Iron Man's armor
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| Iron Man's armor | |
|---|---|
 Variations of Iron Man's armors. Art by Bob Layton. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963) |
| Created by | Don Heck Jack Kirby Steve Ditko[1][2] |
| In story information | |
| Type | Weapon |
| Element of stories featuring | Iron Man, The Avengers |
Iron Man's armor is a fictional powered exoskeleton appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is built and worn by billionaire Tony Stark when he assumes the identity of the superhero Iron Man. The first armor was created in-story by Stark and Ho Yinsen, and was designed by artist Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963).
In the fictional multiverse, the appearance of Stark's armor has changed over the years, either as a result of modifications made by Stark or specialized armors created for specific situations. In real life, it changed as different artists took over the series and decided to change it to what they wanted.[3][episode needed]
Overview
Stark's suits are each unique in design and purpose. They are made of incredibly strong, fictional materials bolstered by a force field. Every suit has a self-contained environment, assorted onboard weapons systems, enhanced strength, thruster-aided flight, and various communications arrays and sensors, such as radar and radio.[4]
Creation
![[icon]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg/40px-Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg.png){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2023) |
While Tony Stark himself was designed by Don Heck, the designer of the character's first suit of armor in 1963 was Jack Kirby.[5] It was recoloured gold for the character's initial batch of adventures in Tales of Suspense,[6] before being redesigned again by Steve Ditko later in the year - this was the first version to feature a red and gold/yellow scheme, which would come to be Iron Man's most recognisable look.[7]
Bob Layton would redesign the character's armor several times during his stint on the book. In 2008 he recalled that editorial directions in 1981 were that going into space was "a big deal", and devised the first space-going Iron Man suit with this edict in mind. He later devised the 1985 red and silver/white 'Silver Centurion' armor with input from Mark Gruenwald, who directed him to base it along Samurai motifs. The 1994 'Modular' armor was designed by Tom Morgan.[8] When writing the title, David Michelinie avoided overuse of stealth technology in the armor. His eventual successor Len Kaminski disagreed, and in 1994 decided the suit's abilities should be boosted drastically. He devised a component system of armor that could be customised according to various missions, and noted he didn't "like to play fast and loose" with the rules of science and technology.[9] This 'Modular' armor was designed by Tom Morgan, and was the first that could be converted into a 'Hulkbuster' configuration.[8]
In Invincible Iron Man #25 (2010), Stark creates a new armor in the aftermath of the "Stark: Disassembled" storyline.[10] Created by writer Matt Fraction and artist Ryan Meinerding, this new armor is sleeker in appearance, and is featured in the 2010 crossover storyline, the "Heroic Age".[11] When writer Tom Taylor and artist Yildiray Cinar created the 'Endo-Sym Armor' in 2014, they designed it to glow red/orange when Tony was angry.[12]
Fictional history
The first Iron Man armor was created by Stark with the help of Ho Yinsen to escape captivity.[volume & issue needed] After his escape, in order to make the armor less frightening to the general public, Stark created a gold-colored version with a wide array of improvements over the original.[volume & issue needed]
Following the defeat of Norman Osborn, Stark created a new 'Bleeding Edge' Iron Man suit to replace the Extremis version. When asked if the Bleeding Edge is an upgrade to Extremis, Stark comments, "Nah—this is what comes next." As such the new armor is a part of Stark's now-posthuman biology—it is stored inside Stark's body in its entirety, "manifesting" itself when mentally commanded.[13]
The neurokinetic user-controlled morphologic nanoparticle bundles that form the suit reside in Stark's body, and form a fibrous wetweb of iron and platinum,[14] that can be commanded to form any type of structure upon Stark's skin, such as large boxing gloves,[15] or weapons, including large guns extending from his arms[14] or a lightsaber-like energy sword with which Iron Man was actually able to harm one of the Worthy.[16] The nano-machines can even mimic the appearance of clothes, and then dissociate to transform into the Iron Man armor whenever Stark wishes.[17] The suit adds less than twenty-five pounds to Stark's body mass, and can stop a howitzer shell.[14]
