Funny story. I’m putting together the return of Superhero Bits when I come upon some new toys for Iron Man 3. That seemingly insignificant news is perfect for my daily column so I go to grab an image when I get stopped in my tracks. There’s the Mark 47 suit, which we’ve seen, War Machine, which we’ve seen, and the Iron Patriot, which we’ve seen a lot.

Then there’s a fourth suit. Something that we haven’t seen and, if its name is correct, teases heavily to a massive spoiler from Iron Man 3. Whether that’s a cameo or a bridge into The Avengers 2, we’ll have to wait and see. But, if you’re into major, Thanos level, spoilers, let’s discuss below.

Last warning – Major Spoilers for Iron Man 3.

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Here are the four Iron Man 3 Pop figures revealed by Funko. Which one doesn’t fit?

[UPDATE: The one that doesn’t fit has been pulled at the request of Marvel.]

Yes, that’s a Deep Space Suit.

Since we know for a fact the other three suits in the line are in the movie, it’s a safe assumption that the Deep Space Suit is too. So what does it mean?

The most obvious one is a connection to Guardians of the Galaxy. The Guardians are mostly space bound heroes, after all, and if Tony Stark somehow runs into them at the end of the film, it would raise major awareness for a property many movie fans aren’t aware of. A second option is that, at the end of Iron Man 3, Tony and The Avengers get called to another planet, setting up what happens in The Avengers 2. Then there’s Thor: The Dark World, which also takes place in a galaxy far, far away, so maybe there’s a link there. Or maybe he just flys into space for a second.

Also, don’t forget that Kevin Feige teased Tony Stark and space when I spoke to him after The Avengers:

[Guardians of the Galaxy] is where a lot of that will really come to fruition and to me it’s okay and The Avengers is the place to mash it all up, because that’s what Avengers is for and you can have Iron Man in outer space. How’s that going to affect him in IRON MAN 3 or 4? Well the truth is that’s in there now. (Laughs) He’s seen some shit, but he’s also Tony Stark and can blow a lot of stuff off so the story of IRON MAN 3, as we’ve already talked about, is very insular and very Tony Stark centric as redefined by Shane Black.

Which one of these scenarios, if any, occur in Iron Man 3 is still up for debate. What’s much more certain is that this Deep Space Suit is our strongest link yet to what’s coming next in Marvel Phase 2, and beyond.

What role do you think this suit will play in Iron Man 3?

Thanks to Funko for posting these images, Comic Book Movie for alerting me to them and Comic Book for proving I wasn’t crazy