When Iron Man writers from nearly 40 years ago imagined the far future date of 2020, they may not have gotten everything about this time period right, but they did design an Iron Man aesthetic that was perfectly suited to one surprising hero – Captain Marvel. In a variant cover for Captain Marvel #13, published just one month before the calendar flipped over to 2020 in the real world, cover artist Kris Anka introduced a spunky, futuristic Carol Danvers. Given her glowing suit, technological support, and red visor, she was assuredly taking her fashion cues from Marvel Comics' Iron Man 2020 catalogue.
This costume’s design similarities to Iron Man 2020 highlighted a character who debuted in Machine Man 2020 #2 in 1984, courtesy of Tom DeFalco and Herb Trimpe. Oddly, this character from decades ago was the most relevant character in December 2019 - even before the convoluted Iron Man 2020 story from 2020. Arno Stark was first presented as a cousin of Tony Stark who was meant to be a future version of Iron Man. When he was not trying to reverse the course of his father’s villainy in his own time period, Arno had some time traveling escapades that led to confrontations with Spider-Man in the present day, the time-traveling cyborg called Death’s Head in his own era, and the Time Variance Authority, who considered him a notable violator of time travel rules. As comic fans reside in the actual year 2022 (with no time travel required), Iron Man 2020’s future is here and now - and his legacy has inspired a fun incarnation of Captain Marvel.
In Anka’s variant cover of Captain Marvel #13 by Kelly Thompson and Lee Garbett, Carol Danvers is soaring through a futuristic city in her best superhero-in-flight pose, not the first time Captain Marvel has been compared to Superman. A self-assured smile is lighting up Danvers’ face, while advanced technological wizardry is causing her iconic logo and accompanying design elements to glow. Her stylish red visor is an homage to Iron Man’s universal color scheme and how Arno and Tony Stark each perform the majority of their heroics behind a mask.
Even with reinforcement from support ships boldly emblazoned with her logo, Captain Marvel looks like she is the sleekest, most state-of-the-art vessel in the formation, a reflection of her former role as an ace fighter pilot. When it comes to her powers, Danvers is on par with the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Thor, with similar design elements – like a blue and red color scheme and a tight-fitting costume that accentuates her athleticism and muscles. Given her background, her mind has always veered more towards the tactical, as evidenced by Captain Marvel masterfully outwitting Vox Supreme, meaning that her personality may be more similar to Iron Man’s than it is to any of the aforementioned heroes. In Civil War II, this is why her battle with Iron Man feels so evenly matched, as these two characters rely heavily on their own strategic prowess to determine what they think is right.
Though the 2020 aesthetic comes from a character and stories that were designed to explore Iron Man’s legacy, it is a fun twist to use this as a means to upgrade Captain Marvel’s look. Considering just how well this futuristic, tactical costume suits Danvers’ persona as a former pilot of state-of-the-art aircraft and a brilliant military mind, this is an instance of Marvel Comics' creatives seeing a character with perfect 2020 vision. Captain Marvel regrets no longer being a pilot and taking flight in a costume inspired by a technologically evolved Iron Man is the perfect way for her character to merge her awe-inspiring powers with her personality.