Contains Spoilers for Avengers (2023) #21 and X-Men (2024) #8!Iron Manhashad many teammates over his long Avengers tenure, butMarvel Comics has finally brought back a friendshipthat’s been sorely lacking for decades now, his camaraderie withX-Men’sBeast. As the Avengers and Cyclops' X-Men seek to reaffirm their alliance, Tony Stark and Hank McCoy are given the perfect pretext to catch up.
InAvengers (2023)#21 – written by Jed MacKay, with art by Valerio Schiti –Iron Man and Beast remind readers of their friendship, reintroducing a dynamic that has been missing for a while now. Both characters arcs over the past several years have taken them to dark places, and this rekindled “bromance” could be exactly what both characters need.
With the Avengers and X-Men catching upafter a baseball game, Tony takes the opportunity to chat with Hank alone in a conversation that reaffirms why their tenure together on the Avengers is such a fan-favorite.
Friends & Former Teammates Iron Man And Beast Reconnect – But Some Things Aren’t The Same
Avengers (2023)#21 – Written By Jed MacKay; Art By Valerio Schiti; Color By Federico Blee; Lettering By Corey Petit
The complicating factor is that this is not the Beast that many readers, nor Tony, are familiar with. Inthe X-Men’s Krakoan Era, Beast finally slid fully into supervillainy. This eventually led to him being replaced with a copy of himself who didn’t remember anything past his classic ‘80s Avengers days, and this is the Beast who joined the new X-Men team. The highlight ofAvengers#21is Beast’s conversation with Iron Man about that exact fact, in which Beast questions why Tony didn’t stop his original self from going too far.
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As the X-Men head into a new era, the true meaning of a founding member’s codename has come to life, giving fans a fascinating look into his life.
Tony admits that past a certain point he didn’t know Hank anymore, or what that Beast was doing. However, Tony is no stranger to moral failings, and jokes that Hank is the lucky one for not having to actually remember the bad stuff that he theoretically did. That doesn’t exactly help Hank’s mood, but it is true. He can’t be blamed for stuff he didn’t actually do himself, even though a guilt complex is always part of Beast’s character. This adds a new wrinkle to the duo’s classic dynamic, one that Marvel will hopefully invest more page-time in exploring.
Iron Man’s Pep Talk Comes At Exactly The Right Moment For Beast
X-Men#8 – Written By Jed MacKay; Art By Ryan Stegman; Ink By J.P. Mayer; Color By Marte Gracia; Lettering By Clayton Cowles
Avengersauthor Jed MacKay – who now also writes Marvel’s mainX-Menseries, which Beast is currently appearing in – has been consistent with how hemakes Iron Man a surprising font of wisdomfor struggling characters, such as Carol Danvers and now Beast, and it shows just how much MacKay loves Tony. This suggests that,rather than a passing acknowledgment of their recent past, Tony and Hank’s conversation inAvengers#21 has planted a seed for something greater, which could blossom across both titles in due time.
As the X-Men hero faces sins of the past he didn’t commit, but is still under threat of being held responsible for, he has renewed his friendship with Iron Man.
After all, this conversation could be more important for Beast than Tony realizes. InX-Men (2024)#8,Beast is set to be handed over to the government of Terra Verde, the nation his original self committed war crimes against. This incident could easily retrigger this version of Beast’s guilt once more. Luckily, as theX-Menhero faces sins of the past he didn’t commit, but is still under threat of being held responsible for, he has renewed his friendship withIron Man, who can be there to remind him he’s not the monster that the old Beast turned into.
Avengers (2023)#21andX-Men (2024)#8are available 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.
