MCU Iron Man powering up his hand gauntlet
By
Kevin Erdmann
Published Feb 26, 2026, 9:37 PM EST
Since 2019, Kevin Erdmann has been one of Screen Rant's Senior Staff Writers, covering all kinds of Superhero and Star Wars media with Easter egg breakdowns, theory pieces, breaking news, and more. A huge Star Wars & MCU fan, Kevin also loves Batman (because he's Batman), but could talk for hours about why Nightwing is DC's greatest hero.
With 8 years of total experience covering entertainment and pop culture, Kevin has gotten the chance to interview top creatives and talent, and has also attended major media events like Disney's D23 convention.
Majoring in Cinema Studies with a minor in Comics and Cartoon Studies from the UofO, Kevin lives in Oregon with his wonderful wife, adorable dog, and sinister cat who is no doubt currently plotting his demise.
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Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Iron Man #2In a surprising twist, Marvel is setting up a major Iron Man team-up with one of the MCU's most absurd villains. Facing a major scheme from AIM to create a "New Tony Stark", the latest issue of Marvel's new Iron Man series sees the Armored Avenger on the hunt to prevent a dark mirror of himself from being born.
That said, AIM is under some new direction in the Marvel Universe, a status quo shift that has created a surprising new alliance between Iron Man and none other than MODOK, the classic Marvel supervillain who recently made a fairly divisive debut in the MCU for being absolutely ridiculous in more ways than one.
Iron Man's New War With AIM Naturally Brought Him To MODOK, Head-To-Big-Head
In Iron Man's new series by Joshua Williamson and Carmen Carnero, Madame Masque is steering A.I.M. toward the creation of a darker Tony Stark, inspired by a nightmare from Stark who once shared his fears (and contingency plans) with Masque following one of their various romantic post-fight hookups.
Overall, the plan involves capturing brilliant young minds previously recognized by Stark himself, and subjecting them to similar levels of trauma Tony experienced that forged him into Iron Man, hoping that they'll instead evolve as a force of evil to aid in AIM's goals of global domination with new weapons like the Advanced Iron Man armor we know is coming in future issues.
Recognizing what Madame Masque is doing and determined to shut A.I.M. down, Stark is shown in Iron Man #2 following every lead possible, eventually landing in Madripoor to confront none other than MODOK himself. After all, the brilliant and big-headed Mental/Mobile/Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing has typically been a high-ranking leader of AIM in the comics.
Surprise! Marvel Is Teasing An Iron Man/MODOK Team-Up In Future Issues
There have been past comics and previous media depictions where MODOK is quite a deadly force to be reckoned with, compensating for his incredibly bold visual design as a giant head and little body suspended in a hover chair.
However, it seems as though Marvel Comics may be taking a page from the MCU's version by making MODOK a little more ridiculous as a character, depicting him on vacation in Madripoor and cowering behind Iron Man when AIM arrives not to protect their leader...but to take him out.
Apparently, it seems AIM's new direction under Madame Masque saw MODOK being pushed out of the organization, so much so that he's now been marked for death in Iron Man #2. As a result, the issue ends with MODOK begging Iron Man to save him, with the final page teasing a full-on team-up in future issues.
It's peak comic book chaos, though I'm certainly hoping MODOK gets some genuine time to shine despite the more comical debut in this new Iron Man series.
After all, the MCU's version of MODOK in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania was pretty divisive and looked pretty weird as an evolution of Yellowjacket from the first Ant-Man movie. Despite his absurd appearance, MODOK has always had the potential to be one of Marvel's most fascinating and dangerous villains.
Iron Man #2 is available now from Marvel Comics.
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Iron Man
NAME
Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark
Alias
Iron Man
FIRST APP
"Tales of Suspense" #39 (1963)
Created By
Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Don Heck, Larry Lieber
POWERS
Genius intellect, armor providing flight, hacking, superhuman strength, reflexes, and durability.
TEAM
The Avengers
Anthony "Tony" Edward Stark, AKA Iron Man, is a Marvel Comics superhero who has enjoyed several years of the spotlight and has become a mainstay in several Marvel media franchises. After suffering a critical injury, Tony creates a specialized armored suit powered by an arc reactor, which keeps him alive. Egotistical but good-hearted, Tony utilizes his super intellect and inventions to fight to protect humanity from various threats, eventually becoming a founding member of the Avengers. In 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was kicked off with the film Iron Man, which starred Robert Downey Jr. as the superhero.
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M.O.D.O.K.
Alias
George Tarleton
Created By
Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
Franchise
Marvel
Birthday
September 1967
Height
5'8”
Movies
Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania
M.O.D.O.K. (Mental / Mobile / Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing) is a Marvel character that first appeared in Tales of Suspense #93 in September 1967. He has since become a regular villain for Marvel heroes in the comics and has also gotten his own TV show called Marvel's M.O.D.O.K. The character made his first live-action appearance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
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Comics
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M.O.D.O.K.
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