Contains Spoilers for The Ultimates (2024) #7!Marvel’s newUltimate Universeis full of surprises, but what looked like a massive death in the pages of one of its premiere titles has now been proven to be a fake out, as the youngIron Man’ssurvival has been confirmed. The Ultimates haven’t actually lost their leader, but the near-fatality is still a big deal, in terms of what it means for both the present and the potential future of this entire timeline.
The Ultimates (2024)#7 – written by Deniz Camp, with art by Juan Frigeri –has revealed that Ultimate Tony Stark,who seemingly died inUltimates#6, isstill barely alive thanks to a life support system, walking back a potential gamechanging moment from the prior issue.
Previously, the Ultimates went up against this world’s Bruce Banner, a battle they clearly weren’t ready for. The confrontation ended with thedeclaration from She-Hulk that “Iron Lad is dead!”Of course, in time-honored comics tradition, this was a mislead, though Tony is far from unharmed.
The Ultimates#7 – Written By Deniz Camp; Art By Juan Frigeri; Color By Fedrico Blee; Lettering By Travis Lanham
This version of Tony Starkhas had a radically different origin than his mainstream Marvel counterpart. This Tony got to grow up with Howard Stark, and Howard’s courage instigated Tony’s transformation into Iron Lad when the elder Stark discoveredthe secretive rule of the despotic Makerand his council of supervillains inUltimate Invasion, the miniseries by Jonathan Hickman that relaunched the Ultimate Universe. With Howard dead, the massive weight on Tony’s shoulders has increased exponentially, as he tries to recruit this world’s superheroes to his side before the Maker’s return.
Tony’s injury might actually push him towards being a more familiar Iron Manthan before. This is a Tony Stark who hasn’t neededan arc reactor in his chestto survive, since he was never injured, but inUltimates #7, that’s exactly what’s been added in order to keep him alive. The difference is that this isn’t Tony himself building the reactor, butthis world’s Reed Richards, aka the heroic Doctor Doom. Reed does have some knowledge of Earth-616 however, so maybe this design is based off mainstream Iron Man’s.
Ultimates Was Told Readers Tony Wasn’t Going To Die, Even As It Claimed He Had
Certainly, there will be some fans who aren’t exactly happy with this fakeout. It is frustrating to not be able to believe the text in front of you. On the other hand, this kind of pull back from the brink of a shocking moment is standard in comics.There’s an implicit skill in making a character death feel earned, and it never entirely felt to me likeUltimateswas really ready to kill off Tony. He simply had too much yet to do. For one,Tony’s character arc clearly wasn’t completeby the time of his ‘death’.
Tony was actually the leastlikely to die out of the Ultimates just yet. He is on a journey, and this near-death experience is clearly just another step on the path he’s walking.
Tony has been struggling with his place in this version of the Ultimate Universe, and how best to resist the Maker’s regime, even as he feels massive guilt over every minor loss. He wants to protecteveryonebut knows that it likely won’t be possible. From this angle, Tony was actually the leastlikely to die out of the Ultimates just yet. He is on a journey, and this near-death experience is clearly just another step on the path he’s walking.
Iron Lan Has A Dark Future Ahead
There’s also one major reason why Tony Stark can’t die just yet in this new Ultimate Universe, and it’s because readers have already seen his future.Ultimate Invasionall but confirmed thatthis world’s Kang the Conqueror is an evil future Tony, and that can’t happen if he’s dead.Maybe Tony’s grievous injuries push him towards a darker path, and maybe his condition explains why we never see Kang out of costume. WhetherIron Manis headed towards villainy, or this is just a potential dark future, he’s still alive, and that’s only a good thing for thisUltimate Universe.
The Ultimates (2024) #7is available now from Marvel Comics.
Iron Man
Anthony “Tony” Edward Stark, AKA Iron Man, is a Marvel Comics superhero who has enjoyed several years of the spotlight and has become a mainstay in several Marvel media franchises. After suffering a critical injury, Tony creates a specialized armored suit powered by an arc reactor, which keeps him alive. Egotistical but good-hearted, Tony utilizes his super intellect and inventions to fight to protect humanity from various threats, eventually becoming a founding member of the Avengers. In 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was kicked off with the film Iron Man, which starred Robert Downey Jr. as the superhero.
