“I LOVE Your Outfit”: Iron Man Declares 1 Other Armored Hero His Equal (& Wants to Compare Notes)

Warning: contains spoilers for Avengers #9!Tony Stark isn’t exactly known for his humility, which makes it all the more impressive that Iron Man just admitted one hero has armor to rival his own. Developed with bleeding edge technology, Iron Man’s suit is the result of the world’s greatest tech genius working night and day to stay ahead of the competition, allowing him to take on threats from Thanos to Mephisto. However, even Tony admits he wants to study another hero’s armor to learn from their example.

In Avengers #9, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes square off against the Twilight Court. Tony is tasked to take on Bedivere – an armored warrior who is the team’s resident tech genius. As the two battle, they each openly admire the other’s suit, to the point that Tony asks if Bedivere would be willing to stand down so they can compare notes.

Tony is right to be impressed, as Bedivere’s armor is incredibly advanced. Myrddin – the founder of the Twilight Court – provided him with Technarchy technology derived from the alien Articial Intelligence species who often plague the X-Men. The armor is a shapeshifting marvel, able to create swords and energy cannons to match Tony Stark’s own arsenal.

Iron Man Admits That Bedivere Is His Equal

The Avengers Rival Is Using Tech from X-Men’s Technarchy

Currently in Avengers comics, the team find themselves battling the Twilight Court – however, this rival group are no villains. The Avengers have accidentally found themselves in the middle of a competition between time-traveling villains Kang and Myrddin. Each is attempting to unlock a mysterious pocket of time known as the Missing Moment, however there’s a catch: only heroes are actually able to access their prize (and even then, only when the team is structured along very specific lines.) While Kang is manipulating the Avengers to open the Missing Moment, Myrddin has assembled his own group of heroes known as the Twilight Court, handing out powers and artifacts to help them become the Avengers’ equals.

It’s no surprise that Tony recognizes Bedivere as an equal, since each fulfills the same archetypal role on the team – that of the ‘Engineer.’ These roles are the key to the Missing Moment, and while there’s a lot of leeway in how their powers manifest, it seems that each role will be crucial to Kang/Myrddin’s goal. While Bedivere was given Technarchy technology by Myrddin, he made it clear during his first meeting with Kang that his true power lies in his genius. Like Tony, his advanced suit comes from his own talent for invention. Indeed, Iron Man actually gives up on beating Bedivere one-on-one, and the Avengers instead swap opponents in order to come out on top.

An Iron Man vs Bedivere Rematch Is Coming Soon

The Twilight Court Are Winning Their Race Against the Avengers

Unfortunately, while the Avengers triumph, they don’t do it quickly enough to deal with Myrddin, who has neutralized Kang by removing most of his knowledge of the Missing Moment – including the ‘Tribulation Events’ that are putting thousands of lives at risk, and which the villain was using as currency to get the Avengers to do his bidding. In the latest Avengers vs Twilight Court clash, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes scored a technical victory, but Myrddin’s team are now closer to unlocking their goal. That means another Iron Man vs Bedivere match-up is on the cards soon, giving Tony Stark another chance to study rival armor even he admits is equal to his own.

Avengers #9 is available now from Marvel Comics.