Iron Man's Steampunk Armor Revealed For Marvel's Dark Ages
In Marvel's Dark Ages series, modern technology breaks down in one terrible moment, leaving Tony Stark dependent on a new steampunk Iron Man suit.
Iron Man is known for having really cool suits, but his newest armor - revealed in marketing material for Marvel's Dark Ages series - is unlike any fans have seen before. Coming from Tom Taylor (X-Men: Red) and Iban Coello (Venom), Dark Ages is ushering in a lot of new costumes for Marvel's iconic heroes, but Tony Stark's update is more serious than most, since his abilities are tied to the tech he wears. For Dark Ages, Tony Stark is throwing his technology back a bit and taking on a steampunk style.
Dark Ages envisions a dangerous new world for its greatest heroes, as modern technology is wiped out in a single, terrifying moment. The series has been tagged with the mysterious line, "Who were you when the lights went out?" The Marvel universe is about to lose power and several heroes are getting new looks to rise to the challenge - or to reflect major changes that happened to them while darkness took over.
Iron Man is one of the first people to be affected by the blackout, as seen in a preview of the series' story from Free Comic Book Day 2020's X-Men #1, where Tony loses a leg to a jet turbine after his armor fails. In promotional art from Ryan Stegman, the Dark Ages suit is the result of what appears to be a major downgrade. Iron Man's suits have had various energy sources, from solar energy to fusion power. The most well-known power source is Tony's arc reactor. Whenever a new suit has debuted, it's usually been a significant upgrade from the previous model. In contrast, Iron Man's newest suit appears to have steam-powered propulsion, with Tony needing older technology to get around in this dark new world.
This wouldn't be the first-time that Tony has been seen with a suit that is much less sleek or modern than his usual armors. In Marvel 1602, Lord Iron - a Seventeenth Century version of Iron Man - has a bulky suit that is also unlike many of the suits the character is known for. The Marvel 1602 armor was powered by "lightning bottles," which are byproducts of alchemical experiments, though they'd seemingly still count as a form of electricity, meaning that this new armor may actually be even less advanced.
Another noticeable aspect of this suit is the ratio of metal to fabric that is unlike any other armor Iron Man has debuted before. The closest versions would likely be Armor Model 39 - which debuted in 2012 - and the Nano Iron Man Armor from Tony Stark: Iron Man in 2018. However, both of these Iron Man armors are still very high-tech and feature fully armored arms and hands. In the Dark Ages armor, Tony is missing his usual armored fist, choosing instead to wear gloves. This new suit also has what appear to be leather straps holding the metallic components on to his body. That is very different from usual, and stresses the compromises Tony has had to make just to get off the ground.
It's clear that Iron Man definitely had some big challenges to meet in developing this armor. Instead of debuting a sleek, traditional armor, he has arrived in a hybrid fabric-metal suit. Something that is also uncharacteristic of Iron Man is the belt he's seen wearing here. The belt's fitted with at least four pouches, which are likely carrying other equipment Tony Stark needs to get the job done, or additional means of powering his suit - perhaps coal? It's a sign of Tony's heroism that even in a world hostile to the thing he does best, he finds a way to suit up and help, but it's clear that for tech-focused characters like Iron Man and Vision, Dark Ages is going to pose a challenge the likes of which readers have never seen before.
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