'Avengers: Infinity War' Reveals How Iron Man's New Suit Works

One thing fans knew for certain going into Avengers: Infinity War was that Iron Man would be sporting brand new high-tech armor. It was something we got glimpses of in various trailers and television spots. Now that the film is in theaters we know exactly how that new suit works.

Warning! Potentially major spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War below this point. If you haven't seen the movie yet and want to go into it spoiler-free, now would be a good time to check out one of our other stories.

Viewers find out about Iron Man's (Robert Downey Jr.) new suit early on in Infinity War. As he and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) are together in a park, he tells her about a dream he had that they had a child. Pepper somewhat shifts the conversation a bit and comments on the arc reactor on Tony's chest. That arc reactor, it turns out, is integral to his latest Iron Man suit as is the running jacket he's wearing. Tony has developed nano-technology to the point that he can activate his suit by a simple press of a button, if you will. By pressing the arc reactor, the armor forms around the jacket he is wearing.

It's something we've somewhat seen in a TV spot for the film. When you look closely at the suit forming -- both in Infinity War and in other footage -- the suit isn't just unfolding from extreme compact storage. Instead, the suit is literally forming around Tony's jacket and pants almost like a nano-technology 3D printing. This technology allows Tony to have his suit with him at all times without having to deal with some of the challenges he's faced in previous films -- such as waiting for the suits to come to him from where they were stored or having to carry heavier versions around with him.

The nano-technology in the suit has another major benefit as well. Because the suit literally builds itself on the fly it gives Tony a seemingly endless number of new tools and features that he could only dream of with other suits. Audiences see one of the coolest features right away when Iron Man flies up into the atmosphere in pursuit of one of the Black Order's Q-Ships. As the ship leaves Earth and heads for space, the new suit forms a large single repulser that functions like a rocket's engine allowing Tony to quickly catch up to the ship. The suit can also repair itself when damaged, something that might be the coolest feature as it makes the suit virtually indestructible so long as the arc reactor itself isn't damaged (and it's possible that it could fix even that, to be honest.) Outside of what the suit can do for itself, it also appears to be able to use the same technology outside of itself. After blowing a hole in the side of the Q-Ship and sending Ebony Maw to his death, Tony uses the suit to repair the ship.

The armor's capabilities and high-tech functions are sure to excite not just moviegoers, but comic book fans as well. Iron Man's suit in Infinity War is said to be based on both the Bleeding Edge and Model Prime suits in comics with the latter appearing in Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez's run on Invincible Iron Man. That suit was so advanced and could shapeshift which essentially made it the Swiss Army knife of superhero suits. Tony's suit in Infinity War is much the same in that regard, which is a good thing when Iron Man ends up doing battle with Thanos on his home world with the Mad Titan literally raining the heavens down on him.

Avengers: Infinity War premieres in theaters on April 27th.

What did you think of Iron Man's new, high-tech suit? What was your favorite feature? Let us know in the comments below!