Tony Stark Names [SPOILER] the New Iron Man, Officially Passing on His Mantle

Warning: contains spoilers for Avengers: Twilight #6!In a historic passing of the torch, Tony Stark has named Marvel’s next Iron Man. The move comes as Tony sacrifices his life to prevent the booby-trapped body of the defeated Red Skull from hurting his friends and allies. Over his 62-year career as a hero, Tony Stark has passed on his name precious few times, and this time it’s more personal than ever before.

In Avengers: Twilight #6, Tony Stark names his son James the new Iron Man. After the Red Skull is defeated, a bomb within his Ultron-designed armor starts counting down. James chooses to sacrifice himself to prevent innocent people getting hurt, but Tony stops him midair and takes the Skull, sacrificing himself in his son’s place. As he flies away, Tony calls back, “You’re just getting started, Iron Man.”

While James Stark has his own armor, he’s spent the majority of the miniseries opposing Captain America’s Avengers, believing that the idea of superhero protectors is fundamentally flawed. Now, he ends Avengers: Twilight not just as the new Iron Man, but as the core of a new Avengers roster.

Avengers: Twilight #6 (2024)
	Writer: Chip Zdarsky Artist: Daniel Acuña Letterer: Joe Caramagna Cover Artist: Alex Ross

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Tony Stark Crowns His Son the New Iron Man

James Hated His Father Until Really Recently

Avengers: Twilight is set in a possible future timeline where the public have turned against superheroes. The disastrous H-Day – a chaotic fight where Ultron took control of the Hulk, killing civilians and heroes alike – destroyed the Avengers’ reputations and ended any support for the idea of independent superheroes. In the decades since, former heroes have retreated to live normal lives, even as SHIELD has become a fascistic group who brutalize the public. This new status quo created the perfect conditions for the Red Skull to secretly rise to power, having adopted and raised Tony’s son under the false identity of Kyle Jarvis (the supposed brother of Tony’s beloved butler.)

James’ rage over the loss of his mother and father made him vulnerable to the Red Skull’s influence, and he was one of the most hardline anti-hero speakers of this new America. However, after realizing how evil the Red Skull truly is and being won over by the Avengers’ heroism, James switches sides, joining the heroes in taking down the Red Skull and the Hulk, then attempting to sacrifice himself in the aftermath. Despite the fact that James has been keeping Tony prisoner for years, picking his brain for new technological breakthroughs, James’ father happily takes his son’s place, but not before bringing back Janet van Dyne – James’ mother and the founding Avenger known as the Wasp.

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James’ Hero Story Recreates His Father’s Need for Redemption

But as the Son of Two Founding Avengers, James Already Belongs with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes

The comic ends with James obsessively working to rebuild Avengers Mansion, with an older Ms. Marvel and new Avengers recruit Hawkeye (a former Thunderbolt soldier who also turned against SHIELD) arriving to help him work. The alliance of this new generation of heroes marks the beginning of a new age of Avengers, with Wasp and Captain America looking on and Thor temporarily returning to Asgard, where it turns out the dead Tony Stark and Bruce Banner have been granted an afterlife in Valhalla (Thor having drowned the Hulk in the final battle.)

For most of Avengers: Twilight, James Stark was an outright villain, eaten up by bitterness and rage about his parents ‘abandoning’ him by choosing the hero life. This puts him in a fascinating place for future Avengers: Twilight sequels, since he’s just starting out his hero journey and has a lot of evil deeds to pay off. However, that’s nothing new for the Starks.

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Iron Man’s Asgardian armor is easily one of the most metal suits of armor Tony Stark has ever worn, so much so in fact that it puts Thor to shame.

In an interview packaged with certain editions of the Iron Man movie DVD, Stan Lee revealed that his aim with Tony Stark was to begin with the most unlikable character possible and then get readers to root for him, conceiving of a wealthy weapons manufacturer who decides to turn hero (an even more contentious character in the midst of the Vietnam War.) James Stark has essentially taken the same path to heroism – someone who was introduced as a villain and shown battling to keep the Avengers legacy dead and buried while taking advantage of his injured father. Now, it’s down to his heroic actions to win him some kind of redemption.

Tony Passing on the Mantle Connects James to His Namesake

Tony Named His Son for Marvel’s Second Most Famous Iron Man

Tony names James in honor of James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes, his longtime ally and solo superhero War Machine. However, the ending of Avengers: Twilight creates a new link between the two, as Rhodey is one of the few people Iron Man has asked to use the ‘Iron Man’ codename in the past. Rhodey became the new Iron Man in 1983, taking over for Tony when the inventor no longer felt able to operate as a superhero. Rhodey was Marvel’s new Iron Man in some significant stories – most famously the 1984 crossover Secret Wars – and while Tony went on to reclaim the title eventually, he subsequently created the War Machine armor for James to use full-time.

While Tony has had numerous protégés, it’s something else entirely to pass on his name. The idea of ‘Iron Man’ is bound up in Tony’s identity, with the persona acting as the manifestation of his vow to keep the world safe from the weaponry he used to sell and as a symbol of his unique genius. In the past, Tony has declared multiple ‘Armor Wars’ when he suspected someone was using any element of his tech, shutting down even fellow heroes because he was unwilling to see his legacy co-opted by others. Because of this, Tony passing on the ‘Iron Man’ name is a huge moment, and it places a lot of responsibility on his son.

James Stark’s Journey Has Just Begun

The New Iron Man Is the Hero of a Very Different World

While Avengers: Twilight just concluded, the story has been well-received by fans and clearly sets up sequel potential in its final issue. While Red Skull has been defeated and the Avengers are back, they exist in a world which has distrusted superheroes for years and failed to answer the call when Captain America attempted to speak out against SHIELD. The team will likely be underdogs going forwards, with a handful of original heroes left to mentor new recruits who have grown up in a more callous world with a more cynical view of heroism.

Until recently, James had never actually worn any armor, not wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps, and only created his own Iron Man suit in order to fight Captain America’s team (though he did so in style, controlling an army of drones in an imitation of his dad’s MCU House Party Protocol.) At the same time, America just discovered it’s been lied to for years – the Red Skull used fake news reports to cover America unleashing the Hulk against its international enemies, even creating a holographic, government-controlled Avengers team who never existed. The country is reeling from decades of lies, and the Avengers will be expected not just to protect the world but to redefine its shattered idea of heroism.

Iron Man’s Final Armor Gave Him the Perfect Superpower

Deciding to pass on the Iron Man name to a new generation of heroes, Tony Stark builds one final suit with the perfect power to defeat his enemies.

Hopefully, Marvel announces an official sequel soon, as James Stark’s journey has only just begun. Tony Stark just passed on the entire Iron Man legacy to a trouble young genius who – until only days ago – hated him as much as any of his villains. As Iron Man, James Stark has a lot to do in order to earn the second chance his father just gave him.