Marvel Comics: Iron Man debuts his newest armor

Marvel's Tony Stark lost the patent for his armor to a villain named Feilong early on in Invincible Iron Man by Gerry Duggan. The villain used Tony’s armor designs to help Orchis take down mutants by manufacturing Iron Man Sentinels. These became the most sophisticated giant robots the X-Men have faced.

Stark wasn't just furious that someone was using his designs to hurt innocent people. He didn’t have access to an armor that could fight back. After working closely with the X-Men, however, Stark created one.

Gerry Duggan has been teasing Iron Man’s newest armor and the lengths he'd go to build it. Tony went to the Orchis-protected island of Krakoa, sent Riri Williams into outer space, and worked closely with Wilson Fisk in the Hellfire Club. All of this led to the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Tony Stark debuted the Mysterium-made Iron Man armor in Invincible Iron Man No. 15.

At first, it seems like his other armor with black added to it. It’s made from an indestructible metal (even adamantium bends against it) and that's more than enough. Nevertheless, it seemed like a lot of effort for another Iron Man armor. It looked cool, but there had to be more to it, right? Turns out there was. When Riri worked with Forge in space (Invincible Iron Man No. 13 and 14), they weren’t creating spaceships made from Mysterium. That was a trick the X-Men and Tony Stark came up with. They were really building more parts for Tony’s armor.

Like the Hulkbuster in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the parts formed into something bigger. Iron Man’s Mark 72 was the Sentinel-Buster. An armor bigger than the mutant-hunting machines and more durable. Now, it's time for Tony Stark to remind all of his enemies that he's never out of the game.

Stay tuned to Bam Smack Pow to find out what's next for Iron Man as he helps the X-Men fight back against Orchis.