Tony Stark / Iron Man has become a pretty significant character within the Marvel universe, with his role as both a civilian and a superhero continuing to factor into storylines. The current run of Iron Man has taken a somewhat self-contained approach to Tony’s significance, balancing his personal story with an ensemble of lesser-known superheroes and supervillains. That being said, the series’ most recent issue brought Tony back into the main Marvel stratosphere — and had him make a major change in the process. Spoilers for Iron Man #16, from Christopher Cantwell, Julius Ohta, Frank D’Armata, and Joe Caramagna below! Only look if you want to know!
The issue continued Tony’s “Iron God” tenure, after Tony was given the Power Cosmic following a fight with Korvac. After focusing on a brunch meeting with Tony’s super-pals, the issue shows Tony arriving on Earth with great fanfare, immediately prompting the attention of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. Tony assured his friends to not be worried about his newfound powers, and argued that he has the ability to use the Power Cosmic for good — as long as his lofty ideas aren’t stuck entirely in his head. Tony then blessed the entire group (as well as everyone within New York City) with his level of intellect, so they would hypothetically understand his ambitions with the Power Cosmic.
We then saw a few examples of how that affected the heroes and civilians alike, between Reed Richards arguing that he actually feels “dumber”, to random people in New York putting side differences or having philosophical conversations. This included a scene at a hospital where Jackson Weele / Big Wheel, who had been in a coma for several years, suddenly awoke and came up with a new (but potentially deadly) way to solve traffic problems. Tony and Patsy Walker / Hellcat then stopped him, and after Tony still didn’t view his intellectual “gift” as a problem, Patsy resorted to finding someone who could stop him — Doctor Doom.
While it’s safe to assume that Tony giving all of New York genius-level intellect won’t stick in the long term, it’s still a decision that is definitely compelling. It also adds to the series’ take on other characters outside of Tony, whether that be the group of super pals, or the larger group of Marvel heroes.
Iron Man #16 is now available wherever comics are sold.
