Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Iron Man #6
Marvel Comics has just brought back one of the most underrated Iron Man armors in the MCU, reuniting it with its original owner and connecting to a major conspiracy. Debuting in 2013’s Iron Man 3, the Iron Patriot armor was a new variant for James Rhodes after he (temporarily) retired the name War Machine. However, the Iron Patriot armor in the comics has a darker and far more complicated history.
Although Rhodey did eventually wear the armor in the comics, he wasn’t the first to don the red-white-and-blue armor on the page. Instead, the Iron Patriot armor and identity are far more synonymous with Norman Osborn, aka Green Goblin, resulting in a very dark legacy for the armor (which the MCU did not adapt).
While it hasn’t been seen in quite a while, the Iron Patriot armor has just made a surprising return in Marvel’s new Iron Man series from Joshua Williamson and Carmen Carnero. Although Norman Osborn is featured in the series’ latest issue, the armor’s return isn’t tied to the former Green Goblin in the way readers and Tony Stark himself might assume at the onset.
Marvel Comics Just Brought Back The Iron Patriot Armor, Reuniting With Its Original Owner
In the new Iron Man #6 by Joshua Williamson and Juann Cabal, Tony Stark was investigating a break-in at one of his facilities. Likewise, the only item stolen was an armor Tony Stark never wore and intentionally kept retired: the Iron Patriot suit. While it was just a rebranded War Machine armor in the MCU in Iron Man 3 and briefly in Avengers: Endgame, the Iron Patriot armor in the comics was first worn by Norman Osborn.
Debuting in the Dark Reign era, Norman Osborn became Iron Patriot when he rose to power, leading HAMMER and assembling his very own team of Dark Avengers. Presenting himself as a legitimate hero, Osborn donned the Iron Patriot to position himself as a combination of both Iron Man and Captain America.
norman osborn as iron patriot with dark avengers roster
However, Osborn in the modern era has undergone some pretty big changes, having turned over a genuine new leaf. Working to redeem himself, Norman has even become a key ally to Spider-Man. Even so, the theft of the Iron Patriot armor and pumpkin bomb remains found on the scene naturally point Tony in Norman’s direction.
Swearing that he didn’t steal the armor, Norman is just as surprised as Iron Man and Spider-Man to find the armor in his own lab. Ultimately, it’s revealed that Ghost stole the armor to access its secret files and recordings of Norman from the Dark Reign era, wanting to expose Norman’s dark past and ruin his new public image.
Working together, Iron Man and Spider-Man manage to stop Ghost with Norman’s help, while also preventing the Iron Patriot suit from self-destructing and causing major damage. That said, the major twist comes when Ghost discovered that the files he was after were taken long before he stole the Iron Patriot armor…
The Marvel Universe Is Being Manipulated Against Iron Man (But Who’s Pulling The Strings?)
Interestingly, the stolen files taken from the Iron Patriot armor tie directly to the central mystery of Williamson’s new Iron Man run.
Throughout the series thus far, a mysterious new Citizen V has been working behind the scenes, and we know it’s not the OG Citizen V, who was revealed to be Baron Zemo.
Stark Industries · R&D Division The Official Iron Man Armor Quiz
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01
Tony Stark first built the Iron Man armor while being held captive by terrorists, using scrap materials to escape. In the MCU, where was Tony Stark held captive when he built the Mark I armor?
✓ Correct! Tony Stark was captured by the Ten Rings terrorist group and held in a cave in Afghanistan. With the help of fellow captive Ho Yinsen, Tony built the Mark I armor from missile parts and scrap metal to blast his way to freedom — the moment that changed everything.
✗ JARVIS says that answer doesn’t compute! The answer is a cave in Afghanistan. Tony was captured by the Ten Rings while demonstrating the Jericho missile. Using scrap materials and sheer genius, he and Ho Yinsen built the Mark I suit to escape captivity.
02
The Iron Man suit is powered by a revolutionary energy source that Tony Stark miniaturized and implanted in his own chest. What is this power source called?
✓ Correct! The Arc Reactor is the iconic glowing circle in Tony Stark’s chest. Originally built to keep shrapnel from reaching his heart, Tony miniaturized the technology and used it to power increasingly advanced Iron Man suits. It became his defining symbol — proof that Tony Stark has a heart.
✗ JARVIS says that answer doesn’t compute! The answer is the Arc Reactor. The Tesseract is an Infinity Stone, Vibranium is a rare metal from Wakanda, and Repulsor Engine isn’t a real MCU term. The Arc Reactor is Tony’s revolutionary clean energy source that powers the Iron Man suits.
03
Tony Stark has built dozens of specialized Iron Man armors throughout the comics. One famous armor was designed specifically to fight the Hulk, featuring massive size and additional power. What is this armor commonly called?
