If you follow Iron Man across both comic books and movies, then you know of how the character has really been put through the wringer in recent years. And from the look of it, Tony Stark won’t catch a break as we begin inching toward the New Year.
You see, Marvel Comics have just put out a teaser for the fan favorite superhero’s next major storyline – and the outlook is simultaneously grim and intriguing. For all intents and purposes, we could be looking at someone else inhabiting the armor before long.
If you take a look at the initial artwork drawn up by Inhyuk Lee (seen below), you’ll peep a stylized rig overlooking the grave of Anthony Edward Stark, with a human hand emerging from the ground. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean Tony will truly bite the dust, though the image is quite foreboding.
Our best idea of what’s to come arrives by way of the solicitation for December’s Tony Stark: Iron Man #19, which will mark the end of that series. It reads as follows:
“What if there is no Tony Stark? What if there is only the Iron Man? At the end of 2019, the boundaries between man and machine are blurred and broken… and the Marvel Universe will be a very different place in the year 2020. A new Iron Age is coming… and you do NOT want to miss this pivotal issue.”
Invoking the moniker of “Iron Man 2020” is quite advantageous by the House of Ideas, as it’ll force True Believers to recall Arno Stark. Then again, we could be looking at a new character to be introduced entirely, or even some sort of rogue artificial intelligence. Either way, dubbing the upcoming storyline as such is no accident with the year 2020 itself fast approaching.
Perhaps our greatest indicator will arrive on Saturday, October 26th during Halloween Comicfest. That said, be sure to venture to your local comic shop in order to pick up a free copy of Road to Iron Man 2020 and keep watching this space as more develops.
