The Prince of Iron

The Prince of Iron is an American graphic novel published by DC Comics and set in the Good Ol' Magic universe. The comic follows the main villain of the series, the Iron Emperor.

Synopsis
The comic follows the villainous Iron Emperor and presents a possible origin story for him, going from when he was a child to when he finally dons the identity he is known as today.

Chapter One
A prostitute gives birth to a boy whose birth left her in so much pain she was convinced she'd die. The mother names the baby (though it is never shown) and reveals she doesn't actually know who the father is. It then cuts to several years later in the middle of winter.

The boy is now around seven-years-old and is being beaten by a small group of bullies who refer to him as "witch boy." The bullies leave when a girl named Susie shows up, chasing them off and helping the boy up.

The two exchange words and he ends up following her back to her home, which he praises as if it's a mansion despite not being much larger than the other houses in the area. He spends some time with her and then returns to his own home, which is revealed to be a brothel named the Midnight Walk.

He enters and walks up the stairs to see his mother who he is informed is "at work." Taking pity on the boy, the owner (Big Martha) decides to make him something to eat and sends him to bed. However, that night he is woken up by an odd goblin-like creature named Mister Todd, who reveals that he is in search of a new master and he believes the boy could be him.

The boy rejects him outright but Todd refuses to leave, constantly trying to convince him to change his mind. The boy constantly refuses until that afternoon, where he sees Susie being pelted by snowballs by the bullies from before. One curls a small stone into the ball and tosses it, hitting her hard enough to draw blood.

After seeing this, the boy is convinced and asks Todd what he needs to do, with Todd asking him to say his command. The boy commands Todd to "make him pay" and a swarm of tiny creatures floods into the area, scratching and biting the bullies until they are all forced to retreat. Todd congratulates the boy on becoming the Prince of Iron.

He speaks with Susie, who is terrified of what he just did. She does manage to calm down, but the two part ways with the knowledge that their relationship has been changed.

Chapter Two
Five years later, Midnight Walk is being investigated by police and the boy, now calling himself Prince, is horrified at the thought he will be thrown out on to the street and his mother will be arrested. Due to this, he begins searching for a way to help Midnight Walk, though he constantly denies Mister Todd's requests to summon the minions.

Prince speaks to Susie about this (not mentioning it's a brothel), with her also suggesting using the minions. He once again says he won't do it and she instead suggests trying to get enough money to move. Prince agrees this is a good idea and sets out to try and make some money.

He manages to get a job as a clothes washer but is devastated when he finds out he has only made ten pennies at the end of the day. This devastates him and, left with no other options, he visits the richest person he knows: his bully, Alex.

He brings up the fact he humiliated Alex and claims he will let him get back at Prince any way he wants for a price. He proceeds to make Prince beg for his help until he cries and agrees, telling him to come over to his house later that night. He does as he's told and is taken to the woods where he is gagged and brutally beaten by Alex and his friends.

Luckily, Alex does indeed give him his money, but tosses it and forces him to painfully crawl towards it before having his face slammed into the mud as Alex leaves. A beaten and bruised Prince returns to Midnight Walk and is left totally speechless as he sees Big Martha being taken to prison by the police.

The next day, Prince's mother (who was luckily not arrested) and Prince himself are rendered homeless and are rejected from every shelter they visit. Due to this, Prince makes a sign claiming he will do anything for money, causing him to become a test subject for a group of people who obviously don't have his best interest in mind.

Meanwhile, his mother continues to sell herself in order to make money. During one of her outings, she suddenly breaks down crying. The man sends her away with some money and she returns to her spot in the park, seeing Prince sleeping and becoming incredibly enraged before once again breaking down.

Chapter Three
The story skips five years ahead once again, with the Prince now being seventeen and living in a very small apartment building with his mother, which they managed to buy thanks to him offering himself as a test subject, though his mother had no reaction at all to the news. He returns to his job where he finds out they have to let him go as due to the constant experimentation his genes have changed.

He decides to visit Susie and talks to her about his recent problems, both with his life and with his mother, finally confessing to her that he lived in a brothel for a good chunk of his life. Susie takes pity on him, but he claims he isn't there for it and proceeds to spill out every single negative thought he's had in the past few years, ending with Susie interrupting him with a kiss.

Reception
The comic received very positive reviews from critics, who praised the comic's art and reinvention of the Iron Emperor as a more tragic figure that was turned into a monster. However, the comic split fans of the games, with some very much enjoying the origin story while others hated it for several reasons, with some preferring other possible origins presented in other stories while others believe the story is attempting to justify the Emperor's actions both in and out of the comic.

First Chapter
Screams echo through a small village as a woman is seen sweating and gasping for air during childbirth, grabbing the hand of a nurse by her side. Two doctors are seen standing just outside the door.
 * Nurse: You're doing great, ma'am!
 * Mother: Just let me die already!!
 * Nurse: I know it hurts, ma'am, but--
 * Mother: Shut up, you couldn't possibly know how much this hurts!!
 * Nurse: Okay, sorry ma'am.
 * Doctor #1: God, sounds like she's being killed...
 * Doctor #2: Who's the dad?
 * Doctor #1: She doesn't know.
 * Doctor #2: What? how's that possible?
 * Doctor #1: Let's just say her job makes it pretty hard.