Who doesn’t loveIron Manand the outrageous armors he’s cooked up in the last couple of decades? The iconic Marvel hero is known worldwide for his special suits and the enhancements they provide him. But for such a popular hero,Iron Man has a lot of armorsthat tend to be overlooked, even by his biggest fans.
Whether it’s an Iron Man variant, like Ant-Man of Earth-21170, who eschews the hero’s classic tech, or a suit Tony has worn in canon, like his Space Armor Mark III, the guy has a lot of cool suits. Read on to see ten of the most underrated, and most powerful, Iron Man armors.
10Iron Samurai
First Appearance:Demon Wars: The Iron Samurai #1
Bake-Yoroi isn’t technically a Tony Stark variant, but he does serve the same purpose on Earth-42141. As seen inDemon Wars: The Iron Samurai, Bake-Yoroi is the Iron Samurai instead of Iron Man and, as such, he has a suit of armor one would expect of any other kind of samurai.
That being said, his armor is incredibly durable and able to stand up to any weapon he’s confronted with. Plus, it just looks incredibly cool and intimidating. What it lacks in much of the modern technology of other Iron Man suits, it more than makes up forin the Iron Samurai’s stellar appearance.
9Iron Man Noir
First Appearance:Iron Man Noir #1
Earth-90214 might be set during the early 20th century, but that didn’t stop this world’s version of Tony Stark from fashioning an armor of his own.Iron Man Noirhasa sleek version of Earth-616’s first Iron Man suit, with a few touches that make it more unique and deadlier.
This Iron Man suit comes with a jetpack that allows Tony to fly and has wrist-mounted guns on both arms for offensive purposes. It’s admittedly slower and not as powerful as other, more modern versions of the suit. Butfor the world that Iron Man Noir lives in, it’s perfect.
8House of M Armor
First Appearance:Iron Man: House of M #1
In thetwistedHouse of Mworld, things were upside down and humans like Tony were under the oppressive thumbs of mutants. In secret, Tony designs a new set of armor that resembles his classic suit, but with a few upgrades to help him get an edge in a world where mutants reign supreme.
The new armor was bulkier than the sleek Iron Man suits, and while it doesn’t have its usual repulsor beams, it does come with hand-mounted cannons, which have enough firepower to take out Sentinels. It’s not the most ideal Iron Man suit, butit’s exactly what Iron Man needed in this world.
7Ant-Man Armor
First Appearance:Avengers Forever #1
Alternate worlds always seem to have some of the most fun Iron Man armors.Avengers Foreverintroduced the Tony Stark of Earth-21170 who, rather than Iron Man, is actually this world’s Ant-Man. With a passion for archaeology (and the discovery of a Celestial head),Tony became the size-changing hero, Ant-Man.
His outfit obviously resembles the size-changing hero more than Iron Man, right down to the helmet. This hero also relies on gadgets, such as his Knowhere Gun, a gun powered by the remnants of a Celestial’s energy. He’s less Iron Man than people would expect, but he’s a hell of a hero and can get things done.
6Space Armor Mark III
First Appearance:Iron Man #5
Iron Man may generally work on Earth, but he’s not afraid of heading out into the void of space when the situation calls for it. During the fifth volume ofIron Man, Tony headed out into outer space, and hemade the trip in a new version of his classic suit.
Unlike Tony’s normal armor, this suit was designed for deep-space travel, and it also came with an AI assistant, P.E.P.P.E.R.. This armor was seen briefly while Iron Man adventured with the Guardians of the Galaxy and while it hasn’t been seen since, it’s still an incredibly cool and underrated outfit.
5Millennial Visions Armor
First Appearance:Marvel Universe: Millennial Visions #1
Iron Man’s suit is often called a lifesaver, butMarvel Universe: Millennial Visionsintroduced a version of Tony where he was actually dependent on his suit. However, after a villain known as Shogun emerges to challenge Iron Man, Tony designsa suit capable of taking on a fleet of evil Iron Men.
This version of Iron Man’s armor is large and incredibly bulky, but at the same time, it’s cited to be one of the most powerful suits ever created, even more than the Hulkbuster armor. While it hasn’t been seen since Millennial Visions, it’s still one of the more unique additions to his collection of armors.
4Anti-Transformers Armor
First Appearance:New Avengers/Transformers #3
As odd as it may sound, yes, Iron Man actually took on the Decepticons in a crossover between the Avengers and the Transformers' franchise.New Avengers/Transformerssaw the two worlds collide and in it, Tony went up against Megatron and, in order to stay alive, he got a hell of an upgrade.
Tony’s armor was less of an armor and more like a ship. Tony fought Megatron inside the giant armor briefly and while the suit was powerful, it couldn’t sustain the power necessary and drained incredibly fast. While Iron Man lasted longer than most thought, this suit was just shy ofbeing at the same power level as a Transformer.
3Mega Morph Suit
First Appearance:Marvel Mega Morphs: Iron Man #1
Speaking of oversized armors, the little-seen Mega Morph armor is a pretty impressive one as well. This iteration was inspired by the toy line and was only ever featured in a comic meant as a promotional tie-in. That being said, it’s a pretty impressive-looking armor with a unique power of its own.
Aside from being big, this Iron Man armor is able to transform into a plane. And that’s not even getting into the raw power of this armor, which allows Tony to take on some of the strongest and unexpected threats. It may not be canon, butit’s a pretty cool part of Iron Man history.
2Anti-Vibraniaum Armor
First Appearance:Black Panther #44
As a man who works with numerous powerful heroes, Tony has created several armors that allow him to take on his allies if worst come to worst. But while everyone knows about the Hulkbuster, this version of Iron Man (a brainwashed version of Tony from the future) once donned anarmor that could take on Black Panther.
The armor could react to vibranium, an important element in T’Challa’s costume, and generate powerful plasma. It was also undetectable to Black Panther’s enhanced senses and could increase strength to counter anything T’Challa used. In other words, this Iron Man armor was the perfect weaponto use against Black Panther.
1Iron Man Six
First Appearance:The Ultimates 2 #12
Let it never be said that Iron Man doesn’t have foresight. InUltimates 2, the Ultimates are facing a group of supervillains. As the heroes of Earth fight hard, Tony retreats to space, where he activates Iron Man Six, a project meant to defeat threats greater than his armors could handle.
Iron Man Six is a fully operational satellite and it’s packed with high-powered weapons. Tony used the full brunt of Iron Man Six’s weapon capacities to turn the tide for the Ultimates.It may not be conventional Iron Man armor, but its sheer power helped Tony save the lives of his friends and the world.
