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Industrialist and inventor Tony Stark led the way in his awesome advances in personal armor, crafting a legacy that continues to this very moment with Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, as seen in INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #2, out December 21. Never one to rest at being the best, Stark worked diligently to improve his armor until it not only became cutting edge, it actually surpassed it.
Join us on a brief journey through some of our favorite Iron Man armors, a toast to Tony Stark and his technology.
First Armor
Built to save his life, Stark’s first suit of armor became the spark that ignited his super hero career and years of searching for ways to improve upon it. Clunky by today’s standards, the grey armor featured transistors and other advances that, at the time, proved eye-opening.
Red and Gold Armor
By streamlining his first armor and adding some color, Stark set Iron Man on the path to greatness. The first red and gold suit featured greater mobility, flight capability, armament, and a few surprises, all of which cemented a hero in the public consciousness for years to come.
Stealth Armor
A need to move about on more covert missions that brightly colored armor might disrupt led to Stark’s development of this sleek black suit. Based off of his outer space apparatus, the suit provided the inventor with not only the ability to run silent, but also to literally deflect radar and other tracking technology.
Silver Centurion Armor
Pushed to the limits of sanity and stripped of his wealth and everything that mattered to him, Tony Stark bounced back from darkness with a suit of armor that not only presented a new type of Iron Man, but also introduced new innovations such as advanced repulsors and unibeam, and an incredible “chameleon” effect.
Updated Red and Gold Armor
The classic red and gold color scheme returned with this new armor advancement, originally designed to hold off the one particular Iron Man enemy. Stark worked his beta-particle generator into the suit, which boosted its power by a high degree and even caused its creator anxiety over its attraction to unscrupulous parties.
War Machine Armor
Bristling with heavy armament and capable of delivering more firepower than any previous suit, the so-called Variable Threat Response Battle Suit became the blueprint for a later set of armor that Stark developed for his friend James Rhodes to operate as a hero in his own right.
Modular Armor
Desiring the ability to access all of his armor advances but within a system that allowed for customizing on the spot for any given situation, Stark created a modular suit that granted him more flexibility as Iron Man than ever before.
Sentient Armor
Before its devastating toll on his health, this suit provided Stark not only with a fresh beginning as Iron Man after being caught in a pocket universe, but also with new advances in a complete life-sustaining environment within the armor. This meant more time to stay in the suit and the ability to resist external invading forces.
Extremis Armor
Stark developed an incredible process with which he could literally encompass a suit of Iron Man armor within his own body, and call it up for action in record time. The Extremis technology also provided him with greater communication systems, repulsor flight, and a cutting edge self-healing factor.
All-New Armor
The red and gold made yet another comeback to signal Stark’s latest resurgence as Iron Man, as well as his focus on adaptability and customization. This armor’s shape-shifting ability allowed first Tony and later Riri even more flexibility to reply to threats and specific external attack modes.
Continue to follow the evolution of the Armored Avenger in INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #2 from Brian Michael Bendis and Stefano Caselli on December 21!
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