Last year’s wedding of Iron Man and Emma Frost was a huge Marvel event. What surprised fans was their amazing chemistry, which made their relationship feel more real than anything that readers had anticipated from their pairing. However, now that the war is over, preview pages for an upcoming issue reveal their relationship is going in a direction fans have been dreading all along.

AIPT’s exclusive preview for Invincible Iron Man #20 offers a glimpse of a sad, seemingly inevitable reality: Emma is moving on from Tony. There is no dialogue in the pages, but the art appears to tell the story well enough, though the issue could still certainly serve up a swerve, and subvert fans’ expectations.

Going into the characters’ marriage, Marvel fans had few expectations that it would be long-lived. That said, in the span of just a few issues, many readers became true believers – making it that much sadder that their initial assessment has been proven right.

Was Tony and Emma’s Relationship Just Marvel Offering “The Illusion of Change”?

Invincible Iron Man #15 – Written By Gerry Duggan; Art By Creees Lee, Walden Wong, Bryan Valenza, & Joe Caramagna

In the preview, the pair meet at a restaurant, but Emma doesn’t sit down; she turns away even as Tony reaches for her. Fans have been dreading that this might happen, that the second their relationship didn’t further their goals against Orchis, the pair would split. Now, getting proof on the page drives the disappointment home. There’s a famous quote often attributed to Stan Lee: “Readers don’t want actual change. Readers want the illusion of change.” Breaking up one of the best new couples Marvel has had feels like readers were set up for that illusion of change.

Tony and Emma were a great pair who took on an unwinnable battle and won. The future is theirs to lose if they stay together, but the illusion of change dictates that they have to split and go back to their individual books. Tony’s an Avenger, Emma’s with the X-Men, and they’ll only see each other during crossover events. If this preview image really sets up that the pair is getting a divorce, readers and the Marvel Comics Universe will be worse off for it.

Deadpool’s Adds Insult To Injury For A Vulnerable Iron Man

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Variant Cover By Dave Wachter

Tony Stark and Emma Frost were dynamic together, two narcissists who had great quips and could fight side by side. They’re ambitious capitalists who like both enjoying the finer things in life, and throwing themselves into their work. They even had great physical chemistry, setting off fireworks together one night after Tony woke up from a nightmare. At their wedding, Tony seemed to already know that Emma was going to break his heart – but what is surprising is how many fans’ hearts are breaking too.

Further, it appears Invincible Iron Man #20 will be the final issue of the series; his solo title ending, along with his marriage, has prompted fans to ask if anything worse can happen to Tony Stark – and apparently, the answer is yes. This issue is also getting a Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe variant cover. While many of these are gory and/or creative, as Deadpool finds ways to take out Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the Iron Man cover is sad, adding insult to injury by just showing Deadpool after taking out the sad, divorced Iron Man.

Source: AIPT