Tony Stark has been making his Iron Man suits for decades in the comics, since his debut in 1963. In the time following his introduction, he’s been depicted in dozens of armor suits, each one more awesome than the last. After the release of his first solo movie in 2008, Tony Stark has become a household name. The excellent on-screen portrayal by Robert Downey Jr. has revitalized interest in the once-underappreciated character. Today, we’re looking at the absolute coolest armor suits Tony has ever made. Some of them he wore himself, others he made for his friends. They have one thing in common though: they’re the coolest Iron Man suits out there.
Mark 1 Armor
Photo Credit: CBR
The armor that started it all! When Tony is kidnapped by extremists in a warzone, they force him to make them powerful weapons. Tony acquiesces, but only long enough to distract them from what he’s really making: a suit of badass mechanical armor! The Mk. 1 suit is hardly the coolest looking armor Tony’s made, but that’s not why it makes the list. It makes the list because Tony made it in a cave with very limited resources and under a ton of pressure. This was also before he had built any other Iron Man suits, so he was just assuming the suit would work! Tony would go on to greatly iterate on the armor, of course, but the bones of the design are all present in this prototype.
Hulkbuster Armor
Photo Credit: MCU Wiki
Filmgoers were first introduced to this awesome suit of armor in Age of Ultron, but it’s been around in the comics since 1994. As the name implies, Tony made this armor to go toe-to-toe with the Hulk when he gets out of control. As such, the armor is notorious for being unbelievably strong and tough. It uses rocket-powered boosters to back up its thunderous punches. What’s even cooler, the armor goes over Tony’s other suit, making it a suit for a suit. Who doesn’t love giant robots fighting giant green monsters?
Iron Spider Armor
Photo Credit: MCU Wiki
While movie fans first encountered the Iron Spider armor in Spider-Man: Homecoming, the suit debuted in the Civil War event in 2006 in the comics. While Tony himself doesn’t wear the suit, it’s still made from the same tech as his other armors. In both the films and comics, Tony gives the armor to his friend Peter Parker. Peter’s normal suit is mostly just to conceal his identity and doesn’t generally house much technology. The Iron Spider, however, brings Peter up to Tony’s level, tech-wise. An onboard AI, thermal imaging and more give Peter a ton of flexibility in the field. Not to mention, it’s just plain awesome.
Deep-Space Armor
Photo Credit: Marvel Database
In 2013, Iron Man joined the Guardians of the Galaxy. In order to operate in deep space with the team, he created this suit of armor. The Deep-Space armor, which is the Mark 45 suit, is incredibly advanced. It uses repulsor technology to power it in the vacuum of space. It also houses an AI called PEPPER and can communicate with Tony’s suits back on earth. That allows Iron Man to be in many places at once, even when he’s light years from Earth. That’s pretty high-tech!
Phoenix Buster Armor
Photo Credit: Iron Man Wiki
If you thought the Hulk Buster armor was huge and crazy, wait until you see Model 39. Dubbed the Phoenix Buster, Iron Man deployed this suit when the dangerous mutant Phoenix threatened to destroy Earth. In order to stop the Phoenix from wiping out humanity, Tony used this suit to split the flaming bird into five distinct mutants that could be contained more easily. Model 39 is a huge robot, on the scale of something like a Gundam or some other anime mecha. Tony tends to keep his suits to personal-size, so this one is a really interesting outlier.
War Machine Armor
Photo Credit: MCU Wiki
The second armor on this list that Tony doesn’t pilot, the War Machine armor has a deep history. Piloted by Tony’s best friend James “Rhodey” Rhodes, he acts as a superhero in his own right with the War Machine suit. This armor shares many design and tech similarities with Tony’s own. The biggest difference between War Machine and Iron Man armors is guns: Rhodey’s suit is lousy with guns. As a military man, it makes sense that Rhodey’s suit would have enough guns to make a tank jealous. It’s also downright awesome, and easily one of our favorite suits.
Extremis Armor
Photo Credit: Marvel Database
In order to combat extreme wounds suffered while serving as Iron Man, Tony injected himself with the Extremis virus. This allowed him to connect to wireless technology and satellites with his very mind. What’s more, the Extremis armor was stored partly in the hollows of Tony’s bones, and he controlled it with his thoughts. Where previous suits had complex interfaces under the armor, the Extremis suit was modified for Tony’s now-unique biology. This made the armor more of a superpower than a gadget and allowed Tony to push the limits of what his Iron Man tech could do.
Bleeding Edge Armor
Photo Credit: Iron Man Wiki
The Bleeding Edge suit, officially designated as Model 37, was seen as a natural extension of Tony’s Extremis armor. While Extremis still had to be stored like a normal armor suit, Bleeding Edge was literally stored within Tony’s body. At his mental command, the armor would manifest through his pores and solidify, thanks to nanotech. That same nanotech makes the armor nearly invincible and its shape can be changed at will. It can appear like normal clothes, other creatures or armors, or anything, really. This suit incorporated every upgrade from Extremis and then some, making it nearly unbeatable.
Endo-Sym Armor
Photo Credit: Marvel Database
If you thought it couldn’t get much more high-tech than the Bleeding Edge armor, well, you’re right. It couldn’t. That’s why the Endo-Sym armor is literally alive. It’s a biological suit made from the same symbiote as Venom and Carnage. The suit, as such, is a blend of technology and living matter that goes above and beyond what the Bleeding Edge armor is capable of. The suit has a psionic link to Tony, and as such he can summon it without any need for technology. The liquid-metal construction of this armor can bind to Tony at will and hardens when it touches skin. It’s fantastically cool, and Tony was pretty much evil while he was using it.
The Coolest of All Iron Man Suits: Model-Prime Armor
Photo Credit: Marvel Database
No suit quite matches up to the style and feel of the Model-Prime armor. While Extremis, Bleeding Edge and Endo-Sym all pushed the boundaries of what Iron Man’s armor could be, Model 51 brought things back to basics. Using the nano-tech from Bleeding Edge but scrapping the somewhat gross internal housing, the Model-Prime is a synthesis of all that came before. The suit has a hexagonal, interlocking look that is unique. It has a look reminiscent of modern cars and fighter jets. Some have even described the suit as “anime-esque,” citing the eyes and sleek look.
The strongest aspects of the Model-Prime are its flexibility and power. While previous suits were singular in purpose, the Model-Prime is a Swiss Army Knife. If Tony needs a Hulk Buster, the Model-Prime can shift into that. Stealth mode is no longer a separate suit, but a dedicated function of this model. In all, this is the most complete and useful suit Tony has ever made.
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