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Tony Stark’s a Jerk: 5 Developments from SUPERIOR IRON MAN #1

Tony Stark may not be in his right mind and he’s doing some things that will likely make others pretty angry.

With the changes happening in certain Avengers titles (such as THOR and ALL-NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA), Iron Man is also facing some changes. Spilling out of AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS, Scarlet Witch and Doctor Doom unleashed an Inversion Spell in order to stop the Red Skull (with Onslaught’s powers) as well as other villains. The problem is, this has had an affect on some heroes as well. They’re not acting quite so…heroic.

Tony Stark is a brilliant and arrogant man. He’s constantly pushing his intellect to accomplish big things. Now it appears he’s taking it to the people. The question is, will the changes he’s going through have a positive or negative impact. (We discussed the changes from AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS #4 HERE, which leads into this issue).

In SUPERIOR IRON MAN #1, by Tom Taylor with art by Yildiray Cinar, we saw Tony Stark is kind of acting like a big jerk. Check out some of these changes and why you’ll want to pick up the issue. There will be some spoilers for the issue below.

Tony Stark Sometimes Fights by Remote

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We've see Tony operate his armor by remote control before, even in the movies. Seems like a pretty cool thing to do. But if you think about it, it doesn't seem like the best idea. Is he able to give the action his full attention? Is he full aware of his surroundings and any innocent bystanders? What happens if he's distracted wherever he's operating the suit from?

When a new villain, going by the name of Teen Abomination, starts smashing up San Francisco, Tony joins She-Hulk in the action. When Iron Man's head was knocked off, it was clear Tony wasn't even there. He didn't feel "Teen Abomination" was worth actually showing up. Instead, he was at the pool, with a beverage and some female company.

She-Hulk wasn't too happy not being aware he wasn't really there. He was also pretty cold to her, leaving the clean up and dealing with the authorities to Jennifer.

Tony is Drinking Again

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Tony is a recovering alcoholic. He shouldn't be drinking. We even saw him talk to his drink, which was a little disturbing. Mix that with his intellect and new outlook on things, you know it can't be a good combination.

Pepper Potts flew out to San Francisco to try to find out what he was thinking with releasing the Extremis App. While he was at the pool, he kept Pepper waiting an hour before going to talk to her. He's even working on a new armor while drinking.

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Sounds like it's pretty innovative and sophisticated but how safe will it be to Tony and the public? With all the firepower his suits usually have, it seems the slightest miscalculation could end really badly for Tony and anyone around him.

Extremis App Has Created a New Underclass

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The Extremis App was released via smartphones. It automatically downloaded on them and people were able to use it to become perfect. They could have the appearance they dreamed of and wouldn't have to worry about aging or looking...unattractive. This sounds pretty cool, right?

What about those that don't have smartphones? It seems like most people these days do but there are plenty that don't want one or simply can't afford one. In this issue, we see a group of pretty people getting rough with those that haven't used the Extremis App. This soon leads into the next development.

There's a Big Catch to Using the Extremis App

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Those people roughing up the homeless person and those hanging out by Tony's pool soon learn there is a price to pay for using the app.

"I won't make a lot of money giving things away for free, and I plan to make a lot of money." - Tony Stark

When things are too good to be true, they usually are. Tony will be charging for further use of the Extremis App. In some ways, it's like he's unleashed a drug upon the citizens of San Francisco. Now that they've had a taste for perfection, will they pay what he's asking? If they are willing, what will they do in order to be able to continue paying?

Pepper Enlists a Mysterious Person to Stop Tony

Pepper is aware how bad things have gotten. This is something that has been discussed before. She refers to this as the "Nightmare Scenario." In order to activate some contingency that has been developed by...someone, she enlists the add of someone.

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Who is this shadowy person? Is it who you think it is? Probably not. The last page, which we will not spoil here, has a pretty big shock. You'll look at it and yell, "WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?"

Needless to say, we're hooked on this new direction. It may not be the Iron Man we're used to but that's part of what makes this fun and intriguing. You'll want to see what happens next and whether or not Tony can be stopped. We know he's incredibly brilliant. His mind may be a little tainted but can he be stopped?

Thankfully we only have to wait until November 26 to find out. Be sure to pick up this issue to see everything else that happened.