In an unprecedented moment in Marvel History, Ultimate Universe, Tony Stark was just saved from death. Like the original, his mechanical heart is keeping him alive... but unlike the original, it may have just made death impossible.

In Ultimates #12, by Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri, the Ultimates' battle with Hulk and his army did not go as smoothly as the heroes thought, as Iron Man reveals to the team that Hulk did, in fact, kill him. Tony Stark explains that when he inserted the device known as the Immortus Engine into his Arc Reactor, he fused the device to his nervous system, allowing Tony Stark to freeze himself one second before death.

The Immortus Engine is suspending Tony's death via time travel, suggesting he now cannot die by normal means. And even if he's not Immortal, Iron Man's upgrade gives him another impressive power.

Tony Stark Unlocks Immortality With His Latest Iron Man Suit Upgrade, Giving the Hero an All-New Power Set

Ultimates #12 Written By Deniz Camp, Drawn By Juan Frigeri, Colored By Frederico Blee and Lettered By Travis Lanham

Unlike Iron Man’s Arc Reactor from the main Marvel timeline of Earth-616, the Immortus Engine was a time-traveling device used by the Maker to alter the Ultimate Universe into a world of his own design, preventing the rise of the heroes from his original timeline. The first Immortus Engine's origins are shrouded in mystery, however Tony Stark used its broken remains to form the core of his suit to become Iron Lad, subsequently gaining partial time-traveling powers within his armor. Now, the true extent of his Immortus Suit is revealed.

Tony’s Immortus suit is one of Iron Man’s most impressive pieces of tech to date, as the integration of the time-traveling device has allowed him to permanently pause his own death, begging the question of how it works and to what extent. Tony notes his body is paused deciseconds before he succumbs to his injuries, suggesting that he now can't die by other means. After all, if the biological processes that lead to death are paused, why would another injury cause him to keel over? It's likely that as long as his new core remains operational, Tony can't be killed.

Iron Man's Immortus Engine armor also allows him to look back at past events.

Iron Man Becomes the Ultimates' Secret Weapon

Tony Stark May Be the Key To Fixing the Ultimate Universe... Or Ending It

What makes this Tony Stark’s armor even more effective is his additional power - the ability to see the past. While the future is blocked from sight, Iron Man's Immortus Engine armor allows him to look back at past events, granting the team incomparable intel. Tony and Doom just itted that the Ultimates need to be more extreme if they're going to have any chance of beating the Maker, with time travel intervention back in their arsenal. If Tony Stark is now immortal and able to weaponize time itself, he's never been stronger.

Iron Lad's upgrades make him the Ultimates' most powerful hero. However, with a prophecy that either Tony or Doom will destroy the world, Iron Man's latest upgrade could be far more dangerous than it appears.

Ultimates #12 is available now from Marvel Comics!