The armor and Stark's own transhuman body are powered by the high-yield arc reactor mounted in his chest.[13] The high output of the arc reactor has greatly augmented Stark's intelligence and provided him superhuman-level multitasking and learning capabilities. Unlike earlier armors, this new armor does not appear to rely on motors and servos for motion. Instead, the nano-machines create a secondary artificial musculature over Stark's body, upon which additional rigid structures are assembled. This also enables the armor to self-repair and be almost invulnerable, as the armor is capable of transforming and healing itself as long as the power output from the arc reactor is not interrupted or terminated; when the armor is briefly apparently destroyed in a fight with an alternate version of the Scarlet Witch, it is restored to normal after only a matter of seconds (although it remains inactive long enough to require Spider-Man to rescue Stark from plummeting to the ground).[18] In the 2012 "Ends of the Earth" storyline, Doctor Octopus is able to disable the armor using technology derived from the armor of Iron Man 2020.[19]
The suit's repulsors, which are located around the knuckles, chest, back and legs of the armor, as well as in the traditional palms, also function as cameras, or "eyeballs", which afford Stark a 360-degree panoramic view around himself.[14] Temporarily replacing the suit's primary composite—iron/platinum—with carbon nanotubes renders it immune to Magneto's powers when he and Iron Man engage in combat over Utopia.[20]
After Stark decided to retire as Iron Man, he undergoes a surgical procedure that expels the Bleeding Edge technology out of his body, rendering the armor inert.[21]
List of armors
In 2008, Marvel issued a handbook called All-New Iron Manual, which retroactively issued model numbers to the various armor suits seen in the comics up to that point. When the guide was printed in trade paperback form alongside the Iron Manual, the numbering of the armors was revised so that the Model 14 listed in the original printing was now a sub-model of Model 13.[22] Since then other guidebooks have named several newer models, though as of 2024 most featured since 2016 have not received official designations.
| Model | Debut | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model 01[22] | Tales of Suspense #39 (1963) | Build with the aid of Ho Yinsen in captivity. | |
| Model 01 Mark II[22] | Tales of Suspense #40 (1963) | Golden Avenger | Revised version |
| Model 02[22] | Tales of Suspense #48 (1963) | First to use red and gold scheme; lightweight suit devised to combat Mister Doll. | |
| Model 03[22] | Tales of Suspense #56 (1964) | Also later piloted by Happy Hogan. | |
| Model 04[22] | Tales of Suspense #85 (1967) | Created to rescue Happy Hogan from the Mandarin. Also later piloted by James Rhodes | |
| Model 05[22] | Iron Man (Vol.1) #142 (1981) | Space Armor | Space capable, created to battle the Sunturion |
| Model 06[22] | Iron Man (Vol.1) #218 (1987) | Hydro Armor | Subsea capable |
| Model 07[22] | Iron Man (Vol.1) #152 (1981) | Stealth Armor | Created to infiltrate Heaven's Hand Fortress in East Germany |
| Model 08[22] | Iron Man (Vol.1) #200 (1985) | Silver Centurion Armor | Created to defeat Obadiah Stane's Iron Monger armor |
| Model 09[22] | Iron Man (Vol.1) #231 (1988) | First used at the conclusion of the Armor Wars. | |
| Model 10[22] | Iron Man (Vol.1) #278 (1992) | Space Armor | Used during Operation: Galactic Storm. |
| Model 11[22] | Iron Man (Vol.1) #281 (1992) | War Machine Armor | Later used as by James Rhodes as War Machine |
| Model 12[22] | Iron Man (Vol.1) #290 (1993) | Neuromimetic Telepresence Unit-150 | Operated by telepresence |
| Model 13[22] | Iron Man (Vol.1) #300 (1994) | Modular Armor | Capable of converting to Hulkbuster configuration |
| Model 14[22] | Iron Man (Vol.1) #318 (1995) | Arctic Armor | |
| Model 15[22] | Iron Man (Vol.1) #319 (1995) | ||
| Model YT1[22] | Iron Man (Vol.1) #328 (1996) | Created by a teenage version of Tony Stark from Earth-96020. | |
| Model CE1[22] | Iron Man (Vol.2) #1 (1996) | Prometheum Armor | Created on Counter-Earth |
| Model 16[22] | Iron Man (Vol.3) #1 (1998) | Renaissance Armor | Created after Tony Stark's return from Counter-Earth |
| Model 17[22] | Fantastic Four (Vol.3) #15 (1999) | Experimental Safe Armor | Space capable |
| Model 18[22] | Iron Man: Bad Blood #4 (2000) | Outer Atmospheric Armor | Space capable |
