Warning: contains spoilers for Defenders #4!
In a previous incarnation of the universe, the first, secret Civil War is redefining Captain America and Iron Man’s battles over the years. In The Defenders #4, on sale now in print and digital, the team travels back to the Fourth Cosmos, a realm of heroic archetypes that will resonate through all future cycles of creation. There, in a world of primordial heroes and villains, the sometimes-adversarial relationship between Iron Man and Captain America is cast into a whole new light.
Since he returned to the Marvel Universe in Avengers #4, Captain America and Iron Man have had a relationship that has at times bordered on adversarial, eventually coming to blows in 2006’s Civil War, divided along ideological lines over the impending Superhero Registration Act. Iron Man, in favor of the act, felt it would create accountability for costumed heroes whereas Captain America believed it to be government overreach. Both were able to raise armies of heroes to their cause, but in the end, Iron Man’s forces triumphed, and the Act was put into law. Although it was later repealed when serious flaws were found, the entire conflict highlighted the differences between the two. The rift would heal in time, but the memory of Civil War continues to haunt the Avengers to this day. But in the Fourth Cosmos, Iron Man and Captain America’s conflict is recontextualized, showing how essential it is to the growth and development of the heroic community. Defenders #4 is written by Al Ewing with art by Javier Rodriguez with letters by Joe Caramagna.
Of all the incarnations of the Marvel Universe, the Fourth Cosmos may be the most unique, not to mention important as it was here that the heroic archetypes that would influence later universes was born. The Defenders, including Doctor Strange and Cloud, find themselves in the thick of a conflict between a Captain America archetype, named “Of-Past,” with a shield leading an army against an Iron Man archetype, named “Of-Future.” The team learns that one will win, but both will die and be reborn, to learn and grow all over again. The divided world is then attacked by a proto-Galactus; Cloud convinces the forces “Of-Past” and “Of-Future” that there is a better way, a way of “rebirth without death.” The two sides bury the hatchet, and attack Galactus, vanquishing him.
The story is incredibly meta, showing that the epic conflicts between Iron Man and Captain America are crucial to the development of the superhero community. Captain America represents the best of humanity through the lens of tradition, of the past—hence his name “Of-Past” here. Iron Man, on the other hand, represents the best of humanity by showing us what can be achieved through science and technology; Iron Man shows readers the future, hence his name here as well. Whenever the two come into conflict, it almost always begins on ideological grounds, namely Civil War. Cloud shows Of-Past and Of-Future a way they can work together and as a result, they are able to defend their world from the forces that seek to destroy it. When Iron Man and Captain America come together and are able to meet halfway, great things can happen.
Iron Man and Captain America’s relationship is sometimes tense but always professional. The two represent different ideologies that sometimes come into conflict, but a world in the distant past shows their relationship in a whole new light.