Iron Man’s New Enemy is the Smartest Man in the Marvel Universe | Popgen Tech

The mysterious new enemy the Armored Avenger faces in Invincible Iron Man #1 appears to be even smarter than Tony Stark.

The following article contains spoilers from Invincible Iron Man #1, on sale now from Marvel Comics.

Iron Man’s latest villain is certainly setting the Armored Avenger up for a wild ride. Invincible Iron Man #1 (by VC’s Gerry Duggan, Juan Frigeri, Bryan Valenza, and Joe Caramagna) sees the titular hero manipulated like never before. Besides the true sadism displayed by this mysterious villain, there is another aspect of them that makes them terrifying: They are smarter than Tony Stark.

The tactics they used show not only their ability to mislead Iron Man but also that they are smart enough to outwit him and some of Marvel’s most intelligent characters. This fact and the state Tony was left in at the end of the first issue, all suggest that Iron Man is likely to lose his first encounter with his new enemy.

RELEVANT: Iron Man’s Only One Suit of Armor – and an Unusual Spare

Iron Man’s New Villain Is Smarter Than All The Marvel Heroes

The first indication of the intelligence of this new villain is their attack on Iron Man. They remotely detonated one of his arc reactors, causing an explosion that nearly killed Tony, and managed to kill one of his neighbors. The disturbing part is how then no one can find evidence of any tampering. Tony, Rhodey, and even Riri Williams can’t find any clues, potentially proving that whoever did this is smarter than them all.

Later, while talking to She-Hulk, Tony admits that he even went to Reed Richards to try and figure out how his tech was hacked. Tony swallowing his pride like that only means that he truly has no idea how he’s been duped. However, the fact that even Reed can’t find an answer reinforces the threat of this new villain. Whoever these new villains are, they’ve upended the hierarchy of Marvel’s greatest characters.

RELATED: Marvel Once Had a World Where Iron Man Was Everything – and It Was Terrible

Iron Man Could Lose Against This New Contract

Adding to their fearsome nature is their capacity for brutality. Tony’s enemy showed no respect for the civilian casualties. So far they’ve blown up an apartment complex and “luckily” only one person died in the explosion. In addition, they are guilty of kidnapping and medically sedating a random individual to use as a sacrifice in a nearly successful attempt to turn Iron Man into a murderer. This villain works with a completely different playbook while Iron Man is extremely vulnerable.

Tony is dealing with a relapse into alcoholism, and the issue ends with him lying in a trash can to try to catch his breath. Not the best way to be when there’s a villain trying to slowly destroy her. They have already shown a talent for pushing Tony’s buttons, if he continues like this he will die by accident, giving his new opponent what they want.