Iron Man 2020
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| Iron Man 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Machine Man Vol. #2 (Nov. 1984) |
| Created by | Tom DeFalco |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Arno Stark, Sr |
| Abilities | Armor grants: Flight, Superhuman strength and physical resistance, Energy blasts |
Iron Man 2020 (real name Arno Stark) is a fictional superhero. He is the counterpart of the superhero Iron Man in the future year of 2020 in the Marvel Comics multiverse. He first appeared in the second issue of the Machine Man limited series (1984).
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Fictional character biography [edit]
Arno Stark is the future first cousin once removed of the present day Iron Man, genius billionaire playboy philanthropist Tony Stark. His father is Stark's unscrupulous cousin, Morgan Stark. Arno inherited his uncle's company, Stark Industries, and rather than use the armor for heroic deeds, prefers to act as a hired mercenary or commit acts of corporate espionage to cripple his competitors for industrialist gain.[1]
In his original appearance, the Iron Man of 2020 was employed by Sunset Bain (then an old woman) to destroy Machine Man, who had been accidentally discovered and subsequently reactivated by the Midnight Wreckers, rebellious youths who scavenged discarded technology. Despite ostensibly superior power, Iron Man was defeated by the furious Machine Man, who went on to claim "I'm a better man than you." [2]
The future Iron Man traveled to the present day in order to obtain the retinal patterns of a young boy named Robert Saunders. In the year 2015 (placing this appearance before his original showing), that boy's adult self activates a bomb (of Stark's own invention) to kill Arno Stark's family (as well as anyone else in the city), and only his retina patterns can defuse the bomb. Unfortunately, Saunders is accidentally killed by Iron Man while trying to get away, so in a desperate gambit Arno's experimental time machine is employed. Shortly after arriving in the past Arno is attacked by one of Tony Stark's villains, Blizzard, who mistakes Arno's armor for Tony's. Having no time to spare, Arno kills Blizzard with a blast from his repulsors.[3] Iron Man is not successful in obtaining retinal scans because, not knowing what it was and out of concern for young Saunders, Spider-Man snatches the scanner from Arno with his webbing, and then accidentally drops it, breaking the device. In the course of the heroes' battle, Iron Man misses Spider-Man with a repulsor blast, shattering a window. The flying glass from the blast severely injures the young Saunders. Despite Iron Man's greater strength and power, Spider-Man's subsequent angry fury and determination makes him unstoppable. Stark is suddenly returned to the future because his bomb's timing mechanism was faulty; the bomb exploded early, vaporizing his time machine and the surrounding city. Stark rematerializes in 2015 to find only a radioactive wasteland where his family, factory and city had been.[4]
In a later appearance, Iron Man 2020 fought the time-traveling cyborg Death's Head.[5]
Iron Man 2020 also had his own one-shot in June 1994, in which he faces off against an industrial rival who seeks to use him to destroy all his competitors all at once, sacrificing his own daughter in the process. At the end of the story, Arno Stark and the girl, Melodi, get together, suggesting an evolution towards a more heroic role again. Meanwhile, the background character Howard is revealed (if only to the reader) to be an aged Tony Stark himself who intends to guide his nephew.[6]
He (or an alternate version of him) has been seen imprisoned in the time cells of the Time Variance Authority, the holding facilities for the most "dangerous time-travel offenders".[volume & issue needed]
In 2023, Arno Stark makes helicarrier technology available for public use, to start with in the form of a helicruiser called the "Spirit of free enterprise". At the same time, he has supplied S.H.I.E.L.D. with a far more advanced replacement Hypercarrier. Unfortunately, his launching the airborne cruise ship has raised the ire of the aged sky-pirate, Commodore Q. Arno has married Melodi at this point and "Howard" remains his retainer. He also employs a squad of fetal Extremis enhanciles' who act as his personal armored combat squad.[7]
A version of Arno's armor left in the present is stolen by the Sinister Six as part of Doctor Octopus's plans against the Avengers, using technology from the armor to devise a means of defeating the Iron Man of the present.[8]
Powers and abilities [edit]
Iron Man 2020 wears a suit of highly sophisticated armor, similar in appearance to the classic (circa Model 5) Iron Man, with the exception of the faceplate and shoulders. Beam weapons are fitted in the gauntlets of the suit, as well as the chest beam and shoulder epaulets. The user no longer requires a cybernetic link in the helmet to control the armor; the helmet can also be hidden via cloaking technology, which was presumably developed based on the Chameleon mode of the Silver Centurion armor. Iron Man 2020's systems are built for warfare, not super heroics like the original Iron Man. Iron Man 2020's repulsors (and an arsenal of other weapons) always fire at maximum power for the most lethal effects. Curiously, Iron Man 2020 also has the 1970s-era Iron Man rollerskates (updated to a "roller blade" style[volume & issue needed]) built into the boots of the suit.
Other versions [edit]
Paradise X [edit]
The Iron Man of 2020 also appeared in the Paradise X mini-series alongside numerous Marvel heroes from different time-lines, such as a version of Storm named "Bloodstorm", Deathlok, Spider-Girl and Wolverine (in his Days of Future Past form).[9]
Avengers Forever [edit]
A version of the Iron Man of 2020 appeared as one of the multidimensional "potential" Avengers in Avengers Forever.[10]
References [edit]
External links [edit]
- Iron Man 2020 at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
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