| Model 19[22] | Iron Man (Vol.3) #42 (2001) | S.K.I.N. Armor | Flexible alloy shell |
| Model 20[22] | Iron Man (Vol.3) #50 (2002) | ||
| Model 21[22] | Black Panther (Vol. 3) #44 (2002) | Stealth Armor | Created to combat the Black Panther |
| Model 22[22] | Iron Man (Vol.3) #64 (2003) | Thorbuster Armor | Created to combat Thor |
| Model 23[22] | Iron Man (Vol.3) #71 (2003) | Ablative Armor | |
| Model 24[22] | Iron Man (Vol.3) #73 (2003) | Used when serving as United States Secretary of Defense | |
| Model 25[22] | Iron Man (Vol.3) #74 (2004) | Replacement for Model 24. | |
| Model 26[22] | The Incredible Hulk (Vol.3) #71 (2004) | Anti-Radiation Armor | Co-created with Bruce Banner |
| Model 27[22] | Iron Man (Vol.3) #83 (2004) | High Gravity Suit | Space capable |
| Model 28[22] | Iron Man: Hypervelocity #1 (2007) | Used by artificial intelligence Tony Stark 2.0 | |
| Model 29[22] | Iron Man (Vol.4) #4 (2005) | Extremis Armor | Partly incorporated into Stark's body via Extremis virus strain |
| Model 30[22] | Iron Man (Vol.4) #7 (2006) | Battle Argonaut | Only used by remote before destruction |
| Model 31[22] | Iron Man (Vol.4) #7 (2006) | Hulkbuster Argonaut | Only used by remote before destruction |
| Model 32[22] | Iron Man (Vol.4) #7 (2006) | Subterranean Argonaut | Only used by remote before destruction |
| Model 33[22] | Iron Man (Vol.4) #7 (2006) | Submarine Argonaut | Only used by remote before destruction |
| Model 34[22] | Iron Man (Vol.4) #7 (2006) | Stealth Argonaut | Only used by remote before destruction |
| Model 35[22] | Wolverine (Vol.3) #45 (2006) | Hydro Armor | Stolen by Wolverine |
| Model 36[22] | World War Hulk #1 (2007) | Hulkbuster Armor | Created to combat the Hulk |
| Model 37[23] | Invincible Iron Man (Vol.2) #25 (2010) | Bleeding Edge Armor | |
| Model 38[24] | Avengers vs. X-Men #5 (2012) | Phoenix-Killer Armor | Created to combat the Phoenix Force |
| Model 39[24] | Invincible Iron Man #517 (2012) | ||
| Model 40[24] | Invincible Iron Man #523 (2012) | ||
| Model 41[24] | Invincible Iron Man #527 (2012) | Space capable | |
| Model 42[24] | Iron Man (Vol.5) #1 (2012) | ||
| Model 43[24] | Iron Man (Vol.5) #3 (2012) | Stealth Armor | |
| Model 44[24] | Iron Man (Vol.5) #4 (2012) | Heavy Duty Armor | |
| Model 45[24] | Iron Man (Vol.5) #5 (2012) | Deep Space Armor | Used when a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy |
| Model 46[24] | Iron Man (Vol.5) #15 (2012) | ||
| Model 47[24] | Iron Man (Vol.5) #15 (2012) | ||
| Model 48[24] | Iron Man (Vol.5) #24 (2014) | ||
| Model 49[24] | Original Sin #3.1 (2014) | ||
| Model 50[24] | The Avengers (Vol.5) #32 (2014) | Endo-Sym Armor | Based on Symbiote technology |
| Model 51[24] | Invincible Iron Man (Vol.3) #1 (2015) | Model-Prime Armor | |
| Model 52[24] | All-New, All-Different Avengers #1 (2015) | Hulkbuster Armor | |
| Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe #1 (2016) | Designed to combat Squirrel Girl | ||
| Spider-Man (Vol.2) #9 (2016) | Designed to combat Captain Marvel | ||
| Hunt for Wolverine: Dead Ends #1 (2018) | |||
| Tony Stark: Iron Man #1 (2018) | |||
| Tony Stark: Iron Man #1 (2018) | Fin Fang Foombuster Armor | Designed to combat Fin Fang Foom | |
| Tony Stark: Iron Man #1 (2018) | Nano Iron Man Armor | ||
| Tony Stark: Iron Man #2 (2018) | |||
| Tony Stark: Iron Man #4 (2018) | |||
| The Avengers (Vol.8) #5 (2018) | Godkiller Armor Mk. II | ||
| The Avengers (Vol.8) #9 (2018) | Subsea capable | ||
| Tony Stark: Iron Man #10 (2019) | Godbuster Armor | ||
| Tony Stark: Iron Man #14 (2019) | |||
| Tony Stark: Iron Man #16 (2019) | Ultronbuster Armor | ||
| The Avengers (Vol.8) #31 (2020) | Ice Armor | ||
| Tony Stark: Iron Man #19 (2019) | Created by Arno Stark | ||
| Iron Man 2020 (Vol.2) #5 (2020) | Virtual Armor | ||
| Iron Man 2020 (Vol.2) #6 (2020) | |||
| Model 70[25] | Iron Man (Vol.6) #1 (2020) | ||
| Hulk (Vol.5) #1 (2021) | Hulkbuster Armor | ||
| Thor (Vol.6) #25 (2021) | Hulkbuster Armor |
Other Tony Stark-created armors
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2023) |
In other media
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2023) |
Iron Man's armors feature prominently in several films set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
References
- ^ A Steve Ditko Costume Is Identifiable By a Single Glove or Boot cbr.com https://www.cbr.com › CBR Exclusives
- ^ Steve Ditko Was More Than Just the Guy Behind Spider-Man Wired https://www.wired.com › Culture › comics steve ditko created the original iron man costume? from www.wired.com 9 July 2018 —
- ^ Interview with Stan Lee, The Dennis Miller Show NBC. 1992.
