IRON MAN: Howard Stark Secrets!

Iron Man #10 courtesy Marvel
Iron Man #10 courtesy Marvel

  Iron Man 3 is still shining on top of the U.S. box office. Robert Downey Jr is in negotiations with Marvel/Disney but it looks like Tony Stark’s dear old dad will appear in the Marvel cinematic universe next year.

Will Dominic Cooper reprise his role as Howard Stark in Captain America: The Winter Soldier? Cooper played Stark in Captain America: The First Avenger and the genius industrialist play a huge role in the creation of the super soldier. It’s possible Howard Stark will appear in flashbacks that will reveal the creation of the Winter Soldier, Cold War Russia’s answer to the Star-Spangled Avenger.

In the comic books Iron Man writer Kieron Gillen is exploring Howard Stark’s past in The Secret Origin of Tony Stark. Part Two comes out this week in Iron Man #10 in which Tony and Death’s Head make a startling discovery in space that triggers a search for answers in the past.

“Howard Stark has a secret. A dirty dirty secret,” Gillen said of the current arc.

“Tony discovers something from the past that changes
everything we know about the Marvel Universe and Tony specifically.”

Iron Man #10 courtesy Marvel
Iron Man #10 courtesy Marvel

Howard Stark is a key figure in the Marvel history with ties to SHIELD, the Super Soldier program. You could call Stark represents the military-industrial complex of Marvel. Gillen reveals a roster of classic characters for what could be Howard’s own Ocean’s Eleven.

“I want to do a caper. It’s about getting something. It takes place in Vegas. The Stark Seven is Howard Stark’s heist team. General Ross, Jimmy Woo and Dum Dum Dugan are on the team along with some new characters I’ve created. At the same time, it’s a big space epic and a period piece.”

“There are reasons why this has never come to light that involve the safety of the entire Earth,” teases Gillen, “We haven’t seen much about Howard and Maria Stark, especially post-Jonathan Hickman’s S.H.I.E.L.D. That’s interesting. Drama is about what characters are willing to do or not do in order to achieve things.”

For more of the interview here’s the Marvel.com liveblog link.

Iron Man #10 by Kieron Gillen and Dale Eaglesham arrives this Wednesday.

By Editor