The current Iron Man series is coming to a close over the next few months, but that does not mean Tony Stark's heading towards a happy ending. In fact, the upcoming Invincible Iron Man #1 from Gerry Duggan and Juan Frigeri teases that Iron Man will face personal lows like never before, to the point of being broke and on the run for survival. Stark's fiscal stability and his connections to the criminal underworld are already relevant themes in Christopher Cantwell and Angel Unzueta's final arc of Iron Man. However, Marvel promises that even darker days are on the horizon for the Golden Avenger.
Christopher Cantwell, CAFU, and Angel Unzueta have put Iron Man through the wringer over the course of their recent run. Tony has lapsed into substance addiction, suffered a failed wedding proposal, and lived to see his worst impulses magnified to epic proportions when he had access to the power cosmic. Even now as Tony aims to take down the black market entity Source Control, Iron Man has isolated himself from the broader superhero community and is prepared to lose every last penny in the Stark vaults.
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If Marvel's announcement of the new Invincible Iron Man series is to be believed, Iron Man's going to lose hard and then some. Once a genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist, Tony Stark will soon be a loser-broke-single-flop. Specifically, Gerry Duggan and Juan Frigeri's take on Shellhead promises a penniless version of Iron Man who has ruined his reputation and burned down his relationships. On top of all that, he will be hunted by "every assassin around the Marvel Universe." As if hitting rock bottom was not enough, Tony will have to survive the attention of the most dangerous people money can buy. What a way to mark Iron Man's 60th anniversary.
On the run with no money or safe contacts sounds like a reduction in scale for the next phase of Iron Man storytelling. This would not necessarily be a move that's unheard of; the newly announced Fantastic Four relaunch is set to have a smaller scope with a classic Star Trek twist. However, Gerry Duggan asserts that the story he and Juan Frigeri have crafted will be "an epic tale for Stark," with a mysterious new villain at its heart. The new series promises to see a return of some of Tony's classic armors, as well as a reflection on his history as he overcomes "a devastating defeat at the hands of a Marvel villain who's been making big waves throughout the Marvel Universe recently."
Whatever may come for Tony Stark, it seems like his immediate future will take him downhill in ways never seen before. Iron Man has always been a master inventor, but money has been one of his most consistent superpowers throughout his life. Who is Iron Man when he's lost everything? Surely it will be fascinating to see what lengths Tony Stark will go to for survival when Iron Man finds himself broke and besieged by assassins this fall.
Invincible Iron Man #1 goes on sale December 7, 2022.
Source: Marvel Comics