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It's easy to identify Tony Stark's intelligence as his superpower, as the creation of dozens of Iron Man armors is a feat no regular human could even aspire to achieve. However, the skill that stands out as his real superpower is his resourcefulness. It may not sound as heroic, but Tony's ability to make the most out of little allowed him to build a mini arc reactor “in a cave with a bunch of scraps,” create a wrist repulsor from scratch with regular store-bought items, and invent time travel from the comfort of his living room. If a genius mind were all it takes to accomplish feats like these, other MCU characters would have accomplished much more than Tony by now.

The main conflict of Armor Wars centers around the void that Iron Man left and the multiple people who fail to live up to the Avenger's name, despite having the same resources he had. Tony Stark's advanced technology makes Iron Man armors more accessible for new MCU characters, but it will be hard for all of the armored heroes and villains in Armor Wars to match the impact Tony Stark had on the MCU with half the technology that these new characters will boast. The increased number of armored characters who fail to continue Stark's legacy may also slow down the technological evolution of the MCU’s version of Earth, as it will be filled with more and more inventions and brilliant minds, but no one will be coming up with the kind of revolutionary ideas that Tony Stark would propose.

Intelligent characters like Hank Pym, Shuri, and Bruce Banner rival Tony Stark's intelligence, but not his resourcefulness. While Stark made a makeshift military-grade suit of armor with parts of a missile, Hank Pym's discovery of the Quantum Realm was a byproduct of his efforts to create the Ant-Man suit, for example. Smarter beings than Tony, such as Vision and Ultron, either chose not to exploit their mind's potential or failed to achieve it. Without Tony's quick wit, no amount of Iron Man technology will result in another armored icon rising as the world's greatest hero.

Tony Stark was at his most inventive in times of crisis, and his death means his copycats will need to abandon the idea of inheriting the Iron Man mantle — unless, of course, a "new" Tony Stark such as Riri Williams a.k.a. Ironheart is introduced. While War Machine will uphold Iron Man's heroism, it's unlikely that he will compare to Tony, who would probably beat all of the new armored characters using only household appliances and end Armor Wars in a matter of minutes.

More: Marvel Theory: Armor Wars Will Be MCU's Civil War 2