✓ Correct! The Hulkbuster armor, codenamed “Veronica” in the MCU, is a massive modular suit designed to go toe-to-toe with the Hulk. First appearing in the comics in Iron Man #304, it became a fan-favorite after its epic deployment in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).
✗ JARVIS says that answer doesn’t compute! The answer is the Hulkbuster (Veronica). War Machine is Rhodey’s suit, the Extremis armor integrated with Tony’s biology, and the Bleeding Edge uses nanotechnology. The Hulkbuster is the giant armor built specifically to contain the Hulk.
04
In the MCU, Tony Stark’s AI assistant helps him operate the Iron Man suit and manage his life. The original AI was replaced after being used to create Vision. What was the name of Tony’s original AI assistant?
✓ Correct! J.A.R.V.I.S. (Just A Rather Very Intelligent System) was Tony’s loyal AI companion voiced by Paul Bettany. After JARVIS was used as the basis for Vision in Age of Ultron, Tony replaced him with FRIDAY. JARVIS was more than software — he was Tony’s most trusted ally.
✗ JARVIS says that answer doesn’t compute! The answer is JARVIS. FRIDAY replaced JARVIS after Age of Ultron, KAREN is the AI in Spider-Man’s suit, and EDITH (Even Dead I’m The Hero) is the glasses-based system Tony left to Peter Parker. JARVIS was the original and most iconic AI assistant.
05
In the comics, the Extremis armor was a revolutionary upgrade that integrated the Iron Man suit directly with Tony Stark’s biology. What did Extremis allow Tony to do that previous armors couldn’t?
✓ Correct! The Extremis storyline by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov fundamentally changed Iron Man. By injecting a modified techno-organic virus, Tony could store the armor’s undersheath inside his body and mentally summon and control the suit. It blurred the line between man and machine.
✗ JARVIS says that answer doesn’t compute! The answer is storing the armor inside his body and controlling it with his mind. Extremis rewrote Tony’s biology to interface directly with technology, allowing him to store the suit’s inner layers in his bones and control everything through thought alone.
06
Tony Stark isn’t the only person to wear the Iron Man armor. In Marvel Comics, a young genius took over the Iron Man legacy. Who is this character who became Ironheart?
✓ Correct! Riri Williams is a teenage super-genius from Chicago who reverse-engineered her own Iron Man suit in her MIT dorm room. Tony Stark himself endorsed her, and she took on the name Ironheart. Dominique Thorne portrays Riri in the MCU, debuting in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022).
✗ JARVIS says that answer doesn’t compute! The answer is Riri Williams. Pepper Potts wore the Rescue armor, Shuri is Black Panther’s sister from Wakanda, and Kamala Khan is Ms. Marvel. Riri Williams is the brilliant young engineer who built her own suit and became Ironheart.
07
In Avengers: Endgame, Tony Stark made the ultimate sacrifice to defeat Thanos using a nano-tech version of the Infinity Gauntlet. What were Tony Stark’s final words before snapping his fingers?
✓ Correct! “And I… am… Iron Man” perfectly bookended the MCU’s greatest arc. Just as Tony Stark launched the entire franchise by declaring “I am Iron Man” in 2008, he closed it with the same words as he snapped Thanos and his army out of existence, sacrificing himself to save the universe.
✗ JARVIS says that answer doesn’t compute! The answer is “And I… am… Iron Man.” “Avengers assemble” was Cap’s rallying cry, “I love you 3000” was his daughter Morgan’s phrase, and “Whatever it takes” was the Avengers’ time-heist motto. Tony’s final snap callback to his iconic self-introduction was cinema perfection.
08
James Rhodes (Rhodey) is Tony Stark’s best friend and wears his own version of the Iron Man armor as a military-focused hero. What is Rhodey’s superhero name?
✓ Correct! Rhodey has used both names throughout his career. He’s most commonly known as War Machine, his original heavily-armed identity. In Iron Man 3 and briefly in the comics, the armor was rebranded as Iron Patriot with a red, white, and blue paint job for government PR purposes.
✗ JARVIS says that answer doesn’t compute! The answer is both — Rhodey has used both War Machine and Iron Patriot. War Machine is his primary identity with heavy weaponry, while Iron Patriot was a government-approved rebrand seen in Iron Man 3. Steel Soldier is not a real Marvel name.
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Whoever’s operating under the Citizen V identity clearly has a bone to pick with Tony Stark, having sent encoded messages to major Marvel heroes including Captain America, Reed and Sue Richards, Rhodey, Captain Marvel, Amadeus Cho, and Norman himself, warning them all that Tony Stark is dangerous and needs to be watched (hence Norman offering to do just that following this latest encounter).
For longtime Marvel fans, it’s pretty exciting to see one of Iron Man’s most underrated armors back in action. At the same time, it’s just as cool that the return is helping fuel one of the most intriguing mysteries in the current Marvel Comics. It’s going to be fascinating to see how it all plays out (and who’s ultimately revealed as the new Citizen V).
