reader don't know it yet, but it is!)

Moench and Gulacy are pros, so there's a level of craftsmanship; but it's not reinventing the wheel or anything. In fact, Coldblood's interaction with his computer is very much like another Marvel cyborg, Deathlok. After his initial serial, Coldblood would actually show up in Deathlok's comic, although I don't know if anyone commented on how they look like before and after pictures. (Coldblood looks sleek and polished, while Deathlok looks like a corpse that's going bad.)

I wonder if closer to the release of Iron Man 3, Marvel won't release a collection of the 80 or so pages of Coldblood. I probably had all of them at one point, since I think I was reading Marvel Comics Presents for the 25-part Black Panther serial.