New Infinity War collectible covers unveil Iron Man Bleeding Edge armor, new character looks

Tony Stark’s getting a major makeover.

With news that Marvel is dropping the Joe and Anthony Russo-directed Avengers: Infinity War a week early, anticipation for the long-awaited sequel is off the charts, so much that Entertainment Weekly is further stoking excitement by releasing 15 special collector’s edition covers.

The jackets feature your favorite superheroes sporting all-new looks — not least of whom is the Avenger who started it all, Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, who dons an enhanced suit tailor-made for space travel and more.

Dubbed Bleeding Edge armor, the helmet-less suit not only lets us see the fast-talking mega-industrialist in all his goateed glory, but it has a slew of advanced features, chief among them rocket thrusters attached to his arms and back that enable him to fly and maneuver in deep space.

As fans will recall, Tony doesn’t need an arc reactor in his chest to survive anymore, having dispensed with it at the end of Iron Man 3. So instead of lugging his heavy metal helper around with him wherever he goes, Stark this time around has created a new arc reactor that enables him to activate nanite particles which encase him liquid-like in the Iron Man mold, making life a lot less cumbersome.

The Bleeding Edge Armor first appeared in the comics in Invincible Iron Man #25 by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca, and the contraption was considered perhaps Tony’s greatest technological achievement.

Of course, Shuri in Marvel’s mega-hit Black Panther movie designs something similar for Wakanda’s King T'Challa, so one has to wonder where Tony got his inspiration.

At any rate, with Josh Brolin’s evil Thanos bearing down on Earth, it’s going to take all of the Avengers assembling to stop the greatest threat mankind's ever known — or as the EW covers describe the coming confrontation, “22 heroes, 6 Infinity Stones and 1 Mad Titan.”

And as last month’s Super Bowl spot and Black Panther post-credits scene make clear, Captain America’s good buddy, Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier, has got his mind back again after being brainwashed by Hydra and is now fighting at Cap’s side. And per the description for his EW cover which pairs him with Guardians of the Galaxy’s alien mind reader, Pom Klementieff, he’s officially going by the code name “White Wolf” — something that was teased in that Black Panther post-credits scene.

The new covers also tease Tom Holland’s Spidey senses tingling thanks to a new Spider-Man suit Tony apparently designed for him, while Captain America’s sporting some pretty rad-looking gauntlets attached to his arms. Now if only someone can just make him a new shield…

Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on April 27.