Iron Man's 'Avengers' Armor Needs To Hulk Out

There's a wonderful Internet meme that touts "money" as the best superpower in the world, and though it's a crude stance, it's got some weight. At the very least, money fuels two of the most popular and successful comic book heroes of them all: Batman and Iron Man. Without a good chunk of cash at their disposal, neither Bruce Wayne nor Tony Stark would have the necessary resources to wage their elaborate, gadget-heavy wars on crime, would they? It's the latter hero — Iron Man — that we'll focus on in Marvel Mania, our new weekly MTV News column highlighting the various movies coming out from the House of Ideas. Already the most widely embraced hero in the Marvel Studios catalog, ol' Shellhead's about to make his third big-screen voyage with "The Avengers" next summer. With each subsequent appearance onscreen, Robert Downey Jr.'s billionaire playboy has found new and improved ways to upgrade his already impressive armor. (Suitcase suit, we're looking at you.) But will Tony's red-and-gold duds get another makeover when "Avengers" comes in for a landing — and, most importantly, will we finally see the hero's Hulkbuster armor? First revealed in 1994's "Iron Man" #318, Tony Stark's Hulkbuster armor is a massive, heavy-set version of his classic Iron Man suit that was created specifically to handle one-on-one combat against the Hulk. The Hulkbuster has made numerous appearances since then — including a brief stint in Greg Pak's 2007 "World War Hulk" story line — and with Stark finally coming face-to-face with Bruce Banner in "The Avengers," it's all but guaranteed that Marvel will finally bust out the fan-favorite armor. Or ... maybe not. Revered Marvel Comics illustrator Adi Granov spoke with Italian outlet Bad Taste about his upcoming concept art for "Avengers," revealing that it will likely be a while before Tony breaks out the Hulkbuster suit on the big screen: "In the first ['Iron Man'] movie we had the Iron Monger ... the idea for him came from the Hulkbuster. I did a cover with the Hulkbuster in it. Jon Favreau liked that design and asked me to draw something similar to it for the Iron Monger. So technically the Iron Monger is the Hulkbuster, and that I think is why for a while we won't see it in a movie. It would only be yet another Iron Man big type of armor." Granov's words shouldn't be taken as gospel — as someone involved with "The Avengers," it's in his best interest to talk around and guard the film's greatest secrets. Perhaps Hulkbuster is already a part of Joss Whedon's vision for Earth's Mightiest Heroes, but if it's not, it certainly should be. Hulkbuster is one of the flashiest weapons in Tony Stark's arsenal, and with the Stark Industries head finally meeting up with the Jade Giant in "The Avengers," it seems criminal to leave the armor on the bench. Think about the explosive fight sequences that could come from the incredible Hulk slugging it out with an equally massive Iron Man. Marvel's marketing guys have to know how many toys that would sell, right? Further, the fact that Iron Monger has its roots in the Hulkbuster design lays all the groundwork the Marvel team needs to bring the suit to the screen. "Iron Man," "Thor" and "Captain America" have all gone above and beyond the call of duty in planting the seeds for "The Avengers." Wouldn't it be nice for "Avengers" to return the favor, nodding back to the very first Marvel Studios movie by having Tony repurpose his old foe's evildoing armor for a nobler cause? That's a twice-cooked Easter Egg that fans would eat up with glee. Will the Hulkbuster smash its way onto the big screen next summer? Who knows. But I do know this: Tony Stark has a whole lot of money, and a whole lot of money can pay for a whole lot of insanely sophisticated anti-crime armor. If it's not the Hulkbuster, then Stark better have some kind of awesome Iron Man upgrade when "Avengers" assembles on May 4, 2012. Do you want to see the Hulkbuster armor in "Avengers"? Hit me up @roundhoward on Twitter and let me know what you think! Check out everything we've got on "The Avengers." For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com. Robert Downey Jr. in "Iron Man 2" Photo: Paramount Pictures