Iron Man (2024) #1-5

WHAT DID YOU MISS? CLICK HERE

 A new era dawns with Tony Stark regaining control of Stark Unlimited – and immediately facing betrayal from within. In issues #1–3 (the “Stark-Roxxon War” arc), Tony vows to end his company’s weapons manufacturing, only for his board of directors to secretly arrange a sale to his rivals Roxxon Energy and A.I.M. This corporate coup is backed by dark forces: the demon Belasco resurrects Justine Hammer (daughter of Iron Man’s old foe Justin Hammer) to become a new Iron Monger. She infects Stark’s technology with a mystical virus, causing Iron Man’s high-tech armors to all fail at once. Stripped of his suits and injured, Tony returns in a jury-rigged “offline” Iron Man armor fueled by sheer grit and anger. He wages guerrilla war on Roxxon/A.I.M. – from blowing up one of Roxxon’s corrupt oil pipelines to storming an A.I.M. lab – even dueling a magically-controlled Doctor Druid. In a climactic showdown, Tony forges a massive Repulsor-powered sword from scrap metal and battles Justine Hammer’s Iron Monger armor in brutal fashion. He narrowly defeats her, foils the hostile takeover, and forces Roxxon and A.I.M. to withdraw their bid. The victory is hard‑won: Stark Unlimited is saved, but Tony is left shaken by Justine’s parting warning that Stark’s deep ties to weapons could turn him into the next Iron Monger. This opening salvo is intense and personal, echoing the classic Armor Wars in reverse – here Tony’s own armory is stolen out from under him, forcing Iron Man to fight back with ingenuity and raw determination.

Issues #4–5 (“The Machinery of Order” arc) pick up with Tony addressing the magical corruption of his technology and uncovering a new threat tied to his company’s past. With all his Iron Man suits compromised, Tony enlists help from allies: young genius Riri Williams (Ironheart) and the Scarlet Witch. They discover that fragments of Justine’s Iron Monger armor can be used to purge the lingering mystical “worm” virus from Stark’s systems – a clever tech-meets-magic solution that restores Tony’s armors. In the process, they trace stolen Stark weapons to a disturbing situation in Chicago. Tony, Riri, and former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Melinda “the Cavalry” May team up to investigate a paramilitary group called The Heat operating on Chicago’s West Side. They learn The Heat, aided by ex-Agent Kara Palamas, has turned an abandoned Stark Industries facility (Hellman Circle) into a “Little Latveria” – an oppressive private police zone “cleansing” the neighborhood under the pretense of keeping it safe. This scheme is masterminded by Lucia von Bardas, the cyborg former Prime Minister of Latveria, who seeks to gentrify the area for Latverian investors by forcefully removing local residents. Iron Man and Ironheart arrive in Chicago and free civilians being detained in the warehouse black site. Von Bardas confronts them with a hijacked Stark Sentinel (a leftover mutant-hunting robot from Stark tech’s misuse in recent X-Men conflicts). In a fierce battle, Tony and Riri prevent Von Bardas from leveling the entire neighborhood – combining Iron Man’s brute firepower and Ironheart’s precision to bring down the giant Sentinel. In the end, Von Bardas is defeated (uploading her mind into the Sentinel backfires), and the heroes empower the traumatized locals to symbolically destroy Hellman Circle themselves using improvised repulsor weapons. This cathartic victory not only liberates the community but also lets Tony literally help the people hurt by his company’s tech, showing his resolve to atone for Stark Industries’ past wrongs.

Iron Man (2024) #1–5 connects strongly to broader Marvel themes and continuity while marking a bold new chapter for Tony Stark. The storyline riffs on “Armor Wars” by flipping the script – instead of Tony hunting down stolen armors, he’s the one stripped of his armory and forced to fight from scratch. This emphasizes how far Stark’s technology reach has grown, and the political footprint of Stark Industries becomes a double-edged sword. Past events weigh heavily: references to Orchis and Stark Sentinels (from X-Men’s recent mutant crisis) underline that Tony’s inventions have global consequences beyond his control. We see Stark grappling with that legacy – from the boardroom politics (where profit-hungry executives and even a former S.H.I.E.L.D. ally sell him out) to social issues on the streets (where his family’s old factory turned into a tool of oppression). Tony’s characterization in this run takes a compelling turn: he’s angrier, more “fury-powered,” and willing to get his hands dirty to do what’s right. He openly sides with labor unions and marginalized communities, confronts shady corporations head-on, and even uses unorthodox tactics like sabotage and a giant sword to make his point. Yet amidst this aggression, he remains the hero striving to be better – shown by his aversion to wielding dark power (refusing to wear the demon-tainted Iron Monger suit) and his empathy in giving Chicago’s victims the agency to tear down their prison. The cast of guest characters further ties this saga into Marvel’s fabric: Justine Hammer’s return evokes Iron Man’s classic rogues and the legacy of Stark weaponry; Riri Williams (Ironheart) represents Tony’s mentorship and the future of Iron heroes; Melinda May and Kara Palamas bring in S.H.I.E.L.D. intrigue and the fallout of its collapse; Lucia von Bardas channels the shadow of Doctor Doom’s Latveria and U.S. foreign meddling (as seen in Secret War). Even magic enters the mix via Scarlet Witch and Belasco’s corrupt sorcery, testing Tony outside his technological comfort zone. In sum, Spencer Ackerman’s Iron Man (2024) #1–5 delivers a dramatic arc that not only packs heavy metal action and corporate espionage, but also engages with the wider Marvel Universe – past and present. It’s Tony Stark’s fight to reclaim his company’s soul and his own purpose, blending high-tech superheroics with sharp political commentary, and setting the stage for an Iron Man who is more responsible, more dangerous, and more relevant than ever.

Did you like these books? Wanna buy them? Check this title and several others for sale at my ebay page at:https://www.ebay.com/str/comicapocalypse