Avengers 4: Iron Man’s next suit of armor will surpass all others

In Avengers 4, the ragtag team of superheroes left in the wake of Thanos’ culling will regroup to take on the Mad Titan one more time. When they do, Iron Man will reunite with his old comrades and will be sporting a new suit of armor.

It’s not surprising to hear of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) developing yet another suit of armor in the next Avengers movie. He basically creates one or more in every film, so learning that a new Iron Man suit is on the way is expected. Though, fans should be quite interested in the newest armor because it may be his last.

The other reason fans will be excited to learn of this new suit is that it may be the final stage in the evolution of Iron Man armors. Stark has upgraded his creations dozens of times and reached a pinnacle of achievement in Avengers: Infinity War. Keep in mind that he’s not done yet.

The Bleeding Edge armor which debuted in Infinity War placed Stark on par with Thanos, and arguably only lost due to Thanos’ possession of the stones. Without them, the contest may have concluded with Iron Man victorious, all thanks to his Bleeding Edge suit. The good news is that Tony Stark may have one last armor to create — but this time, he may become the armor itself.

Concept art for Avengers: Infinity War recently surfaced and it provides a better look at the underlayer of Stark’s Bleeding Edge armor. While it doesn’t tell us anything about Avengers 4, the concept art reveals a much more complex build to Stark’s already impressive creation.

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The suit of armor that debuted in Infinity War merely covered Stark’s body, it never became one with Stark like the armor did in the comics. His new suit, on the other hand, appears to have merged with Stark’s physiology. The concept art comes courtesy of artist Daren Horley.

From what we can tell, the nanites have latched on to Stark’s bones, ligaments, and every part of his arm. That means the advanced tech has embedded itself within him, suggesting a symbiosis of sorts.

In Avengers: Infinity War, we don’t see Stark merge with the nanites and he cleverly mentions to Pepper Potts that the suit is stored in a removable chest piece. Since the nanites are stored outside of his body, Stark has yet to embrace the Bleeding Edge armor as his comic counterpart did. However, Stark’s final brawl with Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War could be a precursor to Stark finally taking that leap.

During Iron Man’s final bout with the Mad Titan, the rest of his comrades are subdued quite easily. Thanos uses the stones in his possession to completely obliterate the Guardians, Doctor Strange, and Spider-Man. But when it came time to fight Iron Man, Thanos had to throw everything he had at Stark or face losing.

In the end, even Stark’s fancy suit wasn’t enough to defeat Thanos. The Mad Titan broke free of Mantis’ hold and proceeded to pulverize everyone painfully. Stark was the last to fight and a risky move resulted in Thanos impaling Stark with one of his own blades. The wound left an opening Stark’s torso that would surely be fatal if not treated. Luckily, Stark’s quick thinking led to him spraying nanites directly into the wound to repair the injury.

After Stark recovers slightly, he keels over, reeling from the realization that his protege is dead because of him. What Stark doesn’t pay any mind to are the nanites coursing through his system, latching onto every molecule of his being. Unless by some far off chance Stark has a fail-safe in the nanites that prevents them from spreading throughout his body, they’re going to begin merging with him.

At the same time, the nanites merging with Stark’s body will grant him the ability to control and use the tech at whim. While Stark possessed an incredible level of control in Infinity War, he’s yet to explore the Bleeding Edge’s full capabilities. Nevertheless, we’ll probably witness what the armor is really capable of in Avengers 4— that is assuming the Stark’s new armor is identical to his comic book counterpart.

In the comics, the Bleeding Edge armor literally gives Stark control over his entire anatomy. It doesn’t just cover his body to protect him, the suit is his body. Stark can even recover lost limbs and organs by replacing them with nanites.

If the MCU’s Tony Stark is expected to merge with his latest technological innovation, his next suit could be the one that makes him one of the strongest heroes in the universe. The comic lore can attest to that claim as Iron Man became unbeatable for a long period after creating the Bleeding Edge armor.

In any case, the next Iron Man armor that debuts will presumably be Tony Stark’s last. The MCU is bringing its main story-arc to a close, and with it, the end of fan-favorites like Iron Man. In lieu of that, Marvel Studios more than likely has a grand finale planned out for Iron Man and his armors; he was the first MCU superhero after all.

Avengers 4 opens in theaters on May 3, 2019.