It looks as though Iron Man is beginning to develop a new super-power. The last decade has seen Tony Stark, aka the invincible Iron Man, become Marvel’s premiere superhero. In large part that’s been because of the success of the MCU, with Robert Downey Jr. winning fans over with his iconic portrayal of the armored Avenger.
Tony Stark isn’t technically a superhero; rather, he’s simply a billionaire playboy genius philanthropist, an inventor who can cobble together a suit of armor from scraps in a cave. While Tony’s intelligence pales in comparison to the likes of Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four, the fact remains he’s one of the smartest men on Earth. He uses his phenomenal intellect to create weapons that allow him to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with gods and aliens.
But Marvel’s official preview of Empyre #0 hints Tony Stark may well be developing a power of his own; precognition. A combined Kree and Skrull armada is headed straight for Earth, and Stark wakes up dreaming of the impending threat. Although Tony initially assumes the dream is a nightmare, he’s disturbed when the Avengers receive an SOS and are summoned to space. It doesn’t take him long to deduce this isn’t a coincidence. Here’s the full preview.
It’s an amusing idea; that Tony Stark has essentially begun to develop super-powers by osmosis, simply because he hangs around cosmic artifacts and beings so much. What’s more, this nascent super-power is a perfect one; Stark has always considered himself a futurist, a man who is able to divine the patterns of society and technology. Indeed, in Tony’s view that’s the secret to his success; he doesn’t make what he thinks people want now, but instead what he believes they’ll want in a year’s time. As a result, Tony Stark has always prided himself of being beyond the bleeding edge.
In this case, Tony’s precognition is likely due to the fact his unconscious mind was receptive to the telepathic “background noise” of Avengers Mountain, the Avengers’ current HQ, which is the body of a long-dead Celestial. It’s clearly something he has no control over, but Stark is smart enough to notice the pattern - dream and fulfillment - and he’s sure to decide to experiment with it. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Tony deliberately begin to sleep at Avengers Tower, precisely because he wants to experience more of these precognitive visions. It’s certainly exciting to imagine what Iron Man could do with an awareness of the future.
Empyre #0 is due out on Wednesday, April 1.
More: Iron Man’s Endgame Death Was Even Worse For Spider-Man Than You Realized
Source: Marvel Comics
