Iron Man Loses His Fortune, Turning 2 Key Villains into Marvel’s Richest Bad Guys

Contains spoilers for Iron Man (2024) #1!Iron Man might be a superhero, but so much of his power and abilities are tied to his company, which is now likely to be stolen out from under him by both two supervillains, and an evil corporation. Tony’s fighting a war on all fronts, and his latest villains are going to test all of his limits.

In the new Iron Man #1, Tony Stark finds himself up against the perfect duo of villains as his company is coopted by Roxxon, working alongside AIM’s Scientist Supreme and Justine Hammer.

In the issue, Tony’s caught unawares by Roxxon’s new magical tech, which puts him in hospital just long enough for the company and their supervillainous partners to initiate a hostile takeover of Stark Industries, whose board have no problem working under villains. With Justine becoming the new Iron Monger using Tony’s tech and Monica Rappaccini, The Scientist Supreme the perfect foil to Tony’s genius.

AIM’s Scientist Supreme & The New Iron Monger Are Teaming Up

An Alliance With Roxxon is Taking Stark Industries From Iron Man

Justine Hammer is the daughter of classic Iron Man villain Justin Hammer. She became one of the primary foes of the original Thunderbolts team, forming a new Masters of Evil and becoming the new Crimson Cowl, an identity originally used as a disguise by Ultron in the 1960s. Justine eventually died at the hands of Ezekiel Stane, son of Obadiah, the original Iron Monger, which makes her coopting of the Iron Monger identity all the more fitting now that Roxxon have brought her back from the dead to represent them as new CEO.

Monica Rappaccini, the Scientist Supreme, is the most iconic member of AIM, aka Advanced Idea Mechanics, Marvel’s collective of evil scientists. Monica gives a humanity to AIM, who often struggle to distinguish themselves from other evil Marvel groups. Superheroes fighting AIM now have a foil in Monica, when the story being told might not be appropriate for AIM’s other major leader, MODOK, who she often spars with for control of AIM. Shockingly, this is her first appearance in an Iron Man solo comic, but she’s been fighting on and off with superheroes for two decades worth of comics.

Tony Stark is Facing New Threats on Literally Every Front

What’s great about these two villains is how they represent the two different sides of the war that Iron Man’s going to be fighting. Rappaccini is a scientist to match Tony, Justine Hammer is a classic supervillain, and both of them also work in the boardroom as antagonists Tony can’t simply punch. Funnily enough adding an evil scientist and a literal supervillain to Stark Industries’ leadership might only make the company closer to real life, and as Iron Man’s latest adventure continues, Stark Industries is sure to go down a dark path with these villains in charge.

Iron Man #1 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.

Iron Man

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.