5 Iron Man Copycats Ranked by How Dangerous They Would Be to The Original

There’s no denying it, Iron Man is one of the most iconic Marvel heroes around. Tony Stark has been a mainstay of Marvel Comics for years, and like many other Avengers, there’s more than a handful who were created to riff on his image. Now granted, the idea of someone with a powerful suit of armor isn’t inherently unique to Iron Man. But he was one of the first armored characters in comics, and Stark has had plenty of copycats over the years.

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Let’s face it, Iron Man is a force to be reckoned with. He’s constantly upgrading his suit, adding new cutting-edge tech to help him compete in a world of gods and alien heroes. But what about the characters who were influenced by Stark? How do they stack up against the original? Which ones would Stark wipe the floor with, and which ones would pose a serious threat? Check out these five Iron Man copycats and see how they rank against the Armored Avenger.

5. Tek Knight

When it comes to superhero parodies in The Boys, it is really hard to take Tek Knight seriously, isn’t it? I mean, yeah, he’s got the suit and, like Tony, he’s one of the few non-powered heroes in a world filled to the brim with powerful people. But while he’s one of the nicer Supes featured in The Boys’ comic series, he’s more or less portrayed as a joke due to his insatiable sexual obsession (later revealed to be caused by a brain tumor).

Let’s get straight to the point: Tek Knight is no threat to Iron Man. Aside from the fact that his armor is far, far more limited in its abilities compared to Tony’s, Tek Knight’s head really just wouldn’t be in the game. Plus, the Boys were able to defeat him with relative ease, so there’s no doubt a seasoned pro like Stark couldn’t do the same thing. He might be a danger to himself and innocent people, but he’s no danger to Iron Man.

4. Iron Lantern

Is it cheating to include a character that’s technically half Iron Man already? In case you didn’t know, Marvel and DC came together in the mid-’90s for the short-lived Amalgam Comics imprint, set in a world starring Marvel/DC combinations. As his name implies, Iron Lantern combines one of Marvel’s minds with Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) specifically. And yes, his origin is indeed a combination of both heroes, with Hal Stark forging a suit of armor out of alien tech that manifests objects out of light.

A Stark variant with a basic Iron Man suit with Green Lantern capabilities? That’s admittedly a cool combo, and enough to keep someone like Tony on his toes. That being said, I don’t know if it’s enough to really give Iron Lantern an advantage over Iron Man. Iron Man regularly fights powerful aliens all the time. What’s a man-made suit made from cosmic going to do that Stark hasn’t already seen or dealt with before? Iron Lantern might get a few good hits in, but he’s nothing compared to the genuine article.

3. Hardware

If anyone deserves the honor of being called a true rival to Iron Man, it’s Curtis Metcalf, aka Hardware, one of the founding heroes of Milestone Comics. Curtis was a certified prodigy who was headhunted by a savvy businessman, who used Metcalf’s inventions to make himself richer while cutting the genius out altogether. But that trickery inspired Curtis to use his mind for himself, fashioning an armor and becoming the hero Hardware to put an end to corruption wherever he finds it.

Now, Hardware is someone I see being a challenge to Iron Man. Like Stark, Metcalf is constantly improving on his suit, adding all kinds of powerful weapons to help him fight greater and more dangerous threats. The only reason he doesn’t rank as a more dangerous threat is, well, Curtis is a good guy. He’s not gonna actively hurt someone who’s not putting others in harm’s way. That said, I could see Hardware knocking Iron Man around a bit if Stark insulted his armor or tech.

2. X-O Manowar

Unlike the rest of the entries featured here, Aric of Dacia is not a tech genius. He was born and lived centuries before modern tech was even a thing. But after being abducted and bonding with a living armor known as Shanhara, Aric became X-O Manowar and returned to Earth in the modern day as a superhero. But don’t let his ‘fish out of water’ nature fool you. Aric was an incredibly capable warrior before he discovered Shanhara, and he’s only gotten better since.

Now X-O Manowar is a hero. But this man has clashed with so many other heroic figures in his own universe. Aric is from a different time, and when he doesn’t get his way, his first instinct is to fight. Plus, he’s got legit military experience, both from his days with the Visigoths and fighting countless wars in space. Factor in his mastery of the Shanhara armor and its weapons, and all it takes is one challenge from Iron Man for X-O Manowar to bring hell down on Iron Man.

1. Iron Patriot

Come on, you can’t talk about Iron Man copycats and not discuss the man who dished out the greatest insult to Tony Stark by stealing his gimmick for about a year. And out of all the rip-off Iron Men on this list, no one was as much of a threat to Stark as Norman Osborn. After replacing S.H.I.E.L.D. with H.A.M.M.E.R., Norman assumed control of Stark’s Iron Man armory and donned a patriotic-themed suit to lead a squad of Avengers to sway public opinion.

At his peak as the Iron Patriot, Norman Osborn was as dangerous as they come. Unhinged, in control of the keys to Stark’s kingdom, hunting Iron Man down like an animal. While everyone on this list could theoretically endanger Iron Man, Osborn actually did it. He might not have been ultimately victorious, but as the Iron Patriot, Norman took everything from Tony and upended Iron Man’s world in ways his greatest enemies could only dream.

What Iron Man copycat do you think would be a good threat to Tony Stark? Let us know in the comments, and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!