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BREAKING: Iron Man Spencer Ackerman Teases an Angrier Tony Stark, Improvised Armor and New Iron Monger
A new era of Iron Man comics will bring about some unique changes to the Armored Avenger. This fall will see the launch of a new volume of Iron Man by Pulitzer prize winner Spencer Ackerman. It follows the conclusion of Gerry Duggan’s run which tied into the X-Men’s Fall of X and their battle against the anti-mutant organization Orchis. After regaining control of his company Stark Unlimited, Tony Stark must face new challengers in the boardroom and when he’s suited up as Iron Man. We talked to Ackerman to find out what fans can expect in his Iron Man run.
ComicBook spoke with Iron Man writer Spencer Ackerman about the new series ahead of its launch on October 23rd. We asked him about the “angrier” Tony Stark that he’s writing, what causes this change in attitude, the story behind the “Improvised Iron Man” and the different types of armors Tony creates, “The Stark-Roxxon War” that sees Roxxon and A.I.M working together in a corporate takeover of Stark Unlimited, the mystery behind the new Iron Monger, and more. We can also exclusively reveal the cover and solicitation for December’s Iron Man #3, which you can find at the very end of the interview.
You won’t like him when he’s angry
ComicBook: Your Iron Man run has been marketed as having an angrier, meaner Tony Stark. How will readers see that come across on the page? Is Tony crossing some lines that he normally wouldn’t cross?
Spencer Ackerman: Down to the armor Iron Man is wearing, Tony is in pure survival mode from jump. The stakes start out very high and escalate from there. A big theme of this run is going to be scale — the pursuit of it, the maintenance of it, the cost of it. We’ve seen Tony cross some very serious moral lines in the past. Now we’re going to scale them up
Every Iron Man series seems to introduce new armor. What makes the “Improvised Iron Man” unique and different from what we’ve seen in the past?
It so happens that right before this interview, I was rereading Hickman & Epting’s New Avengers #5. There’s a panel showing Iron Man down on the ground, gauntlet repulsor sparking from malfunction, and preparing to defend himself from the terrifying scythe of Terrax the Tamer from an alternate universe. He’s wearing a great armor, one that looks sturdy and futuristic, part of the visual lineage established by Adi Granov in Extremis that has been deservedly hegemonic for something like 20 years.
I wanted to break from that tradition. If Terrax brought that scythe down on the Improvised Iron Man, our hero wouldn’t be in New Avengers #6.
Julius Ohta’s masterful armor design also addresses your last question. The Improvised Iron Man showcases vulnerability and desperation. This is something a very smart person makes when all else has failed and what comes next can’t. He’s not in a cave, but he is building it out of scraps. It’s “Improvised” in the sense of “Improvised Explosive Device.” And it’s going to include a key visual and tactical element that we rarely, if ever, see with Iron Man armor. That’s debuting in issue 2.
And because he’s Iron Man, he’s going to iterate on the Improvised armor. A lot. And as circumstances are going to very rapidly require.
Finally, I don’t think there’s ever been this much leather on Tony Stark.
