Iron Man 4 news: Iron Heart to take over as Iron Man retires?

The "Iron Man" franchise is undoubtedly one of the highest grossing superhero series ever adapted on big screen. For quite a while, Robert Downey Jr. has been the face of eccentric billionaire-turned-superhero Tony Stark. The moviegoers' continuing fascination of Tony Stark's alter ego is the reason behind the fourth installment to Marvel Cinematic Universe's extremely lucrative film series. However, RDJ won't be reprising his iconic role in "Iron Man 4". As Tony Stark retires from the scene, a new blood will take over his role: "Iron Heart."

The new "Iron Man" is actually a woman. Toward the end of Marvel's comic-book version of "Civil War 2", Stark finally calls it quits and fades away. A new character who goes by the name of Riri William steps in to his larger-than-life role. For the uninitiated, Williams is a 15-year-old science genius who managed to reverse engineer Stark's famous "Ironman" suit. With creativity, she redesigns and customizes the suit in her Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) dorm, CNET reported.

For an orderly plot transition from Stark-era heroism to William's "Iron Heart", creative writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Stefano Caselli worked together to give fans a backstory and prepare them for the eventual departure of Stark from the action series as Williams steps in. Marvel's current run of "Invincible Iron Man" attempts to lead fans to a post-Star era. After a long brainstorming session, Marvel's creative team finally agreed on "Iron Heart" as the successor's befitting title.

"Iron Woman seemed old-fashioned to some. Iron Maiden looked like a legal nightmare. And Ironheart, coined by Joe Quesada...speaks not only to the soul of the character but to the Iron Man franchise as a whole. Tony first put on the armor to save his heart. Riri puts it on for different reasons altogether but still heart-related," explained Bendis in a recent interview with Wired.

Of course not all Iron Man fans are pleased with Marvel's decision but the overall response from fans and critics alike seems warm to warrant the character transition. In a previous Time exclusive, Bendis recalled a particular show on TV years ago about a young woman's journey to college amid a backdrop of chaos and violence.

"I thought that was the most modern version of a superhero or superheroine story I had ever heard. And I sat with it for a while until I had the right character and the right place," explained Bendis in his Time interview.