Iron Man’s Asgardian Armor Makes Thor Look Like a Pushover

As shown on a variant cover for a Thor comic book issue, Iron Man’s Asgardian armor makes the God of Thunder look like a pushover. Iron Man has been known to make a suit of armor for virtually any occasion and even some specific to a certain Avenger including Spider-Man’s Iron Spider armor and even the monstrous Hulkbuster armor. This piece of hardware is arguably Iron Man’s most brutal as it takes after Thor’s heritage in outstanding fashion, so much so that it puts Thor’s costume to shame. 

Iron Man’s Asgardian armor appeared on a variant cover of Thor #609 and it was drawn by the penciler of that issue Esad Ribic. In the comic itself, Loki, through means of trickery and manipulation, has taken control over Asgard and has even influenced leaders of Earth to do his bidding, including Norman Osborn. At that time, Osborn was in power and Loki convinced him to lay siege on Asgard’s Earth settlement. When Norman launched the attack, he effectively started a war with the Asgardians, pitting humans against gods on American soil. 

The Marvel Comics variant cover of the Asgardian armor worn by Iron Man does not make an official appearance in this or any other Marvel Comics issue. The appeal is strictly aesthetic, but the power the suit wields as implied by the image is striking. On the cover, Iron Man has converted his classic suit to look like that of a viking warrior with his original colors intact. Iron Man’s iconic helmet becomes that of war with plated arm and chest pieces to match. To bring this design home, Iron Man is also wielding an ax, and by the looks of the wreckage shown behind him, it is implied that he just used it to cut a ship in half. To add to the warrior spirit of this design, Iron Man’s Asgardian armor also has blood dripping from its plates which tells fans that after he destroyed the sea vessel, he ensured there were no survivors. 

While this version of Iron Man never made it into Marvel Comics canon, the metaphor he represents based on the storyline of the issue is a powerful one. When Norman Osborn attacked Asgard, the Asgardians saw it as a rejection by the human world and a brutal blow on their people who were only on Earth to seek refuge. Iron Man has always symbolized the best of what humanity has to offer on a cosmic scale as he is a normal human who uses only his intelligence to make himself powerful enough to battle gods. Iron Man himself having delivered the metaphorically debilitating blow on Asgard brings to light their shock at humanity’s betrayal as well as the severity of the situation. 

While Iron Man had nothing to do with Norman Osborn’s attack on the Asgardians during the Siege storyline, he is still a symbol of humanity at its best, and evidently also at its worst as depicted on this brutal variant cover. Despite the violent imagery, Iron Man’s Asgardian armor on this cover is cooler than any suit worn by Thor as it truly captures the savagery of a warrior like Thor’s bright, winged, caped costume never could. Based on the aesthetic of the suit and the carnage it wrought in just a single image, Iron Man’s Asgardian armor makes Thor look like a pushover.

Source: Marvel

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