WARNING: The following contains spoilers from Empyre #4 by Al Ewing, Dan Slott, Valerio Schiti, Marte Gracia, and VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.

In the crossover event Empyre, the entire Marvel Universe is under attack by the plant-like aliens known as the Cotati. Years ago, the Cotati were friends of the Avengers, which is why their young leader, Quoi, approached Earth's Mightiest Heroes prior to the start of Empyre asking for help. With promises of peace and hope, he convinced them to fight beside him as the Kree/Skrull alliance moved to destroy the Cotati once and for all. And, perhaps surprisingly, Tony Stark was the first one in line. Tony trusted in Quoi and the Cotati's vision of blissful peace firmly, which is why he was adamant in joining forces with them.

Unfortunately, Quoi deceived the Avengers and because of them, he was able to nearly destroy the Kree/Skrull armada before the war even began. Now, the Cotati have started invading Earth, and the Avengers and the Fantastic Four are scattered around the globe to try and stop them. But no one has taken the Cotati's villainous turn harder than Tony Stark. And to fight back in Empyre #4, he starts building a new Iron Man suit -- and it just may be his most fantastic yet.

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Tony Stark had such a firm belief in Quoi and the Cotati that their betrayal has shaken him to his core. Suddenly, he isn't certain he can trust himself or his instincts anymore. Worse still, he sees himself as personally responsible for the alien creatures' attack on the world, and he sees himself as useless in the confrontation. Basically, Tony is going through a crisis of conscience, and it couldn't come at a worse time.

In Empyre #3, Tony took refuge inside his workshop in Avengers Mountain. Reed Richards found him, defeated, filled with doubt and uncertain of what to do next. Tony blamed himself for everything that happened, while Reed tried to explain there was plenty of blame to go around. "You're not alone, Tony," he told him.

"Easy for you to say," Tony answered while walking away, referencing the Fantastic Four logo on Reed's uniform. This logo is, after all, the symbol of his team -- his family -- and a reminder that he's never alone.

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Iron Man Reed Richards Empyre

And therein lies the foundation for Tony Stark's newest armor.

In Empyre #4, Reed and Tony are still in Avengers Mountain, trying to come up with a solution to defeat the invading Cotati. Right now, the situation isn't looking good: the Cotati are close to taking Wakanda's Vibranium Mound, which would give them control over plant life across the galaxy and allow them to create truly unstoppable weapons. In the meantime, the Emperor of the Kree/Skrull alliance is considering destroying the Sun in order to defeat the Cotati.

Tony is clearly still reeling from the Cotati's betrayal, and time is not on his side. But in order to work his way back, he does what he always does when he needs to think: he builds a new suit of armor. And this one is even more special because it's blue and silver and he has instead installed the Fantastic Four's logo where his trademark arc reactor circle should be. Now, Tony has built an Iron Man suit that could make him the Fantastic Four's newest member.

The suit is far from ready yet, but there's enough of it built to see what Tony is working towards. After Reed reminded him that he wasn't alone, Tony started building a suit that unites both the Avengers and the Fantastic Four as part of the same ensemble.

Considering that Spider-Man and Wolverine have just gotten their very own new Fantastic Four costumes too, it's no wonder Empyre is billed as an Avengers/Fantastic Four event. Before the crossover comes to a close, we might see the two teams stand together like never before -- as one family.

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