A new era begins forIron Manthis October, as Tony Stark debuts hisnew Improvised Iron Man suit. The suit will be constantly updated and adapted to tackle new threats across the run, with an early modification apparently including an epic new weapon for Tony, turning him into"the Iron Swordsman."
In Yasmine Putri’s art for December’sIron Man #3- shared byComicBook.com-Iron Man’s new Steampunk-style ‘Improvised Iron Man’ armor is revealed to come with a gigantic sword. While the issue summary refers to Tony as the ‘Iron Swordsman,’ it’s not yet known if this is just a fun nickname or if each new iteration of the Improvised armor will come with its own codename. In the past, Tony has usually given his specialty suits a new designation, so it’s not impossible that the Improvised Suit is just the base from which a lot of other Iron-personas will emerge.
Yasmine Putri
IRON MAN GOES MEDIEVAL!
It’s the Iron Swordsman vs. the Iron Monger! Desperate to keep Stark Unlimited out of the hands of Roxxon and A.I.M., Tony’s stopped pulling punches. But sabotage attacks are getting him nowhere while the board vote proceeds full speed. And when he finds out who’s REALLY behind the acquisition efforts, all hell’s gonna break loose. The Iron Monger’s dark secret will be revealed in the final chapter of “the Stark-Roxxon War”!
Tony is entering a rage-fillednew era as Roxxon and AIM team-upto take his company out from under him. Butafter one of the most damaging years of his life, Iron Man is done holding back, leading to a hardcore rebuild including a gigantic hand-to-hand weapon. Fans can see Iron Man wearing the sword on his back in John Tyler Christopher’s variant cover forIron Man #1, coming October 23.
Update:Marvel has released a trailer for the upcoming new era ofIron Man, below:
The new Iron Monger is"someone with an extensive history with Iron Man who’s granted a new and irresistible opportunity to ruin his life…"
Iron Man Debuts the First Major Change to His Improvised Armor
New and Old Enemies Return as Tony Goes to War
In recent comics, Iron Man’s company was stolen out from under him byrival billionaire and anti-mutant extremist Feilong. Feilong killed Tony’s friends, destroyed a hidden message left by his father, and used his research to create an army of mutant-killing Sentinels. Tony fought to get his company back and won, but as the new volume of Iron Man begins, he’s still not totally in control. Speaking to ComicBook.com, writer Spencer Ackerman reveals thatTony hasn’t had time to change the company’s new board of directors or back out of Feilong’s weapons deals. That makes it the perfect time for evil corporation Roxxon and science-focused terrorist group AIM to take everything he has.
Marvel Exposes an MCU Plot Hole, Admitting Iron Man Could Easily Turn 1 Avengers Hero into a God
Marvel confirms that Tony Stark could elevate an MCU ally to god-tier status using his Iron Man technology, but he refuses for the worst reason.
A preview of the new series shared by ComicBook.com shows Tony in his Model 51 ‘Model-Prime Armor’ and Model 37 ‘Bleeding Edge’ armor, fighting Roxxon’s Hulk-esque Berserker Squad and D-list villains Tiger Shark and Flying Tiger (in what appears to be a staged fight meant to work against him.) He’s also shown falling from the air and totaling his suit, as well asfighting the deadly new Iron Monger. Ackerman promises the new Iron Monger is"someone with an extensive history with Iron Man who’s granted a new and irresistible opportunity to ruin his life"and warns that"the Iron Monger armor exploits a traditional vulnerability of Tony’s to devastating effect."
The original Iron Monger was Tony Stark’s first MCU villain, with his corrupt mentorObadiah Stane played by Jeff Bridges.
Given that issue 3 will see Iron Man fight the new Iron Monger, it’s possible the vulnerability referenced is Tony’s lack of close-quarters weapons - hence his creation of the issue’s gigantic sword to fight back. Marvel has revealed that the new ‘Improvised Iron Man’ armor is all about change, and that Tony will be constantly upgrading the armor to take on new threats. That makes it particularly exciting that he’ll be facing such arange of villains old and new, since each one is an excuse for Tony to upgrade his suit.