- ^ Bray, Adam; Cink, Lorraine; Scott, Melanie; Wiacek, Stephen (2017). Ultimate Marvel. DK Publishing. pp. 229–230. ISBN 9781465495372. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ Daniels, Les (1991). Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics. New York, New York: Harry N. Abrams. p. 99. ISBN 9780810938212.
- ^ Patton, Brian (2015). "The Iron Clad American: Iron Man in the 1960s". In Darowski, Joseph J. (ed.). The Ages of Iron Man: Essays on the Armored Avenger in Changing Times. McFarland & Co. p. 15. ISBN 9781476620749. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ Heck, quoted in Peel, John (March–April 1985). "A Signing Session with Don Heck". Comics Feature. No. #34. p. 18.
- ^ a b Michael Hoskin (ed). Marvel Spotlight: Iron Man (April 2008). Marvel Comics.
- ^ O'Neill, Patrick Daniel (February 1994). "Men of Iron". Wizard. No. 30. Wizard Entertainment.
- ^ "Marvel Unleashes Iron Man's New Armor". Marvel Comics. January 8, 2010.
- ^ "Marvel: The Heroic Age". Marvel Comics. January 27, 2010.
- ^ Taylor, Tom (February 14, 2022). "untitled". Twitter. Archived from the original on February 14, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
- ^ a b Fraction, Matt (w), Larocca, Salvador (a). "Stark Resilient Part 1: Hammer Girls" The Invincible Iron Man, vol. 5, no. 25 (August 2011). Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b c d Fraction, Matt (w), Larocca, Salvador (a). "Stark Resilient Part 6: Tony, We Don't Want to Destroy You" The Invincible Iron Man, vol. 5, no. 30 (November 2010). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Fraction, Matt (w), Larocca, Salvador (a). "Fear Itself Part 3: The Apostate" The Invincible Iron Man, vol. 1, no. 506 (September 2011). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Fraction, Matt (w), Larocca, Salvador (a). "Fear Itself Part 2: Cracked Actor" The Invincible Iron Man, vol. 1, no. 505 (August 2011). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Fraction, Matt (w), Larocca, Salvador (a). "Stark Resilient Part 2: Visionary Men" The Invincible Iron Man, vol. 5, no. 26 (September 2011). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Bendis, Brian Michael (w), Romita, John Jr. (p), Janson, Klaus (i). The Avengers, vol. 4, no. 3 (September 2010). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Slott, Dan (w), Caselli, Stefano (a). "Ends of the Earth Part Two: Earth's Mightiest" The Amazing Spider-Man, vol. 1, no. 683 (June 2012). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Aaron, Jason (w), Kubert, Adam (a). "The Invincible Iron Man vs. Magneto" AvX: VS, no. 1 (June 2012). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Fraction, Matt (w), Larocca, Salvador (a). "Long Way Down Part 2: How to Make a Madman" The Invincible Iron Man, vol. 1, no. 517 (July 2012). Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an Michael Hoskin (ed). Iron Manual (September 2008). Marvel Comics, ISBN 9780785134275.
- ^ Avengers: Roll Call, vol. 1, no. 1 (June 2012). Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o All-New, All-Different Marvel Universe, vol. 1, no. 1 (May 2016). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Christopher Cantwell (w), Ángel Unzueta (a). Iron Man, vol. 6, no. 20 (July 2022). Marvel Comics.
External links
- "The Armory Armoire". The Invincible Iron Man Armory
- "The Reality of Iron Man". Emory University. YouTube. May 4, 2010
- Iron Man Armor on Marvel Database, a Marvel Comics wiki
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