Riri Williams Replaces Tony Stark as Iron Man

A big reveal has been dropped by Marvel Comics with regards to the man (or woman) behind the Iron Man suit in Invincible Iron Man.

The character is set to replace the billionaire industrialist in an upcoming issue of Iron Man post Civil War II. But Marvel is confident that they did not spoil the ending of Civil War II and that the swap will flow more with the Divided We Stand story arc.

Speaking about Stark’s inevitable exit as Iron Man, Brian Michael Bendis says

His best friend died, his company is collapsing and he’s finding out who his biological parents were all at the same time. That’s stressful for a character who is wired the way Tony is wired and has dependency issues the way Tony does.

He adds that the stress will take over from the playboy at some point which will open doors for the replacement Iron Man in issue # 7 of Invincible Iron.

We originally thought that Williams will be taking over as the new War Machine especially after Jim Rhodes perished at the hands of Thanos is Civil War 2. But we were really wrong on that account as it had to be Iron Man.

Created by Bendis and artist Mike Deodato Jr., Riri Williams was introduced earlier this year as a 15-year-old engineering whiz enrolled at MIT. The writer cites an unnamed television show he was a part of as inspiration for the Williams characterIron Man.

Hardcore fans might not be pleased but hopefully there’s a glimmer of hope. Maybe the fact that Tony is adopted is all a sham and that it was really a classic plot by the Mandarin. Who knows right?