For Marvel Comics fans, today is both a beginning and an ending. It marks the end of Secret Invasion, a massive line-wide event that has dominated most of Marvel's books all summer and fall. It also marks the official beginning of a new storyline called Dark Reign.

We won't spoil exactly what Dark Reign entails – we'd rather you read Secret Invasion #8 for yourselves – but the name alone makes it obvious that our favorite Marvel heroes are in for more bad times.

One of Marvel's Dark Reign-related teaser images has featured a mysterious armored figure called Iron Patriot. Iron Patriot looks very much like Iron Man, but he wears the colors of Captain America. Who is this character? What purpose do they serve?