This is something a very smart person makes when all else has failed and what comes next can’t. He’s not in a cave, but he is building it out of scraps. It’s “Improvised” in the sense of “Improvised Explosive Device.”
– Spencer Ackerman
“Leave Me Alone, I’m a Senior Citizen”: 10 Funniest Moments in Iron Man & Captain America’s Friendship
Steve Rogers and Tony Stark butt heads so much because underneath it all, they’re really great friends. Here are the funniest moments between the two.
Iron Man’s New Era Is About Tony Stark’s Rage
The New Armor “Showcases Vulnerability and Desperation”
New Iron Man armor usually represents a power upgrade for Tony. That was certainly the case for his most recent armors -his anti-magic Mysterium Suitand gigantic Sentinel Killer armor, which he appears to have disassembled in the preview above.However, the Improvised Iron Man armor is actually meant to make Tony weaker, embodying a sense of"vulnerability and desperation"that will see him fighting for his life and constantly improvising on the fly.Ackerman explains:
This is something a very smart person makes when all else has failed and what comes next can’t. He’s not in a cave, but he is building it out of scraps. It’s “Improvised” in the sense of “Improvised Explosive Device.” And it’s going to include a key visual and tactical element that we rarely, if ever, see with Iron Man armor. … And because he’s Iron Man, he’s going to iterate on the Improvised armor. A lot. And as circumstances are going to very rapidly require.
The Improvised Iron Man suit has a definite Steampunk design, and Ackerman also confirms that the new Iron Monger works via hydraulics. Why Tony is using a less powerful suit when he has so many others - including the unbreakable Mysterium Armor - is a mystery so far, but one potential answer is that the newIron Monger has some kind of control over electronics(as Ackerman suggests, an Iron Man vulnerability that’s seldom abused.)
Iron Man Has a Genius Theory That He’s Smarter Than Reed Richards (& He Kind of Proved It)
Iron Man once admitted that Reed Richards might be smarter than him – but in the process, he provided one Major caveat, keeping the debate alive.
This could explain why Tony is going comparatively low-tech, and why he’d choose to create a gigantic sword rather than a new repulsor weapon. However,there’s another reason Tony Stark would reach for a sword when he finds himself in trouble…
Tony’s connection to swordplay speaks to the inspiration that turned him into Iron Man in the first place.
This Isn’t Iron Man’s First Time Using Swords
The Weapon Has a Major Connection to Tony’s Origin
While Iron Man has never used a sword the likes of which he’ll get as the new ‘Iron Swordsman,’ he has fallen back on bladed weapons alotin the past. From focusing his repulsor rays into a cutting blade with the Bleeding Edge armor to creating an energy spear and shield withhis anti-Carnage Dragon-Slayer armor, to being forced to fight with swords by Mojo as the Iron Shogun,Tony has a surprising amount of experience with swordplay. Interestingly, even alt-universes like Peach Momoko’sDemon Warshave turned Tony into a swordsman, in Momoko’s case the Iron Samurai.
Iron Man’s Secret Power Is a Serious Advantage He Even Hides from Other Heroes
Iron Man has no shortage of incredible suits of armor which means he has no shortage of powers, including one that even the Avengers don’t know about.
Tony’s connection to swordplay speaks to the inspiration that turned him into Iron Man in the first place. Since he was a child,Tony Stark has been obsessed with King Arthurand the Knights of Camelot. The Iron Man armor was modeled as a modern-day knight, and Tony literally got his dream in David Michelinie, Bob Layton and John Romita Jr.’s iconicIron Man #150, whereTony meets King Arthur and is even knighted into his service.
Now, with his back to the wall and enemies approaching from every corner, Iron Man is once again falling back on the knight metaphor to protect everything he’s built, with Ackerman claiming he’s"in pure survival mode from jump.“Iron Manusually faces each new challenge with the perfect suit built for the occasion, but as Roxxon and AIM attack at his weakest, he’ll have to put his faith into his ability to improvise - that, and his gigantic new sword.
