Next month, Marvel will kick off Phase 6 of its Marvel Cinematic Universe with Fantastic Four: Inception. A Phase 6 that won't fully manifest its splendor until next year with the highly anticipated Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday. It's there that Marvel will reveal whether the MCU can reunite, like the Avengers during their golden age. But on the comics side, epic adventures are multiplying, like the Ultimates series, the latest issue of which was released last week.
When Tony Stark Becomes Iron Lad
Starting in June 2024, this new Ultimates series has just seen its 15th issue published. An active series, to the delight of its readers, which offered us the chance to discover "a whole new team of ULTIMATES in a series that kicks off the next chapter of the new Ultimate range".
"Six months ago, Tony Stark sent Peter Parker a radioactive spider to put him back on the path to becoming Spider-Man. Since then, Iron Lad (Stark), Captain America, Doom, Thor, and Sif have begun doing the same for other lost heroes, building a network of super-powered heroes eager for change... Now, they must unite to destroy the Creators Council and restore freedom and free will to a world ruled by shadow! ", the summary of the first volume told us.
Issues have been published since then, and much water has flowed under the bridge. Despite everything, the global revolution of the Ultimates has not progressed. Doom saved everyone by using the Immortus Engine and preventing the Hulk from ruining all hope, while Iron Lad used it as a new heart, awakening a new power. This Iron Lad, who is none other than Tony Stark in this universe, while he is usually played by Nathaniel "Nate" Richards, aka a teenage version of Kang the Conqueror, is able to see through time and drastically reduce his need to eat and sleep, but also isolate his own moments in time and divide them.
By this, he means that he is able to create doubles of himself by manipulating his own time stream. He can therefore be in several places at once, even if each of these doubles requires part of his attention. So these are not full-fledged clones, like in Naruto for example, but the control of human drones. And one of the great strengths of this Iron Lad lies in his armor, whose abilities rival those of extremely powerful beings. And if 8 or 9 Iron Lads equipped with super-powerful armor defend the Earth at the same time, their enemies had better watch out.
Iron Lad at the origin of a future catastrophe?
However, Iron Lad cannot exploit his full potential because of the cognitive needs required by his clones. Imagine controlling 8 bodies other than your own in a time of crisis, your brain probably wouldn't hold up. Even if Tony Stark is extremely intelligent, his body and mind have limits. Still, his new abilities will allow him to perform wonders, and the series hasn't yet allowed him to shine at his full potential. It remains to be seen whether Stark will play with fire by trying to do more. We imagine that if we push too hard, the American genius will end up causing a catastrophe.
A series that will certainly offer us the chance to discover its final outcome in its next issues, starting with Ultimates #16, already scheduled for next November. "FROM THE SKY TO THE STREET - THE NEW ULTIMATES! The Creator is only three months away and time is running out. But the Ultimates' network is bigger than ever now that they're inspiring more and more people to join their cause! The Ultimates' new recruits offer us an unmissable adventure in the streets!"America Chavez and Tony Stark's Iron Lad are visible in the illustration, it remains to be seen what Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri have concocted for us.
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