Marvel’s Secret Invasion #3 reveals that the once shallow Tony Stark has experienced phenomenal character growth as the heroic Iron Man.
The following article contains spoilers from Secret invasion #3, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
While Iron Man may be one of Marvel’s greatest heroes, he has a bad record of failing to break out of his old and toxic habits. It’s gotten to the point where even his closest friends question if Tony Stark can truly change for the better. Fortunately, Secret Invasion #3 (by Ryan North, Francesco Mobili, Jordie Bellaire, and VC’s Joe Caramagna) provides definitive proof that Tony can move past his lesser qualities.
In the issue, it was revealed that for some time now, Tony has been employing Skrulls to pose as him for low-level Iron Man assignments. Prior to this, he was highly distrustful of Skrulls in general, but eventually worked past that prejudice and began to view the Skrulls as good people who he has come to deeply care for. Thus, Tony proved that he can grow as a human being, and arguably has done it faster than a great many people when it comes to viewing the Skrulls as more than an invading army.
Iron Man Overcame His Own Prejudice
Considering all that Tony had been put through because of the Skrulls, it’s no wonder he didn’t trust any of them after their initial invasion. The world vilified and blamed him for not anticipating their attempt to conquer the planet, resulting in Tony losing all credibility. So, there were still some bitter feelings towards Skrulls in general. It was thanks to a chance meeting with a Skrull named Gillian, and some tough love from Squirrel Girl, that Tony finally began to contemplate the idea that the Skrulls were not some uniform race, but people with individual hopes for the future.
Taking a chance, he employed Gillian and some of her friends. Over time, his trust in them grew until he was letting them pose as him to handle low-level threats to the Earth, even trusting them to defend the planet when he was off-world. By the present day, he has elected to reveal the truth of their employment to Maria Hill, knowing it might get him arrested or killed. This is so he can ensure that his employees are safe, and to potentially change Maria’s mind about the true nature of the Skrulls.
Iron Man’s Employees Are Proof That He Has Matured
If Tony Stark, of all people, could move beyond the petty resentment he held towards all Skrull for an invasion, and recognize that one Skrull does not represent their entire military, then it is proof that he has matured. More to the point, it is a demonstration of what he could accomplish by growing as a person. By accepting Gillian into his life, he essentially expanded the good that Iron Man could do by trusting people he once thought of as his enemies.
The Skrulls have responded to this acceptance, likely being just as willing to risk their lives for Tony as he was for them during Maria’s crusade against all Skrulls. Tony Stark is not a perfect person, his flaws are part of what makes him such a fascinating character. But here is concrete evidence that he can be just as interesting, and even more beneficial to the world, when he leaves the worst of himself behind.
