Marvel’s Armor Wars movie can put a confusing Iron Man 2 mystery to rest by turning a forgotten MCU character into a new armored villain. After Iron Man’s death in Avengers: Endgame, Tony Stark’s legacy has been carried by characters such as Spider-Man, Ironheart, and War Machine. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man lost Stark’s technology and all connections to the Avengers at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, while Riri Williams’ heroism will be tested when she meets the Hood in the MCU’s upcoming Ironheart series in June 2025.
Meanwhile, War Machine will star in his first solo movie almost twenty years after he was introduced, though Armor Wars‘ release date hasn’t been confirmed yet, as of early 2025. Regardless of whether Don Cheadle’s Rhodey Rhodes meets Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom before or after Armor Wars, Armor Wars will inevitably challenge Tony Stark’s Iron Man legacy, as the original Marvel Comics storyline deals with a full-blown war over Iron Man’s technology. In the process, several Iron Man villains could return, and others could make their MCU debut.
Doctor Strange’s Test Pilot Reference Made An Iron Man 2 Detail Confusing
Iron Man 2’s Experimental Armor Test Pilot Isn’t The Same Character Referenced In Doctor Strange
In Iron Man 2, Tony Stark exposes Justin Hammer’s faulty technology with footage of failed experiments, including one video of a test pilot seemingly having his back broken by one of Hammer’s experimental armors. Justin Hammer quickly clarifies that the test pilot survived, though the footage suggests otherwise. Years later, while Stephen Strange chooses his next patient right before his car accident, Strange’s colleague Billy mentions a “35-year-old Air Force Colonel. Crushed his lower spine in some kind of experimental test armor…” While this person seems to be the same test pilot from Iron Man 2, the timeline doesn’t quite align.
Doctor Strange’s car crash happened in 2014 at the earliest, and the test pilot’s injury from Iron Man 2 must have taken place in 2010 at the latest. While the test pilot could be seeking follow-up treatment from Strange after prior surgeries by 2014, it makes more sense for the test pilots to be two separate characters, as Strange is looking for eye-catching, headline-worthy emergency patients at the time. Another theory suggests that the pilot Billy mentions in Doctor Strange is Rhodey, who gets injured when Vision shoots him down in Captain America: Civil War, but this option is less likely, as Strange is already a retired surgeon at that point.
Iron Man 2’s Experimental Armor Test Pilot Could Return As A Villain In Armor Wars
Iron Man 2’s Injured Test Pilot Is A Great Candidate For An Armor Wars Villain
Armor Wars will inevitably make some changes to its storyline given Tony Stark’s absence. However, its тιтle requires multiple participants in the war for Stark’s technology. One of the armored villains in the MCU’s Armor Wars adaptation could be the injured experimental armor test pilot from Iron Man 2, who could be blame Justin Hammer and Tony Stark for his life-changing injuries. Using Stark technology or an Iron Man copycat armor, Iron Man 2‘s test pilot could return in Armor Wars with the intent to kill Justin Hammer and get rid of James Rhodes in order to keep the technology that enhances his body.
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Captain America: Brave New World
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February 14, 2025
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Thunderbolts*
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May 2, 2025
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps
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July 25, 2025
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Avengers: Doomsday (2026)
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Spider-Man Homecoming 4
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July 24, 2026
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Avengers: Secret Wars
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May 7, 2027
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