Disney+ Armor Wars: WILL WE SEE THE ABLATIVE ARMOR?!
I wrote a blog a few months back asking a pretty simple question: “What are the chances we’ll ever see Iron Man’s Ablative Armor back in the comics?” I came to the conclusion that he’ll definitely appear in the background of more comics, most likely in the Hall of Armors. There’s also a pretty good chance that it will headline when a writer is looking for an obscure suit to feature. I also concluded that it’s unlikely that the name I’ve given the Model 23 — Axol — will ever become canon…though I’d certainly be honored if it did.
What didn’t I address in that blog? The chances that the Ablative Suit would ever appear in a movie. Iron Man MCU armors are almost always new designs with new names, with Hulkbuster and Silver Centurion the obvious exceptions. But then yesterday Disney went and announced an Armor Wars Disney+ series starring Don Cheadle. If the series goes on long enough, there’s always a chance we’d see Axol in live-action. Do I think it will happen? No, not really. But it would be cool.
My History With “Armor Wars”
The first Iron Man comic I pulled off the shelf was Iron Man #231, back around June 1988. This comic, the last issue of the Armor Wars arc, had the first appearance of Model 9 (the “New Red and Gold” or “Oversized Red and Gold”). Tony had to build a new armor after Firepower destroyed the Silver Centurion in the previous issue. So, this being the late 1980s when newsstand back issues stuck around a little longer, I scouted the local drug store and found issue #230. It had the spinner rack crease at the top staple and everything! As I visited comic shops I filled in the storyline back to issue #225.
Interestingly, the title of the story arc in-book is “Stark Wars” and not “Armor Wars.” How do they read? Well, the concept is great. The only problem is that it suffers from the over-writing of the 1980s, when you got every explanation and every thought that was going through a character’s head. So if you’re not used to reading Iron Man comics, it’s can be kind of a slog. It did, however, delve nicely into the idea of the ramifications of Tony losing control of his technology. The epilog issue by Barry Windsor-Smith, #232, is quite creepy in that BWS sort of way. Oh, and there was also What If #8 (vol. 2), “What If Iron Man Lost the Armor Wars?” If you think about it, that issue is probably the reason everyone remembers it as “Armor Wars.” (Invest in What If #8 now, kids!)
Armor Wars on Disney+
Sounds pretty awesome to me! It makes me wonder if we’ll start off with newly designed suits or if we’ll delve into salvaged technology like Spider-Man: Homecoming. I’ve got a blog coming soon about Iron Man 3 and how the Clean Slate Protocol would have dumped a lot of tech and radioactive material into the ocean around the oil rig; maybe they’ll go with that. Maybe people dove to retrieve parts of Marks 1-7 from the ocean outside Tony’s destroyed Malibu home.
If the series lasts, we could see them delving into more comic book suits to satisfy fans. At that point they might start looking for weird Iron Man armors like the Ablative, since Teen Tony and the 1602 armor are probably out of the question. And there are few armors weirder than Axol!
Well, maybe the one with the nose.
“Tissue Wars”
