Warning: SPOILERS for Midnight Suns #3
Tony Stark’s new superhero identity makes him a better person than he ever was while he was Iron Man – and it has everything to do with the responsibilities granted to Doctor Strange. Stark is very much a free spirit in comics and the MCU; though he is ultimately still a good person, he has made tremendous mistakes thanks to his hedonistic, short-sighted ways. Midnight Suns #3 reveals that Tony’s flaws may have everything to do with becoming Iron Man and not the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth.
Iron Man was deliberately created by Stan Lee to be an unlikeable character, especially considering the 1960s readership at the time. Tony Stark was a weapons manufacturer, a war profiteer, and a hedonistic, patriotic capitalist at a time when America’s flaws were becoming more and more apparent to the public. While Stark eventually endeared himself to the readership thanks to a realization of his negative ways and a desire to change for the better, his biggest enemy has always been himself: events like Demon in a Bottle prove that Iron Man’s self-destructive behavior is exceedingly difficult to escape.
In Midnight Suns #3, written by Ethan Sacks with art by Luigi Zagaria, the members of the Midnight Suns are trapped in another dimension, far away from Zoe: the woman they must protect to ensure she isn’t killed (and the apocalypse on Earth triggered). The team encounters Tony Stark, but this multiverse Stark is no Iron Man; rather, he is the Sorcerer Supreme of this reality. Unlike most Starks, this one is fairly cordial, polite, and ready to help those in need instantly. In fact, without his face, it would be almost impossible to this is a Stark and not a Stephen Strange.
Becoming Sorcerer Supreme Changed Tony Stark For The Better
In the Death of Doctor Strange event in which Strange dies no less than three times, the titular hero admitted that the responsibilities of the Sorcerer Supreme are vast, but they also provide the title holder access to a wellspring of phenomenal power and knowledge. This power and knowledge now belongs to Tony Stark, who was no doubt humbled by the immense responsibilities that come as part of the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme. In a way, granting Tony even more responsibility led him to become a far better person as a Doctor Strange analogue.
This Stark, like all Starks, desires to fix things – but the difference between him and the Iron Man of 616 is the latter’s desire to solve problems that only exist in his mind (see Civil War or the events of Iron Man 2022 for examples). This Stark is also considerably more powerful, as he is able to create magic suits for the entire Midnight Suns team that withstand the corrosive energies of Valtorr’s otherworldly dimensional home. As Iron Man, Tony Stark left much to be desired, but as the Sorcerer Supreme, Stark might even eclipse Doctor Strange in terms of power – and at the very least, has eclipsed his 616 self when it comes to changing one’s behavior.
