Iron Lad

Iron Lad
Iron Lad. Art by Jim Cheung.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Young Avengers #1 (April 2005)
Created by	Allan Heinberg (writer) Jim Cheung (artist) (based upon Kang the Conqueror by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby)
In-story information
Alter ego	Nathaniel Richards
Team affiliations	Young Avengers
Notable aliases	Kang the Conqueror, Kid Immortus
Abilities	Wears neurokinetic armor which responds to his thoughts and grants him: Superhuman strength Flight Energy blast projection Magnetic field creation Time travel Shapeshifting Ability to hack into computer systems

Iron Lad (Nathaniel "Nate" Richards) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character appears in particular in Young Avengers, a team of which Iron Lad is a member. He first appeared in Young Avengers #1 (April 2005), created by writer Allan Heinberg and illustrator Jim Cheung. He is an adolescent version of Kang the Conqueror, armed with a bio-metal suit that responds to mental commands. He is named after the father of Reed Richards.

Sixteen-year-old Nathaniel "Nate" Richards is rescued by his time-traveling adult self, the villainous Kang the Conqueror, moments before bullies would cause him to be hospitalized for years of his life from a knife attack, an event that originally shaped his development into a villain. Kang takes his teenage self through time to witness the future battles and glory that would result in his transformation into Kang the Conqueror, hoping to inspire his younger self. However, it backfires and Nate is horrified at the life of evil his future self shows him. Kang presses Nate to accept his future by killing the bully who would have hospitalized him. Instead, Nate takes the time travel technology given to him by Kang and transports himself to the past, hoping to avoid his sinister destiny.

He seeks the Avengers for assistance, but finds the Avengers disbanded. Seeking answers, he downloads the remnants of the destroyed Vision's operating system into his armor. This reveals a fail-safe plan created by the android to reform the Avengers should they disband or fall in action by locating the next generation of Avengers, all whom have some tie to the original team. Using this plan, Nate assembles his new team, the Young Avengers, with the sole purpose of defeating his future self and reshaping his own future. He models his armor after the Avenger Iron Man, calling himself Iron Lad. He forms a brief romantic relationship with fellow Young Avenger teammate Stature.