ironmanavengersageofultronBefore I begin – you’ve seen Iron Man 3, right? If not, stop reading this and watch it now! Pretty please. Then come back and continue reading.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

The third movie ended with the Clean Slate protocol, which self-destructed all of Tony Stark’s prototype armors. Then he finally had his arc reactor removed, along with the implication that he retooled Extremis for himself. On the surface, it looked like he retired the Iron Man persona when he threw his arc reactor into the sea. But Stark being Stark, proclaimed, “I am Iron Man”.

Stark’s prototypes were mostly escapes from the events that took place in The Avengers. There was the sudden realization humanity is not alone; there are aliens. And it must have been a blow to Stark’s massive ego that gods are real. He fought one and fought beside him. Oh, there’s also the part where he almost died. He wasn’t trying to perfect his armors anymore; it was building for the sake of keeping his mind off things that immensely troubled him. The Clean Slate protocol was a symbolic gesture for overcoming his fears – and taking his relationship with Pepper Potts more seriously.

But you couldn’t have a second Avengers movie without Iron Man. He’s a main member in both the comics and film. The Avengers: Age of Ultron is currently filming, and a photo from set is spreading online. Iron Man is back; with new, shiny armor. Well, at least the top half. The rest will be done in C.G. in post.

The new armor looks to take inspiration from both The Avengers and Iron Man 3. There’s more hot rod red in there; it looks more stylish. And it won’t be the only suit we’ll see. Marvel made it known that we’ll see the Hulkbuster armor in action. Yes, that means Stark will have to fight his science bro at some point. And Pepper will probably be annoyed that Stark is again wearing armor. He’s a recovering armor-holic, who fell off the wagon . . . into an armored suit. Honest.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron bombards theaters May 1, 2015.