Warning: contains spoilers for Iron Man #10!
One of Marvel's silliest supervillains - the incomparable Stilt-Man - finally turns over a new leaf in the pages of Iron Man comics. A villain built around a single gimmick (just one of many from the throw-everything-at-the-wall Silver Age of Comics), Stilt-Man has fought nearly every major Marvel superhero - and his defeats are as numerous as his foes. But in Iron Man #10, written by Christopher Cantwell with art by Cafu and colors by Frank D'Armata, it appears that Stilt-Man is finally ready to become a hero.
Wilbur Day is hardly a villain that strikes fear in the minds of his enemies as the Stilt-Man has a habit of comically losing every fight he starts. First appearing in Daredevil #8 in 1965, Wilbur hired Matt Murdock in an attempt to sue his former employer - but when that failed, he used the hydraulic power of the Stilt-Man lifts to attack Daredevil. Daredevil would hand Wilbur his first defeat - the first of many. Stilt-Man would go on to lose to Spider-Man, Iron Man, Black Widow, Captain America, Daredevil again, Thor, and finally the Punisher - who killed Stilt-Man by blowing off his legs with a rocket launcher. He stayed dead for almost a decade (an eternity in comics) before returning to stalk again.
Finally, in Iron Man #10, a wandering Tony Stark, stranded on an unfamiliar planet with a life-threatening injury, comes across Stilt-Man once again. This time, instead of attacking Stark, he's a benevolent force on the planet, helping other refugees in a community of outcasts and wanderers. Like the others, Stilt-Man was plucked from Earth by an as-yet-unknown force and brought to the planet to help out with his analytical mind. "Nobody here is trying to save the world or rule it," Wilbur explains to Stark. "We're just trying to sustain something together."
It's not uncommon for some supervillains in comics to become good after a long look at their past misdeeds. Harley Quinn, Black Widow, Emma Frost, and the Riddler are just a few villains who became heroes (though not all of them remained on the straight and narrow). Perhaps, faced with the reality of being a somewhat ineffectual villain compared to the other A-list antagonists, Wilbur wished to use his skills (and stilts) for good. Later in the issue, the community comes under attack by an Ultimo robot, and Stilt-Man aids the local patrols in fighting off the assailant, proving he hasn't abandoned his violent ways entirely - at least not while he's protecting others.
Stilt-Man is a gimmicky villain whom Marvel writers used as a glorified punching bag for decades. Perhaps he can work alongside Iron Man and maybe even ascend to a full-on A-list hero a la Black Widow. Though Wilbur might wish to create something slightly more dignified than powered stilts next time he applies for a seat at the Avengers table.
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