Tony Stark has always used his mind to help others. But Iron Man #17 may show its equally great potential to be a threat to humanity.
WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Iron Man #17 on sale now from Marvel Comics.
For decades, Tony Stark has shown that the Iron Man armor isn’t a superpower but more of an extension to Stark’s real power — his genius. With his mind, he has done more than create countless armors. He ran S.H.I.E.L.D., created a backup of his mind long before Xavier could and even used his genius to keep his body in stasis after a fatal injury. But for all of the good he’s done with his mind, he’s also proven the dangers that intelligence can create when given to the wrong person.
In Iron Man #17 (by Christopher Cantwell, Ibraim Roberson, Angel Unzueta, Frank D’Armata and VC’s Joe Caramagna), Tony Stark uses the cosmic powers he gained from his battle with Micahel Korvac to give everyone heightened intelligence. His goal is to make the world a better place by allowing people to create a more efficient way of doing things. Unfortunately, however, for every good deed like curing diseases, some people use their gifts to rob banks and take over the world. In short, Stark’s decision only shows the endless possibilities of intelligence, both good and bad.
As a side effect of Stark’s actions, the people gifted with this intelligence also act more like Stark in that they have hubris, but his cool and confident demeanor tempers it. This is best shown by a news reporter who thinks she’s better with her job after creating a new method of space/time teleportation. As a result, Stark’s citywide upgrade makes people more unpredictable than ever with incalculable genius to boot. That said, this instance of intelligence getting out of hand is one in a long list of moments that show how genius-level ideas are equally good and dangerous for the Marvel Universe.
During the “Axis” event, Tony is turned into a more villainous version of himself known as the Superior Iron Man. He acted similarly to his cosmic God persona but capitalized on his methods for making the world a better place. More dangerous examples include the super-intelligent Maestro Hulk and Ultimate Reed Richards, who would use his genius to become a villain known as the Maker. What makes these iterations such a three is the fact that intelligence inadvertently created them. When they were faced with the option to use their minds for good, they only chose to amplify their darker halves and impact their worlds as a result.
While there are other geniuses like Doctor Doom and Reed Richards in the 616 universe, Tony sticks out among them because the application of his intelligence is more proactive. Where Doom uses his intelligence to gain more knowledge, Reed uses his to explore new worlds and push the boundaries of theoretical science. Tony uses his mind in more practical aspects by improving what is already existing and seeing how advanced that item can become. As a cosmic deity, he’s utilizing this same method on a larger and potentially more destructive scale.
The Marvel Universe focuses heavily on looking to the future. Of course, a character like Tony Stark, being a futurist, makes that concept even easier to explore in his stories. But intelligent characters like Stark also serve as another lesson about how great power must also have a great responsibility. This new Iron Man run has shown that time and again and continues to on a massive scale while showing how even the best intentions can lead to catastrophic outcomes.
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