Warning: SPOILERS for Iron Man #1 Tony Stark has no shortage of incredibly powerful people Iron Man armor, although one of them easily stands out from the rest: mysterium. Iron Man’s mysterious armor effectively makes him Thoris his equal (and in some ways his superior) in that he is completely unbreakable, strong enough to bend adamantium like a tin can, makes him invisible to Spider-Man’s spider-sense, and makes Iron Man immune to all magic. Unfortunately, he lost.
In Iron Man #1 by Spencer Ackerman and Julius Ohta, Tony Stark is reclaiming Stark Unlimited after it was stolen in the previous story arc by the villain Feilong. Feilong brought Stark Unlimited back into weapons manufacturing, which included the Stark Sentinels hired by Orchis during the X-Men’s Fall of X era. Now that Feilong and Orchis have been defeated, Stark is free to reclaim his company. Unfortunately, there are more than a few obstacles.
Roxxon and AIM have partnered for a comprehensive hostile takeover of Stark Unlimited. The “big oil companies” and “evil scientists” love the idea of having their own weapons manufacturer under their shared umbrella, and Feilong made it possible. Although Stark is determined not to let that happen, he has a bigger problem to solve. Roxxon uses allies from another dimension to bring Justine Hammer (Tony Stark’s former rival) back from the dead, and she personally delivers the final nail in Stark’s coffin. stealing your mysterious armor.
Justine Hammer Just Stole Iron Man’s God-Grade Mysterium Armor
Justine Hammer was once the criminal mastermind, the Crimson Hood
While Justine Hammer met her end in Invincible Iron Man #527 (before being revived by Roxxon’s mysterious otherworldly allies), she was a high-level criminal for many years before that. Justine has led her own incarnation of the Masters of Evil, worked with HYDRA, and even has her own evil alter ego: the Crimson Cowl. Just like Tony Stark’s Iron Man, Justine Hammer’s Crimson Cowl is a high-tech suit that grants her a number of abilities, including teleportation and levitation. The hood can also expand to attack and control his opponents, operating purely from his mental commands.
Unfortunately for Justine, her Crimson Hood wasn’t enough to save her from being killed. However, she learned a thing or two when her soul was trapped in hell – mostly magic. Justine used magical incantations to break Tony’s armor in this issue. Then, when Tony was distracted by the suit’s malfunction and the hostile takeover of his company, Justine stole the mysterious armor from underneath him. Now, Justine Hammer is more powerful than ever thanks to her new magical abilities and mysterious armor, and only time will tell if Iron Man has what it takes to defeat her.
Why It’s Actually a Good Thing That Iron Man’s Mysterium Armor Was Stolen
While Justine Hammer owning Iron Man’s mysterious armor certainly isn’t a good thing, Tony Stark no longer has it, in fact it is. The mysterious armor simply made Iron Man too invincible. While he wore it, no one could touch him, as the armor is truly indestructible (in the truest sense of the word). Honestly, if Iron Man kept it mysterious, his stories would start to get boring, or Marvel would be forced to introduce insanely powerful enemies to match the armor’s strength, which would only undermine how indestructible the armor was to begin with.
Of course, Iron Man needs to get Justine Hammer’s mysterious armor back, but once he does, he’ll also need to get rid of it. This armor puts him on the same level as literal gods like Thorso there is no way for it to remain as Tony Stark’s basic costume as it was during the Autumn era of X. So while Iron Man There’s still a chance he can get her back, this storyline needs to end with him losing the mysterious armor once and for all – and if he can’t beat Justine, maybe he already has.
Iron Man Vol. 7#1 from Marvel Comics is now available.