GoCollect Blog: The Once and Future Kang: Iron Lad (the-once-and-future-kang-iron-lad )

Why haven’t we seen the Young Avengers yet? It all could come down to the future Kang the Conqueror. Let's talk Iron Lad.

WHO IS IRON LAD?

Judging by the name and costume, it’s easy to assume he is a junior version of Iron Man. His name echoes that of Aquaman’s consummate sidekick and protégé, Aqualad. No doubt, that is what the creative team was aiming for with the name, and it was likely meant as a sort of red herring. That way, Iron Lad’s big reveal would have been that much more shocking.

Who is he? His real name is Nathaniel Richards. Yes, that Nathaniel Richards who became Kang the Conqueror. Born in the 30th Century, he was a teenage genius living in a technologically advanced society. His future self, as the Kang, arrived and gave Nathaniel high-tech armor.

The real turning point was when Kang showed Nathaniel who he was destined to become. The teenage boy saw Kang travel through time to fight the Avengers. The idea was that by showing his younger self his future, Kang could give himself a head start on world domination. Instead, Nathaniel was horrified. He didn’t want to become a time-traveling warlord, so he zoomed to the 21st Century of Earth-616 to become an Avenger. A Young Avenger, to be exact. Check it out.

YOUNG AVENGERS #1

Iron Lad first appeared in the modern holy grail, Young Avengers #1. This issue has become one of the premiere keys from the Modern Era due to the numerous debuts in these pages, including Patriot, Kate Bishop, Wiccan, Hulkling, and, of course, Iron Lad. At this point, no one knew his true identity. The in-story explanation was that he was afraid to tell anyone his actual name since, well, he’s Kang. Can you blame him for keeping it a secret?

Between the first appearances and the Young Avengers’ MCU potential, it’s no wonder this is an expensive comic. Graded at a 9.8, the standard cover has averaged $887 for the past 12 months with a high of over $1,300. At the moment, the 30-day fair market value has dipped to $619, so now could be an opportune time to invest.

YOUNG AVENGERS #2

Nathaniel didn’t keep his identity secret for very long. In just his second overall appearance, Iron Lad was revealed to be one of Kang’s many variants. If that’s not enough to get you to comb eBay for this issue, it also marked the moment Ant-Man’s daughter Cassie Lang discovered she had superpowers. With Cassie having a larger role in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, she’s likely to follow a similar character trajectory.

Since there aren’t any first appearances here, this is a relatively cheap find. For the past 90 days, the 9.8 has sold in the $70 range, which is down from the 12-month FMV of $125.

EXILES #1

In true Kang fashion, Iron Lad’s history took a complicated turn in YA #5. While traveling through time in search of Iron Man and the Avengers, Iron Lad found himself in a future where Earth’s Mightiest Heroes had split up. Nathaniel went to a Stark warehouse and downloaded Vision’s memories.

After joining the Young Avengers, Kang had enough of Nathaniel’s tomfoolery and decided it was high time the teenager went back to the good ol’ 30th Century. Kang reprogrammed the Iron Lad armor that combined Nathaniel and Vision’s memories, thus creating yet another Vision. The tough love approach didn’t work, and Nathaniel stabbed his future self with a sword. Teenagers, am I right?

All of this would set the stage for an alternate version of Iron Lad. Once again in the 30th Century, Nathaniel was visited by Kang, who never seems to stay dead, and that inspired Nathaniel to build his own version of an Iron Man suit. Before he could travel through time (and kill some bullies along the way), Blink and an older version of Kamala Khan convinced Iron Lad to join the Exiles.

Need a copy? That last 9.8 to sell online went for $95 in June.

IRON LAD IS THE KEY

When will we finally get the Young Avengers in the MCU? It could come together with the arrival of Iron Lad, and he is a strong possibility with all the Kang variants on the Phase 6 horizon. By the time The Kang Dynasty rolls around, I feel certain Iron Lad will be in the MCU.