“Ultimate Comics Iron Man” four-issue series, written by Edmondson with art from Matteo Buffagni . “It’s great to be talking about this at the show because I don’t think Iron Man is getting a lot of attention this year,” the writer said to laughter (as “Iron Man 3′s” armors have overtaken the Marvel booth. “Part of the thing of Iron Man is that he’s got this metaphorical suit that makes it hard to get to know him.” He promised that the “Demon In The Armor” story will focus on the future and past of Stark Industries and how that ties to the “reckless, snarky” hero. The villain of the piece will be the Ultimate version of the Mandarin, of whom the writer said, “Leave your preconceptions at the door, because this villain is going to spin your head.”

Alonso explained that Edmondson was tapped for the Ultimate U because his Image series “Who Is Jake Ellis?” impressed that he could do something a little more rough, which fit the Ultimate focus of being significantly different than the Marvel U. “The result of that is that you get to know these characters in new ways,” Humphries added. “When you pull the rug out from under them, you get to see facets of their personalities that you’ve never seen before…even if you’ve been reading Iron Man since the ’60s.”

Amanat and Edmondson said that part of what they’ll explore in “Ultimate Comics Iron Man” is his self-destructive streak. “In writing this series, I’ve gotten to know Tony Stark in a way I’ve never done before and a way that I don’t think anyone has before…this book is all about character, and it’s a tremendous opportunity to stretch our fingers on the keyboard and tell the story of a character that will be new to a lot of people.”