Should Tony Stark retire for real as Iron Man?

[riotgear]

I can't help but feel like Tony Stark as Iron Man has been done to death. Do you guys think Marvel should bring in a new Iron Man? Maybe keep Tony Stark as the definitive inventor he is, and keep developing new technology, but have someone else in the suit.

[Alan2099]

Do you also feel Peter Parker as Spider-man has been done to death? Steve Rogers as Captain America? Logan as Wolverine? Bruce Wayne as Batman? Why specifically do you think Tony shouldn't be the identity he created using the armores he made?

[Shellhead]

I might be more open to this idea of a different Iron Man, except that my favorite era of Iron Man was immediately followed by a really crappy couple of years when Rhodey became Iron Man. I liked Rhodey, but I didn't like the writing or the artwork that went with those issues. Not long after Stark became Iron Man again, there was another excellent run, which included the excellent Armor Wars story arc. Falling between those two runs would have been tough for anybody, but with Rhodey the star, it really stuck out as a low point for the title.

When you think about it, Iron Man could be one of the last Marvel heroes to retire. As an old man, he could have all kinds of life support systems built into his armor, making it actually safer for him to wear the armor than not wear the armor. By contrast, an aging Daredevil or maybe even Spider-man might lose considerable effectiveness as a crimefighter with the onset of gray hair.

[StoneGold]

When you think about it, Iron Man could be one of the last Marvel heroes to retire. As an old man, he could have all kinds of life support systems built into his armor, making it actually safer for him to wear the armor than not wear the armor. By contrast, an aging Daredevil or maybe even Spider-man might lose considerable effectiveness as a crimefighter with the onset of gray hair.
Hell, or he could go back to using the remote armor from when he was paralyzed. And then he could have an entire army of Iron Men at his disposal, like Batman did in Kingdom Come.



Hmm, there might actually be something to that...

[Alan2099]

Actually, I had an idea once that even when he's dying, Tony could convert his mental paterns and memories into an AI and "live" on as a computer program.

[Mr. Nobody]

I'd be cool with it, provided the new guy was at least as interesting to read about as Tony, rather than just some schmuck they came up with for the sake of doing a change, and they didn't do something stupid like killing off the original. It would be pretty easy to validate if they wanted to it, beyond being an inventor, playboy and running a Bill Gatesesque type financial empire, where does Tony actually have time put on the suit anyway?

My earliest exposure to Iron Man was during the Jim Rhodes era and i'd always just assumed he was the original, up until i picked up an issue a few years later and felt a bit put off that Iron Man obviously wasn't the same guy i'd remembered.

[StoneGold]

Actually, what could be interesting is if you put what Stark always said was in the Iron Man suit - essentially a hired mercenary. Not like Rhodey, literally someone who Stark was just paying to be his bodyguard/corporate superhero. Which I guess was a little bit of the concept behind Prototype, but if Stark is still the guy holding the purse strings, it removes some of the "working for an evil company" aspect of Prototype.

[riotgear]

I was merely presenting the question, curious about what other people thought. Iron Man seems like it has been floundering for its voice for several years now, since before the Onslaught debacle, or even before "the Crossing". I actually enjoyed the remote-control armor storyline, but like Marvel seems to do the last several years, they try to re-launch the series in ways that would be interesting to do in a limited, but do limiteds (see "The Iron Age" or the new Casey/Irving storyline) in ways that the series should be going. I would love to see it return to its more classic roots, but the question is, is it past the point of no return?

As to Alan2099's question, it seems like Iron Man could be one of the few that could be replaceable in the identity, since although Tony Stark is the inventor/creator, and is a hero in how he uses the suit, the mantle could be passed on easier than someone else putting on Spider-Man's/Cap's/Wolverine's costume. The thing that drove Tony Stark to be Iron Man is no longer there, now he is just a man addicted to the thrill of "being the hero", but they don't even depict that anymore.

[K'Nort]

Actually, I had an idea once that even when he's dying, Tony could convert his mental paterns and memories into an AI and "live" on as a computer program.

Except Fixer pretty much already did that.

[ThomasiotheGreat]

Whatever happened to that "Young" Tony Stark that took over when the "Old" Tony went wack?? Did that end with the whole Heroes Reborn storyline or did Marvel put their back into a wall with all of that??

Besides, isn't there a IRON MAN movie being produced as we speak??

[Babylon23]

Personally, I think the only thing missing from Iron Man is a good creative team with a decent understanding of the character that can produce interesting stories on a monthly basis. Michelinie/Layton showed in 2 seperate runs that Tony can be an interesting character with a lot of potential and interesting storylines to be told.

Having given up on the Ellis run, I'm hoping that the Casey/Irving miniseries will show how interesting Tony Stark can be as a character.

[Nightcrawler]

Tony Stark IS Iron Man.

[Unbreakable]

I think one of Tony's illegitimate children(you know he has to have some out there)should take over the family business as Iron Man.

[TCJohnson]

I put down bring on somebody new just because it might be interesting, not because I don't like Tony

[Alan2099]

Except Fixer pretty much already did that.
When did he do that? Was that something in Thunderbolts? Last time I saw him in Cable/Deadpool he looked pretty human.

[K'Nort]

When did he do that? Was that something in Thunderbolts? Last time I saw him in Cable/Deadpool he looked pretty human.

In Thunderbolts, yes. Pretty early in the run. Second year, probably? And frankly, I don't remember how he became human again.

[Kirk G]

Falling between those two runs would have been tough for anybody, but with Rhodey the star, it really stuck out as a low point for the title.

When you think about it, Iron Man could be one of the last Marvel heroes to retire. As an old man, he could have all kinds of life support systems built into his armor, making it actually safer for him to wear the armor than not wear the armor. By contrast, an aging Daredevil or maybe even Spider-man might lose considerable effectiveness as a crimefighter with the onset of gray hair.

It was a low point for Stark also... he was at the bottom of alcoholism... not a pretty picture for anyone to read about or witness. I suspect that was part of the downer part of that series, plus, anyone who enjoyed Tony's character was not thrilled by Rhodey taking on the armor, especially as it eclipsed Tony as the hero.

But, it was daring, different, and had the benefit of not being tried on a long time scale basis before.... (ignoring that Happy had worn the armor briefly to distract from the fact Stark was in the hospital with a heart attack back in Tales to Astonish, circa issue 75 or so...and resulted in the Mandarin teleporting him away from Stark's bedside and then torchuring him until the REAL Iron Man arrived. You will recall this was just prior to Happy becoming the Freak after the last battle with the Titanium Man in which he sacrificed himself to save Iron Man and Pepper, I think.)

[streator]

no.

iron-man is tony stark. although i have not picked up a iron-man title since iron-man issue 78, i would definitely not be interested in seeing someone else fill the role. basically, nothing since i dropped iron-man has interested me enough to pick it up, but definitively/characteristically iron-man has to be tony stark.