Thoughts And Questions Regarding The New Invincible Iron Man

So, Brian Michael Bendis had a lot to say recently. Apparently, he’s gonna be writing the flagship comic of the All-New, All-Different line-up of Marvel’s NEW MU, which is none other than…

…Does anybody else totally hear the old 90’s animated series intro when they look at that?

Anyway, despite my earlier beliefs to the contrary, Bendis confirmed that Iron Man in this book IS Tony Stark, and that apparently, part of this new story arc involves his biological parents (it was revealed a while back that the Starks actually adopted Tony, since they couldn’t have a child of their own). Also, there were some details given on the new suit, drawn by David Marquez, which can apparently, and I quote, “change into any past version of the suit at will by the suit’s wearer”. And thank goodness for that, because from what I’ve seen and heard of the finale for Superior Iron Man, several (if not all) of his previous suits were heavily damaged and/or destroyed.

…And speaking of which, the fact that this has been proved to be Tony Stark in the new suit has me scratching my head, and not because I was proven wrong. I’ve been wrong plenty of times before when it came to guessing what was coming in comics, this is nothing new. It’s just that this revelation kinda comes out of left field, and leaves more than a few questions, both regarding the apparent clues I was picking up on, as well as other details regarding Tony’s continued presence as Iron Man and what this could mean for the Marvel Universe going forward. And that’s not even necessarily a bad thing that I’m finding myself asking questions, either. I like a good mystery as much as the next guy. Plus, nowadays, we SHOULD be asking questions. So, with that in mind, here are some of the big ones coming to mind revolving around Tony continuing to be Iron Man, starting with the most obvious…

Question #1: Is this the 616 Universe Tony Stark?

Really, when it comes to this situation, and given what’s going on right now in the comics, this seems like the most obvious question to ask. The way I see it, either Tony’s been re-inverted back to being a good guy, he’s faking (and doing a heck of a good job of it), or he’s been replaced by one of his alternate universe counterparts that wound up on the new Earth of the new Marvel Universe due to the events of Secret Wars. Right now, the most obvious suspects when it comes to the last option are the Ultimate Universe Tony, and the Tony that’s currently the main protagonist of Armor Wars. Really, either one of them would work for their own reasons (though primarily Ultimate Tony, considering how much Brian Michael Bendis has done for the Ultimate Universe). However, based on what’s been said so far, I think the more likely answer is that, yes, this IS Tony Stark of Earth 616, the mainstream Tony we’ve known since the beginning. So, with that in mind, the next obvious question is as follows…

Question #2: What the hell happened since Superior Iron Man #9???

Chronologically speaking, the last we saw of 616 Tony, he was evil and fighting Steve Rogers in a pretty brutal fight as the two worlds began their collision. Also, in the finale of Superior Iron Man, Pepper had declared that Tony was a lost cause and that she’d instead expose him for all of the terrible things he’d been doing as Superior Iron Man. Well, a partial answer to that might come in a comment that Bendis made in reference to Iron Man 3, wherein after Tony lost his house and all his suits were gone, he picked up a screwdriver from the wreckage of his house with a smile on his face, showing he was ready to start over anew. Bendis said that that’s where he’d want to make an Iron Man 4 if he were given the option: Tony’s starting over phase. And, considering Tony’s position in Avengers: Age of Ultron…Yeah, I think that was a necessary chapter of Tony’s character development that we skipped over. -_- So, what do I think happened? Basically, he’s lost everything, he’s been re-inverted by causes unknown at this time, and he’s now attempting to start over with a clean slate. And that would certainly back up one other piece of information we’ve had for about a month now…

Question #3: What happened to the ‘Stark Money’?

If you read the Free Comic Book Day preview for All-New, All-Different Avengers (and considering how much I’ve been yapping about it, I don’t know how you couldn’t have, if for no other reason but to shut me the hell up), you might’ve noticed a line where Miles mentions that the Avengers “don’t have Stark money anymore”. Now, originally, I took this as a clue, suggesting that this Iron Man wasn’t Tony Stark. After all, every time Tony’s been on the Avengers team, he’s supported it with his extensive wealth. Now why wouldn’t he be doing so here? Well, the obvious answer, if this IS the same Tony Stark we’ve known all along, is that he doesn’t have it. Why? Well, suppose Pepper DID succeed in exposing his crimes as Superior Iron Man. The resulting backlash would’ve been insane, with the government taking his company, his assets, his houses, EVERYTHING. If I’m correct, this is Tony having to rebuild his career as Iron Man, his standing in the Marvel Universe, his position as a ‘genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist’ from the very bottom of the barrel, all with the knowledge that he has no one to blame for this but himself. But, speaking of his position as one of the Avengers, that brings up something else that’s been bothering me…

Question #4: Where does Steve Rogers fit into all of this?

Again, in a scene from the FCBD issue, Iron Man has a short conversation with Captain America suggesting that Sam and Steve Rogers aren’t on good terms right now. That struck me as odd, considering how long Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers have been friends, and the fact that Sam even took over the role of Captain America for Steve when Rogers lost his super soldier serum and began to rapidly age (although he’s seemingly still in pretty good shape for his age). However, if we believe Iron Man to be the 616 Tony Stark, suddenly, one has to ask themselves this: What would Steve’s reaction be like, learning that someone who betrayed his friendship and trust in such a deep and personal way as Tony did was now a member of the Avengers again, and that Sam was working with him? I mean, even if Tony’s been restored to normal, hell, even if it’s not even the same Tony Stark that he knew prior, how willing would he be to trust him again? And if Sam vouched for him, that would just make it all the worse. He might feel betrayed by Sam as well, even going so far as to become antagonistic to the whole team…which, I gotta honest, I’m not sure how to feel about. Steve Rogers was always the one guy who seemed to best represent everything we should want to be, and the idea that he could wind up becoming an antagonist in the future…well, I sincerely hope I’m wrong.

Regardless of if I’m on the right track or not, though, one thing’s for certain: There’s some seriously big changes on the horizon for Marvel. And naturally, considering the last time major changes happened (female Thor, Sam Wilson as Captain America, etc.), I suspect that there are people freaking out. I’ll get more into this as we get closer to the end of Secret Wars, though. For now, lemme know what you think all of this could/might mean for the future, and we’ll see if we’re right in the next few months. Ja né!