Iron Man (The New 52)

Iron Man in Marvel - The New 52.

Going Forward
In this new timeline, details of Tony Stark's history has changed. He has never been married to Pepper Potts, and instead is in a relationship with co-worker Bethany Cabe. Jim Rhodes does not appear to be present in this timeline. Nate Richards does exist as Iron Lad, although their relationship is unclear. Iron Man begins to learn more about the arc reactor, which begins to enhance his mental power. With the help of Happy Hogan, he begins to understand and grasp his mental powers.

On his first major adventure, Iron Man encounters Mob Rule, an army of clones of his old friend Jack Taggert. Jack wanted to save his clones from an early death, but unknowingly causes an EMP blast that deactivates every single piece of technology (except arc reactor) across New York. After saving Pepper Potts from a prison riot on Flash Heights, Iron Man distributes two barges developed by Daily Bugle that contain supplies, generators and emergency vehicles to help in the relief effort. Afterwards, Iron Man reaches Jack, who is strapped to a device that will modify the clones's genetic structure to prevent them from dying. Unfortunately, the device malfunctions and Iron Man contains the ensuing explosion, dispersing the device's energy across the atmosphere. Although the city is saved, the clones die and Jack escapes, blaming Iron Man for Mob Rule's death. Also, Hogan tells Iron Man was actually the one who caused the EMP blast: when he contained the blast, he actually sent the EMP energy across time. Apparently, every time Iron Man uses the arc reactor to create a wormhole, time rifts are created. Hogan warns that they will have to destroy the arc reactor in order to prevent oblivion.

Iron Man and Hogan develop special batteries that store Iron Man's arc reactor energy and provide the city with alternate energy until power is restored. Later, Flash is attacked by The Blizzard, who is angry at Iron Man for causing the EMP blast, as the hospital his sister was interned in lost energy and she is now in critical condition. During their battle, Blizzard freezes the river between the Gem Cities, trapping the very boat that Tony and Pepper are on within the ice. Although Iron Man subdues Cold, the boat Pepper is on disappears into a wormhole.

To save her, Iron Man creates another wormhole and uses the arc reactor, where he finds Jasper Sitwell, a former WWII pilot trapped in the arc reactor wormhole. As they travel inside the wormhole,Sitwell admits that the arc reactor's recent anomalies, including the EMP on New York, were caused by him, not by Iron Man. Sitwell explains that Iron Man is the arc reactor's outlet, the means in which the arc reactor releases its surplus energy. Without Iron Man to act as a release Valve, the arc reactor begins sucking objects from different times and dropping them in others.

Although Sitwell wants Iron Man to returns him to his time, Iron Man believes he cannot alter the timeline without causing damage; all he can do is send him to the present. Despite Sitwell's protests, Iron Man drags him to a wormhole and dissappears. Iron Man ends up in Bull City and encounters King Bull (Man-Bull).

The city's elders believe the Iron Man to be a messenger that must be honored, but the travel through the arc reactor caused Iron Man to lose his memories. Furious, Bull chains Iron Man to a large pillar in the middle of the city. The elders release him and take Iron Man to a cave with paintings that explains the history of their civilization. The elders tell Iron Man that his energy is connected to the lightning bolt that gave the lizards their sentience. Suddenly, Man-Bull attacks them.

During the attack,Iron Man regains his memories and defeats Man-Bull. The elders decide to let Iron Man leave their city, even though that will cause their civilization to decline. However, Iron Man says that the lizards can make their own future without any responsibility to him.

As Tony returns home, he finds that Hogan has taken up leading a group of protesters against Iron Man.

Surprised by this turn of events, Iron Man decides to reveal his real identity to Bethany, but he finds out that she went to Guatemala to solve the murder of Claudio Kaan, Mandarin's brother. Unfortunately, Bethany has been kidnapped and Iron Man has to defeat Mandarin to save her. During the fight, Iron Man saves a village from a disinigration beam Mandarin summons. Eventually, Iron Man defeats Khan, but he admits he doesn't know where Bethany is. His sister-in-law, Elsa, admits she was the one who ordered Bethany's kidnapping. She gives out Bethany's location and Iron Man rescues her.

Afterwards, Iron Man is about to admit his identity to Bethany, but she admits that she blamed him for Tony's death after Madame Masque's attack. Although she is no longer angry at him, every time she sees Iron Man, she is reminded of what she lost. Surprised by how much Bethany is affected by his dual life, Iron Man decides that for Bethany to move on, Tony Stark must remain dead.