Review by Frank Plowright

Meant to Fly is a repackaging in a slightly smaller format of the Ironheart series written by Eve L. Ewing, combining the paperbacks Those With Courage and Ten Rings.

For older fans, it should be clarified that the latter title, on this evidence at least, has nothing to do with obvious ring wearing suspect the Mandarin, but is the name of a terrorist organisation gathering weapons toward a bigger plan. They’re the primary threat throughout, although only fully revealed at the end.

This is a collection of two halves, although with Riri Williams central to both. Her awkward personality is well delivered by Ewing, who ensures we also know Riri has a good heart, despite self-doubt, but is a poor communicator. To this end she’s accompanied by an AI version of herself for advice, bearing the face of her now dead best friend. She’d rather be tinkering about in the lab that M.I.T. provide, but that comes with the downside of her co-operating with the university administration as a showcase.

Riri is on more certain ground as a superhero, where she’s ingenious and adaptable in rapidly devising solutions that wouldn’t occur to others. Rather than use stock villains, Ewing either creates her own or utilises obscurities.

Almost all the art is supplied by the combination of layouts from the anonymous Geoffo and attractive finished art from Luciano Vecchio. His people have personality, and his revised design for the Ironheart armour is innovative, slightly removing the obvious humanity via bumps and spikes. Later on he’s also adept at digital wonder, while Matt Milla adapts the colour to people and flashbacks, where the effect is muted and slightly blurred.

Meant to Fly’s opening half is strong on a human supporting cast and personal doubts, with Ewing emphasising the importance of mental health. Because she’s an engineering genius who throws herself into her work, the trauma Riri has experienced at a comparatively young age has been suppressed, and it needs an outlet. Guest stars feature regularly from halfway, with Miles Morales, the Wasp and Doctor Strange all well used, but it’s Shuri and the obscure Silhouette who accompany Ironheart to wrap things up over the final four chapters. The initial antipathy between Riri and Shuri is well developed from bickering to mutual admiration once they find common technological ground.

Although well plotted superhero fantasy with one devastating shock for Riri, the final chapters are more standard material, lacking the warmth of personality evident earlier. It tips a balance slightly, but overall this is enjoyable superheroics with a human core.