An upcoming Iron Man variant captures the hero's various Avengers armors.
The cover, illustrated by Jamie McKelvie, depicts the different suits of armor Tony Stark has worn as a member of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. In total, 25 versions of the Iron Man armor appear in the art, representing every outfit Tony wore in the first 750 issues of Avengers. McKelvie fashioned the layout for this cover after Eadweard Muybridge's "The Running Man," a series of photographs from the late 19th century that creates the illusion of movement when viewed in rapid succession. Since each armor shown on McKelvie's cover shows Tony with a slightly altered gesture, the artist decided to apply the same thinking to his art, turning it into a GIF that shows Iron Man walking through his armors.
As a self-described futurist, Tony Stark has transformed his outfit numerous times while fighting beside Earth's Mightiest Heroes. When Tony helped found the Avengers, he was wearing golden, bulky armor. By the time Avengers #3 came out, Tony had already changed his look, streamlining the suit and adding red to the color palette. Over time, he adapted multiple outfits depending on the needs of the team's mission and the events of his life, taking on unique suits like the Silver Centurian armor during West Coast Avengers and the Extremis bio-suit in New Avengers.
While McKelvie's Iron Man #17 cover captures Tony's Avengers' ensembles, the story itself will see the hero in an entirely different suit of armor. After venturing into space to battle Michael Korvac, a cosmic threat with the power to destroy the Earth, Tony received an internal upgrade and turned into an Iron God. This status quo is at the center of recent issues of the series, which have put Tony at odds with the Avengers, who do not trust him with these potent powers.
In the wake of Tony's tenure as an Iron God, Marvel has revealed that he will be proposing to a former member of the Avengers, Hellcat. Tony's romance with Hellcat has been an essential part of Iron Man since the beginning of writer Christopher Cantwell's run, with Patsy Walker often helping Tony stay grounded and remember his humanity. Iron Man #20, written by Cantwell and drawn by Angel Unzueta, sees Iron Man pop the question to Hellcat, though it is unclear if she will say yes.
Elsewhere, Marvel is expanding on Tony Stark's legacy with Earth's Mightiest Heroes in Avengers Forever. In that series, written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Aaron Kuder, a variant of Tony Stark from Earth-818 uses his technological prowess to become Ant-Man. This Tony is the leader of a team of heroes from different realities who fight against the Multiversal Masters of Evil, villains determined to conquer all of existence for their own needs.
Iron Man #17, written by Christopher Cantwell and drawn by Ibraim Roberson with a cover by Alex Ross, goes on sale Feb. 23 from Marvel Comics.
Source: Twitter