Iron Man’s solution for almost everything is to build a new armor, but what can he do when his armor inevitably turns against him once again? Trapped in his most advanced suit ever, Tony Stark has his work cut out for him as his latest invention fails him at the worst possible time. With no company or money to fall back on, what can Tony do against the villain who took it all?
In the recent series Invincible Iron Man (2022), written by Gerry Duggan, Tony Stark’s fortune and company has been stolen by the inventor and anti-mutant bigot Feilong, forcing Tony to build entirely new Iron Man suits. Now, the solicit for the upcoming Invincible Iron Man #17 (written by Duggan and penciled by Patch Zircher) reveals that no sooner will Tony get his most powerful armor yet than it will become a death trap.
Invincible Iron Man #17 (2024) | |
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| Release Date: | April 11, 2024 |
| Writer: | Gerry Duggan |
| Artist: | Patch Zircher |
| Cover Artist: | Kael Ngu |
Iron Man is mutantkind’s last hope! Tony Stark’s greatest accomplishment may have just become the world’s most advanced coffin. Trapped within a deactivated armor, Tony must face down his demons and his legacy. Can Iron Man escape, or will mutantkind’s hopes die along with him? | |
It’s ironic that Tony is so determined to make a suit out of the mutant metal mysterium because it’s seemingly invincible, only for it to immediately fail on him. Exactly how or why this happens remains to be seen. As far as readers know, mysterium has no weaknesses, whether science or magic-based, so Feilong must have a trick up his sleeve that even the X-Men don’t expect.
Iron Man is Trapped Inside His Latest Armor
The recent Fall of X event has seen Feilong in power as part of anti-mutant group Orchis, forcing Tony to team up with the remaining X-Men to take him down. The latest arc has seen Tony go on a quest to build a new suit out of mysterium, the near-indestructible metal mined from the mutant afterlife the White Hot Room, one of the few things that could out-tech Feilong’s vast resources. After carrying out a heist with his now-wife Emma Frost, Tony has secured the mysterium he needs to build this new armor. But it might not be enough to defeat Feilong and Orchis.
Tony Stark’s Inventions Are Always Turning Against Him
This upcoming story is the perfect example of two of the most important themes in Iron Man stories. The first is Tony’s tech turning against him. From his company’s former arms trade to the event Armor Wars, in which Tony discovers his tech has been highjacked by supervillains, to Feilong’s new mutant-hunting “Stark Sentinels,” Tony’s inventions are constantly being used for evil. In these scenarios, his solution is to always build something bigger and “better.” Tony might not deal arms anymore, but he’s never stopped making weapons, nor figured out a permanent way to stop them falling into the wrong hands.
This, as well as most of Tony’s failures, are driven by his hubris, which always comes back to bite him in the end. No matter how many times he’s self-destructive, he’ll do it again. No matter how many times he trusts his judgment over others’ and then lives to regret it, he’ll do it again. No matter how many times his tech falls into the wrong hands, it will happen again. Tony’s hubris is unparalleled among superheroes. The only hope with his new mysterium armor is that Iron Man’s friends, whether in the X-Men or the Avengers, will be there for him when his newest project unsurprisingly doesn’t go as planned.
