It’s long been assumed that Marvel’s Iron Man, Tony Stark, inherited his genius from Howard and Maria Stark. However, writer Kieron Gillen‘s Iron Man run established that Tony was actually adopted by the Starks, leaving the identity of his true parents unrevealed until now. In the latest issue of International Iron Man, writer Brian Michael Bendis pulled the trigger and revealed Tony’s father just a short time after showing the readers Tony’s mother. The result is a new origin that ties Stark to S.H.I.E.L.D. in a much deeper way than ever before.

There are big spoilers ahead for International Iron Man #7! Stop reading now if you don’t want to know.

As mentioned above, Tony previously located his biological mother, Amanda Armstrong. Via ComicBook.com, Amanda related her story to Tony and told him that she was a member of S.H.I.E.L.D. alongside her lover, Jude. She confirmed that Jude was Tony’s father, but she also related the story of how Jude gave S.H.I.E.L.D. secrets to Hydra, leading Amanda to murder him for that betrayal. Subsequently, Amanda left S.H.I.E.L.D. and gave up her son before Howard Stark adopted Tony as his own.

Although neither Jude nor Amanda had appeared before this series, their introduction offers some interesting implications for Tony’s past and future. After the first superhero Civil War, Tony Stark was actually the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and he’s been largely cooperative with S.H.I.E.L.D. throughout his career. Perhaps the reason that Tony won’t be Iron Man after Civil War II is that he’s taking time to process this new information…or even joining S.H.I.E.L.D. full time.

Considering how much of Captain America: Civil War climax revolved around Tony’s reaction to the death of his (evidently adoptive) parents, it should be interesting to see if any of these current revelations make it to the big screen.

What do you think about Tony Stark’s true parentage? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Image: Marvel Comics