Iron Man 2020
Encyclopedia
Iron Man 2020 is a fictional
supervillain
. 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).
of the present day Iron Man
, billionaire industrialist playboy 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.
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."
The future Iron Man traveled to the present day in order to obtain the retinal patterns of a young boy. In the year 2015 (placing this appearance before his original showing), that boy's adult self had set a bomb (of Stark's own invention) to kill Arno Stark's family (as well as anyone else in the city), and his retinal patterns were needed to defuse the bomb. Unfortunately the terrorist was killed while trying to get away, so in a desperate gambit the experimental time machine (also of Stark's design) was employed. While in the past Arno was attacked by one of Tony Stark's villains, The Blizzard
, who mistook Arno's armor for Tony's. Having no time to spare, Arno attack the Blizzard with a blast from his Repulsors. Iron Man 2015 was not successful in obtaining retinal scans because he dropped the scan device,and was delayed in battle by the superhero Spider-Man
, who only witnessed an unconscious and battered young boy(Robert "bobby" Saunder) being presumably kidnapped by a villain. Despite Iron Man's greater strength and power, Spider-Man's fury and determination made him unstoppable. In the process the retinal scan device was destroyed. Stark's timing mechanism malfunctioned and returned him to the future where he learned that the bomb timing mechanism was also faulty; he found only a radioactive wasteland where his family, factory and city had been.
In a later appearance, Iron Man 2020 fought the time-traveling cyborg Death's Head
.
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.
The Iron Man of 2020 also appeared in the Paradise X mini-series alongside numerous Marvel heroes from different time-lines, such as Deathlok
, Spider-Girl
and Wolverine
(in his Days of Future Past
form). Similarly, a version of the Iron Man of 2020 appeared as one of the multidimensional "potential" Avengers in Avengers Forever
.
He (or an alternate version of him) has recently seen imprisoned in the time cells of the Time Variance Authority
, the holding facilities for the most "dangerous time-travel offenders".
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 SHIELD 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.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
. He is the counterpart of the superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
in the future year of 2020 in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
multiverse
Multiverse (Marvel Comics)
Within Marvel Comics, most tales take place within the fictional Marvel Universe, which in turn is part of a larger multiverse. Starting with issues of Captain Britain, the main continuity in which most Marvel storylines take place was designated Earth-616, and the multiverse was established as...
. He first appeared in the second issue of the Machine Man
Machine Man
Machine Man is a fictional character, an android superhero in the Marvel Comics Universe. The character was created by Jack Kirby for 2001: A Space Odyssey #8 , a comic written and drawn by Kirby featuring concepts based on the eponymous Stanley Kubrick film and Arthur C. Clarke novel...
limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
(1984).
Fictional character biography
Arno Stark is the future first cousin once removedCousin
In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
of the present day Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
, billionaire industrialist playboy 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
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
or commit acts of corporate espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
to cripple his competitors for industrialist gain.
In his original appearance, the Iron Man of 2020 was employed by Sunset Bain
Sunset Bain
Sunset Bain is a fictional villainess in the Marvel Comics universe. She is a shady business-woman who occasionally masquerades as Madame Menace. Although very technologically adept, she personally does not have any super-powers. Publicly she is the CEO of Baintronics. Privately she maintains her...
(then an old woman) to destroy Machine Man
Machine Man
Machine Man is a fictional character, an android superhero in the Marvel Comics Universe. The character was created by Jack Kirby for 2001: A Space Odyssey #8 , a comic written and drawn by Kirby featuring concepts based on the eponymous Stanley Kubrick film and Arthur C. Clarke novel...
, 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."
The future Iron Man traveled to the present day in order to obtain the retinal patterns of a young boy. In the year 2015 (placing this appearance before his original showing), that boy's adult self had set a bomb (of Stark's own invention) to kill Arno Stark's family (as well as anyone else in the city), and his retinal patterns were needed to defuse the bomb. Unfortunately the terrorist was killed while trying to get away, so in a desperate gambit the experimental time machine (also of Stark's design) was employed. While in the past Arno was attacked by one of Tony Stark's villains, The Blizzard
Blizzard (comics)
The Blizzard is the name of three fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics.The original version first appears in Tales of Suspense #45 as a supervillain and is currently deceased. The second version first appears in Iron Man #223 The Blizzard is the name of three...
, who mistook Arno's armor for Tony's. Having no time to spare, Arno attack the Blizzard with a blast from his Repulsors. Iron Man 2015 was not successful in obtaining retinal scans because he dropped the scan device,and was delayed in battle by the superhero Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, who only witnessed an unconscious and battered young boy(Robert "bobby" Saunder) being presumably kidnapped by a villain. Despite Iron Man's greater strength and power, Spider-Man's fury and determination made him unstoppable. In the process the retinal scan device was destroyed. Stark's timing mechanism malfunctioned and returned him to the future where he learned that the bomb timing mechanism was also faulty; he found only a radioactive wasteland where his family, factory and city had been.
In a later appearance, Iron Man 2020 fought the time-traveling cyborg Death's Head
Death's Head
Death's Head is a fictional comic book character, a robotic bounty hunter appearing in the books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Simon Furman and artist Geoff Senior for the company's Marvel UK imprint...
.
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.
The Iron Man of 2020 also appeared in the Paradise X mini-series alongside numerous Marvel heroes from different time-lines, such as Deathlok
Deathlok
Deathlok is a fictional cyborg published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in Astonishing Tales #25 , and was created by Rich Buckler and Doug Moench...
, Spider-Girl
Spider-Girl
Spider-Girl is a superheroine in Marvel Comics' MC2 universe. The character was created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz as the teenage daughter of Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson, and first appeared in What If #105...
and Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
(in his Days of Future Past
Days of Future Past
"Days of Future Past" is a popular storyline in the Marvel Comics comic book The Uncanny X-Men issues #141 and #142, published in 1981. It deals with a dystopian alternate future in which mutants are incarcerated in internment camps...
form). Similarly, a version of the Iron Man of 2020 appeared as one of the multidimensional "potential" Avengers in Avengers Forever
Avengers Forever
Avengers Forever is a twelve-issue comic book limited series published from December 1998 to November 1999 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern and drawn by Carlos Pacheco and Jesus Merino.-Publication history:...
.
He (or an alternate version of him) has recently seen imprisoned in the time cells of the Time Variance Authority
Time Variance Authority
The Time Variance Authority is a fictional organization, a group of timeline monitors in the Marvel Universe. They first appeared in Thor vol. 1 #372 .-Fictional background:...
, the holding facilities for the most "dangerous time-travel offenders".
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 SHIELD 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.