As a seasoned tech enthusiast and self-proclaimed Iron Man fanatic hailing from the Silicon Valley, I’ve seen my fair share of innovative designs – some that made history, others… not so much. The Stealth Armor, with its glowing red eyes and mouth openings, is undoubtedly one of the latter.
Even superheroes can have off days. In the case of Tony Stark, this can result in some seriously awkward design choices that he then has to go out and fight crime with. While Tony tends to have a fairly decent knack for making his Iron Man armor extremely powerful, and his eye for visual design is generally on par with his engineering skills, he’s created so many Iron Man armors over the years that there’s bound to be a few duds in the mix.
In essence, Tony is a visionary who transforms his most notable shortcomings into strengths. This unique trait results in him frequently refining his designs, leading to instances where the Iron Man suit experiences issues such as malfunctions, absurd appearances, or noticeable drops in performance compared to previous armored versions. Let’s examine the five Iron Man suits that form the bottom of his otherwise remarkable collection.
The Ruins Armor
There’s one Marvel story that would ruin the MCU if Disney ever chose to adapt it, because it takes many of Marvel’s favorite heroes and brings their stories to the worst possible conclusion. Writer Warren Ellis’ “Ruins” delivers a tragic and villainous take on Iron Man in the shape of Earth-9591 Anthony Stark, an embittered tech mogul who’s grievously injured under mutant telepath Charles Xavier’s dictatorial presidency. In retaliation, he constructs the Iron Man armor and forms the Avengers as a secessionist terrorist group that aims to make California independent.
Although it’s tough going, this Iron Man’s armor isn’t as robust as you might think. Despite giving the impression of being the Earth-9591 variant of Tony’s streamlined Model 2 armor, known as “Ruins,” it seems to lack significant power and defense capabilities. In the end, both Stark and his Avengers team meet their demise when their Quinjet is hit by a missile. The cover of the first “Ruins” issue strongly suggests that Stark was wearing his armor at the time of this incident.
It appears that this type of situation would be easily handled by numerous other Iron Man suits without much hassle. The abrupt conclusion aligns well with typical superhero demises in “Ruins,” and it underscores the fact that the Iron Man armor from Earth-9591 ranks among Tony Stark’s weakest performances across various universes.
Tony Stark’s first MCU suit
Although homemade, the initial Iron Man armor worn by Tony Stark (portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe holds a significant place in the character’s MCU journey. Constructed as Mark I after his capture by the Ten Rings terrorist group, this early creation may resemble an unruly metal workshop Halloween project, but it undeniably gets the job done. Equipped with power and bulletproof metal panels, Tony manages to subdue his captors effortlessly. Notably, the Mark I armor includes primitive versions of later Iron Man’s iconic weapons, as evidenced by its flamethrowers and missile launchers that hint at the repulsor beams and weapon systems found in Tony’s future armors.
In essence, the Mark I armor constructed by Tony from scrap parts while under duress, with its limitations designed to keep his captors unaware of his actions, is significantly less advanced than other MCU Iron Man suits. Its mobility and weaponry are lackluster at best, with the armor itself even malfunctioning during flight, causing Tony to crash from a perilous height. Despite its crucial role in safeguarding Tony’s life and sparking the idea of armored heroics within him, there’s no denying that the Mark I armor is overshadowed by almost every other Iron Man suit.
The Stealth Armor
When you think of Iron Man, you don’t necessarily associate him with stealth. After all, the man is famous for flying around in a colorful metal suit — and when he’s not wearing it, Tony Stark’s one of the most famous people in the world. Still, this doesn’t stop Tony from creating Iron Man Armor Model 7, aka the Stealth Armor.
A suit adorned in black with an armored exterior, but strangely outfitted with glowing red eye and mouth openings, the Stealth Armor boasts various mechanisms for evading radar and sonar detection, numerous spying tools, and even a basic camouflage feature resembling a chameleon. However, it lacks durability and any weapons, leaving Tony in a predicament where he’s attempting to be covert in a bulky armor that can’t safeguard him, with no means of counterattack if discovered. Perhaps it would be wiser for him to let Black Widow handle the espionage tasks instead.
Model CE1
Many Iron Man armors on this list are initial models that were built before Tony Stark consistently nailed down the fundamental elements and moved onto more advanced features such as the Celestial Hulkbuster Armors. Model CE1, which made its debut in 1996, is another example of these early attempts, but it stands out as a significant design flaw compared to the suits that preceded and followed it. In comparison, this suit is a bulky, menacing creation with an aggressive appearance, embodying numerous issues common in overly complex ’90s character designs. Unfortunately for Iron Man, who is usually known for his streamlined and well-equipped persona, this armor makes him appear more like one of his own armored adversaries.
Known as the Prometheum Armor, this suit is from the “Heroes Reborn” event where Earth’s strongest heroes are transported to a realm called Counter-Earth, giving them a temporary reset. Essentially, it’s Iron Man’s first amnesiac creation, serving not only as an Iron Man suit but also functioning as a life support system for a seriously injured hero. This accounts for the bulky and lifesupport-heavy design of the suit, which falls short compared to most other Iron Man suits. Luckily, Tony later developed more visually appealing designs, and the Prometheum Armor was given to his friend Rebel O’Reilly on Counter-Earth.
The Nose Armor
1965’s Iron Man Armor Model 3 initially boasts one of Iron Man’s most iconic designs and is known for introducing the famous repulsor rays. However, at some point, the armor’s faceplate showcases an unusual design choice in Iron Man’s extensive history – Tony Stark opts to replace the traditional flat faceplate with one featuring a prominent nose. This decision, while intriguing, didn’t last long and seems to have been acknowledged as questionable by Marvel: In an episode of the “Ultimate Spider-Man” cartoon, an enemy takes control of the nose armor, and Tony explains its design as just a temporary phase.
It turns out, the temporary nose on Iron Man was due to a mix-up between Stan Lee and Marvel editors. Artist and writer Kurt Busiek shared this story in a post on X (previously known as Twitter). In his account, Busiek said that Lee saw a new artist’s Iron Man artwork and noticed that the eyes were so close to the smooth mask there was no space for a nose beneath. Thinking they misunderstood him, the editors he was speaking with took it to mean “Iron Man should have a nose,” so they added one.
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2024-09-10 15:00