Tony Stark is no longer the Iron Man suit. His successor is Riri Williams, a 15-year-old black woman and a science genius who builds her version of the Iron Man suit in her dorm at MIT.
Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis said that Tony Stark will step out of the Iron Man suit end of the comic-book crossover storyline “Civil War II,” and Williams will take over.
Williams debuted in “Invincible Iron Man” No. 7 in March of this year. She was created by Bendis and artist Stefano Caselli.
The decision to incorporate Williams into the Marvel comic-books follows a recent trend of more diverse characters. Bendis is also the creator of Miles Morales, a comic-book iteration of Spider-Man whose father is African-American and mother is Puerto Rican.
Kamala Khan, a teenage Pakistani American, first appeared in the comic-books as Ms. Marvel in 2013.
In July, 2014, Marvel caused controversy over its decision to introduce the first female Thor, Jane Foster.
Williams could potentially enter the Marvel cinematic universe. The next Marvel films to hit theaters will be “Doctor Strange” in November, 2016, and “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2” in May, 2017.
The new series of “The Invincible Iron Man,” by Bendis and Caselli, will launch at the end of 2016.
