The Iron Man of Dark Ages isn’t the first time Tony Stark has had to find unlikely power sources for his armor, especially steam-power.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Dark Ages #1, available now from Marvel.
Across almost every reality in the Marvel multiverse, regardless of origins or morality, Tony Stark is almost universally regarded as a genius inventor. His Iron Man armors are typically decades beyond the closest competitor in terms of potential or construction, and they are often fueled by the most advanced designs and energy sources. But that’s not always the case, especially in alternate realities.
The Tony Stark who appears in Dark Ages is forced to abandon all his high-tech creations for more rudimentary answers to powering his Iron Man armor. But he isn’t the first multiversal variant of Iron Man to have to do so — and not even the first to decide on steam-power as the most viable option.
Tom Taylor, Iban Coello, Brian Reber and VC’s Joe Sabino Dark Ages #1 introduces a variant of the Marvel Universe where the awakening of the Unmaker resulted in untold destruction occurring all around the Earth. Discovering the source of the destruction coming from within their world, a small contingent of heroes confronted the Celestial level creature — quickly losing their numbers in battle. Doctor Strange ensured victory for the heroes by opening a rift to a dimension that contained a powerful EMP source, capable of disabling any form of technology. But due to his death, Strange was unable to close the gate — resulting in a Marvel Universe bereft of technology. One of the first heroes to feel this effect was Iron Man — who, depowered, fell to the Earth in his armor and lost a leg after crashing into an airplane.
The ending of the issue teased that Tony Stark would eventually find a work-around, creating a rudimentary steam-powered Iron Man suit to bring into battle alongside his new allies. But this won’t be the first variant of Tony Stark to devise a way to empower an armor, even without modern technology. The Tony of Earth-616 even discovered a way to do it while briefly stranded in the distant past, eventually allowing him to escape back home. But there have been two other Starks who did similar, with far less technological experience.
On Earth-311 — the setting for the Jacobian Marvel Universe that appeared in 1602 and its, sequels, like 1602: Brave New World by Greg Pak and Greg Tocchini — Anthony Stark was a Spanish inventor captured during the English/Spanish War and tortured — all in the name of constructing new weapons. Constructing a massive armor to survive that was powered by small bursts of electricity caught inside “Lightning Bottles,” Anthony eventually escaped and became an agent of James I, seeking out the man who’d tortured him (David Banner) after he made his way to the New World and became the Hulk. Stark was a vengeful brawler in these early confrontations, but eventually made peace with Banner and became a champion of the growing nation.
Another version of Iron Man fully embraced steam-power however, in the Battle-World town of Timely — aka the old west setting of 1872 by Gerry Duggan and Nik Virella. In that world, Anthony Stark constructed weapons for the Union Army — but increasingly turned to drink after witnessing his weapons used to slaughter countless soldiers during the Civil War. He remained a wreck until the death of Sheriff Steve Rogers, which galvanized the town and inspired Anthony to take up arms against the cruel Mayor Fisk. Constructing a steam-powered armor, Anthony worked alongside Red Wolf to fight back against the town and bring justice back to the small and wild town.
While Dark Ages‘ Tony Stark might be a hero of an alternate future, both of these alternate reality past heroes proved that a steam-powered Iron Man can still be a hero.
About The Author
For all the latest Comics News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.