Iron Man’s Bleeding Edge armor in Avengers: Infinity War might already have those incredible Wakandan tech upgrades we’ve all been dreaming of since Black Panther.
On Monday, a commercial released as part of a collaboration between Marvel and Quicken Loans features what looks like an Avengers: Infinity War scene in which Doctor Strange and Iron Man fight enemies in New York City. But in it, Iron Man wields new gauntlets that look similar to those designed by Shuri in Wakanda. Does that hint towards a Stark collaboration with Wakandan technology from Princess Shuri? Granted, it’s just a tie-in for a loan company, so maybe don’t read too much into the ad, but if so, then that Black Panther mid-credits scene changed the MCU a lot before the start of Infinity War.
In early March, an Entertainment Weekly cover revealed some extensive upgrades to the Iron Man suit, but this latest addition — if it is indeed “real” — would mean that the fluid metal used for the suit allows Iron Man to replicate all sorts of weaponry from across the MCU.
Here’s a GIF of the specific scene:
Do Iron Man's new blasters look familiar in this 'Infinity War' commercial?
It’s tough to see what the top of Iron Man’s gauntlets might look like, but from this angle, they look pretty similar to Shuri’s which have a panther design to them:
Princess Shuri of Wakanda wields her Vibranium-based gauntlets in 'Black Panther'.
Does that mean that this part of Iron Man’s armor — or perhaps even the whole thing — already utilizes Wakandan Vibranium? Probably not, but it’s possible. But, keep in mind that in the new commercial, the energy beam that Iron Man’s new gauntlets emit looks very different from Shuri’s, which seemed like they emitted some kind of sonic-based shockwave in Black Panther. These newer gauntlets vaporize what looks like a couch flying through the air.
Movie Web reports that the sequence from the commercial is “based on one of the opening battle scenes from the film.” It’s a scene we’ve seen in some of the trailers so far, particularly the Super Bowl trailer. In it Doctor Strange, Wong, Bruce Banner, and Tony Stark all congregate in New York City at the Sanctum Sanctorum and fight someone or something after an alien ship shows up over the city.
Tony Stark uses a new Iron Man suit in a new Battle of New York during 'Infinity War'.
It’s impossible to tell if the commercial is merely recycling Marvel Cinematic Universe designs to entertain people or if it genuinely introduced a spoiler for Infinity War. The former is the likelier explanation, but keep in mind that at this point we really have no idea what Iron Man’s newest suit is capable of. Extra-powerful laser beams would be a practical addition.
So maybe Tony Stark did already collaborate with Shuri on new technologies to make that happen? We’ll find out soon enough.
Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on April 27.
