A Captain America: Brave New World Theory Teases Iron Man’s Biggest Failure

At its core, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has always been about rectifying past sins. For Captain America, Hulk, and Thor, it was about the sins of past creators or fathers, while Tony Stark was about right a legacy of sin that went as far back as World War II. While Howard Stark’s weapons development was necessary to help in the war effort, Stark reaped the benefits and, in his words, grew comfortable with zero accountability for the lives lost or the weapons lost in conflict. Even the Avengers was about rectifying mistakes already made and avenging the people and things lost in the scuffle. This idea is also what made Iron Man such a powerful foundation for the ambitious franchise.

With Captain America: Brave New World, world powers have grown comfortable with the new status quo, and, as a result, many of the same mistakes Stark made in the past are growing exponentially even after his death. While people like Sam Wilson and Spider-Man uphold the ideals that those who came before them instilled, the rest of the world, as made evident in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, couldn’t care less. Brave New World’s latest trailer proves this by not only potentially undoing Stark’s mission but also setting up an even worse conflict that could be explored in Armor Wars.

Brave New World May Have Proven What Happened to Stark’s Tech

Captain America: Brave New World’s latest trailer revealed a lot while only showing very little. Many fans and channels have explored breakdowns but never had time to cover the greater implications of some theories. While it’s clear the glaring loose end of Tiamut from Eternals being in the ocean will be explored, there was also a tease of the possible use of Stark weapons by someone who isn’t tied to his inner circle. As the trailer shows, a missile is being sent toward a battleship, and instead of a fire trail from the rocket, there’s light blue energy coming from the missile as it’s propelled forward. Any eagle-eyed fan would quickly assume that it’s a form of an arc reactor. However, its use in the form of a weapon is particularly concerning as this was never the express purpose of the energy source.

Unfortunately, as the world grew more accustomed to advanced tech, it was embraced in everyday ways, whether it be powering Stark tower or being retrofitted for weapons, such as the Vulture’s tech being adapted from Chitauri weapons. The worst part is that Stark was highly intelligent and ahead of the curve, but his tech wasn’t difficult to recreate. Even Ivan Vanko made a working arc reactor in his apartment, and Riri Williams made one in an abandoned garage in Chicago. With that in mind, the world quickly caught up to Stark’s tech, and with an event like the climax of Iron Man 3, anyone could’ve taken the remnants of his suits and reverse-engineered the technology. Then, all the tech Stark wanted to eliminate as it was used for evil just falls back into the wrong hands after his death. That said, it does raise many questions, such as why Stark Industries hasn’t tried to combat this in any way. However, the world of weapons technology is fast and even faster in the MCU, meaning that if the tech is out there, it won’t be long before everyone gets a piece and tries something new with it. In this case, it’s possible that Ross or even Japan, as shown in the trailer, could have access to this tech, making growing tensions in the world even more stressful as anyone could have unlimited power when coupled with the adamantium Tiamut is made of.

Tony Stark Has Broken His Promise Many Times

The major dilemma with Stark prior to his time in Afghanistan was that he proudly showcased devastating weapons that took lives on a large scale and were often lost to terrorists and other even more dangerous people. However, once Stark returned, he took it upon himself to eliminate all weapons his company had created as well as eliminate the further production of said weapons from his company. That being said, he never stopped creating lethal objects, the only difference being that now they were for his personal use. While Iron Man was a hero, there’s no denying that what it was was a one-man army. Aside from the concussive force of repulsor tech, Stark also outfitted his suits with small missiles, lasers, and even swords as his tech advanced further. This is completely different from Pepper’s Rescue suit, of course, who, aside from repulsor tech, lacked any other lethal weapons. Then, of course, there’s Rhodes’ War Machine armor, which, even though Rhodey didn’t follow the same ideals as Stark, it’s admittedly strange that he would put his beliefs on hold to retrofit his best friend with an armor famous for its weapons.

8:09

Related

Captain America Brave New World: WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE

With Captain America: Brave New World getting closer every day, fans will want a refresher on the events that got Sam Wilson to take the mantle. Script by Howard Waldstein and video edited by Tim McDonald

Stark’s inherent fear of an apocalypse scenario coming due to his lack of preparedness also caused many even worse weapons to be let loose on the world, even without that being the intention. Perhaps the most famous was Ultron, an AI designed to be the ultimate armor worldwide, only to be born and conclude that the best way to save Earth was to kill all of the people on it and start again. There was also Stark’s desire to help S.H.I.E.L.D., outfitting the Hydra-ran organization’s Project Insight helicarriers with repulsor engines. The problem is that these helicarriers were essentially floating guns that could wipe out hundreds of people at any moment. Finally, there are the drones that he gifted to Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Far From Home after his death. Although Parker was ultimately the right person to have the power, they went to Mysterio, and the drones, inexplicably fitted with guns, flamethrowers, concussion blasts, and more, threatened the lives of hundreds of people. Now, under the custody of the Department of Damage Control, they are being used to hunt young, enhanced individuals. In the end, it proves that while Tony didn’t want to make weapons for the purpose of killing, he still put out devices that had the ability to kill and were used as such whether he wanted that or not.

Brave New World is the Perfect Setup For Armor Wars

Armor Wars may be one of the more mysterious MCU properties coming in the future, as it started as a series starring Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes but later evolved into a movie. It’s hard to say what it will be about as well when the comic it is inspired by stars Tony Stark. However, Brave New World helps to set audiences on a path of what to expect as the realization that a government conflict between world powers includes secondhand Stark Tech is the perfect catalyst to get Rhodey to don the armor and continue the mission Tony Stark started. Plus, there’s a precedence since Stark’s death that no one has noticed or cared about the goals he started with, as many governments saw it as an opportunity to act, similar to how they tried to steal vibranium after T’Challa died. As a result, it’s almost a call to action for someone to remind the world what is and isn’t morally justifiable.

3:08

Related

Captain America: Brave New World’s Reshoots, Explained

Captain America: Brave New World underwent extensive reshoots before finally being ready for audiences. Here’s why.

In the case of the use of arc reactors in weapons, it’s basically a nightmare scenario as a renewable power source such as that would mean that all anyone would have to do is provide the weapons for the reactor to power. It also raises more concerns as the adamantium from Tiamut that President Ross wants to share with the world could be used in tandem with an arc reactor and create indestructible weapons that could devastate any target. It would start a new arms race where innocents would undoubtedly be caught in the crossfire. With a call to action as grand as that, it’s the perfect reason to justify Armor Wars’ reason for existing. It could also establish the possibility of more Iron Man-themed villains like Titanium Man and Crimson Dynamo and justify the return of organizations like AIM as well. In the end, the world is still reeling and dealing with the consequences of Tony Stark’s death, and if Captain America: Brave New World proves anything, it’s that there has to be some oversight to ensure the world Stark left behind isn’t left in even worse shape than when he started his mission as Iron Man.

The upcoming fourth movie in the Captain America franchise.

Director

Julius Onah

Release Date

February 14, 2025

Cast

Harrison Ford , Liv Tyler , Giancarlo Esposito , Rosa Salazar , Takehiro Hira , Anthony Mackie , Tim Blake Nelson , shira haas , Carl Lumbly , Danny Ramirez , Rachael Markarian , Jacqueline Loucks , Tony Mareno , Zo’Anne Mckinstry , Phuong Kubacki , Colby Lopez , Xosha Roquemore

Writers

Dalan Musson , Malcolm Spellman

Main Genre

Superhero

Studio(s)

Marvel Studios

Distributor(s)

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Expand