Iron Man is known for having a special suit of armor ready for every occasion. He’s been through dozens of different designs and models of armor, and has specifically crafted plenty to fight specific threats he or the Earth might have to contend with. The most famous of these alternate suits is the Hulkbuster, which is obviously made to do battle with the Jade Giant himself. However, there are plenty of other awesome armors that have been overshadowed by the Hulkbuster’s popularity, so today we’re going to be looking at ten of the alternate suits Iron Man has donned that put the Hulkbuster to shame. In theatrics, if not in power, even though plenty of these entries are definitely way more powerful than the Hulkbuster. Without further ado, let’s get into it.
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10) Explorer Armor
This all black version of Tony’s classic suit doesn’t pack any additional firepower, but that’s because it was made to be the ultimate armor dedicated to survivability. This suit debuted in Iron Man volume six #25, where Tony wore it to venture into the winter hellscape of Jotunheim in search of the then unworthy Thor Odinson. Not only was this suit able to withstand -157 °F temperatures for eight days straight without Tony being worse for wear, but it also gathers water and nutrients from the environment that it can administer to its wearer. It can recharge itself with solar energy in addition to its arc reactor, and features a special AI B.R.I.A.N. that is an expert in all forms of survivability. This suit can even turn its feet into clamps to anchor Tony down in chase of strong winds, which I just think is neat. This suit is a break from the standard idea of “new suit equals stronger,” instead being specialized for a singular purpose and showcasing Tony’s preparedness for everything he faces.
9) Excalibur Armor
When Doctor Doom stole the holy blade that can cut through anything, it was up to Iron Man to stand against him, and that meant embracing the one thing he hates more than anything; magic. This medieval-inspired armor is actually a temporarily upgraded version of the Model 9 suit, having been fused with the scabbard of the legendary sword. Instead of running on a normal power source, this magical armor was operated by sheer force of will, which also massively enhanced its capabilities. It was stronger than ever before, and fired beams of pure magic instead of the standard repulsor rays, but the most impressive feature by far was the fact that it was entirely invulnerable. Iron Man was completely immune to damage inside this armor, and not even Excalibur, a sword that can cut through anything, could damage it. This suit debuted in Iron Man: Legacy of Doom #3 and only lasted for two issues, but man if seeing an actual invincible Iron Man wasn’t really cool.
8) Iron Destroyer
During the Fear Itself storyline, the evil brother of Odin the Serpent transformed some of Marvel’s heaviest hitters into his champions and unleashed them as killing machines on the world. To combat the likes of enhanced and death-minded people like the Hulk and Thing, Tony traveled to Asgard to reforge his Bleeding Edge Armor with Uru, the magical metal that makes up Mjolnir. The Bleeding Edge armor was already a nanotech machine that was stored inside of Tony’s body, capable of altering itself into just about any kind of weaponry that he needed, but adding Uru on top of that massively buffed both its power and durability. This new suit was able to let Tony go head to head with just about any of the enhanced Worthy of the Serpent, and perfectly mixed the magical might of Asgard with the limitless potential of Tony’s creations. Also, it looked really awesome.
7) Dragon Slayer Armor
This armor was constructed to bring down the Extrembiote, one of Knull’s Symbiote Dragons that Tony infected with the Extremis virus to use its DNA to save Eddie Brock from fatal injuries. After Cletus Cassidy bonded with the Extrembiote and absorbed a Stark Sentinel, Tony donned this suit and teamed up with Spider-Man Miles Morales to bring him down. This suit is just really cool. It has built in sonic weaponry to bring down symbiotes, and is capable of creating constructs such as a lance and a shield out of hard-light, taking a page out of the Green Lanterns’ book. It also has an EMP powerful enough to disintegrate the Extrembiote, though this does fry the suit’s systems. One of the coolest aspects is that it has a host of nanites Tony can spread on anyone injured, which not only speeds up the healing process, but can manifest as an entire Iron Spider Suit on its own. A backup suit inside of a suit is just a sick idea.
6) Endo-Sym Armor
After the events of Axis inverted his morality, a now very evil Tony Stark totally remade his entire life from the armor up. He created a liquid-metal suit based on how the symbiotes operate, and melded it with his body in a way that he never has with any other suit. It functioned entirely on Tony’s thoughts, and thanks to its liquid smart-metal makeup didn’t rely on any technological parts that could be taken advantage of or disabled. It could even be piloted remotely by Tony’s thoughts, and was capable of searching him out to rebond with him if they were ever separated. Not only was this suit incredibly powerful and versatile, it also is easily one of Tony’s most stylish looks. This pure white look with blue accents is the very definition of sleek, and the open face mask not only offers a great contrast to his normal suits and shows off the usually diabolical smirks the Superior Iron Man is known for, but it perfectly shows just how vain he’s become. It’s a great look that perfectly shows what a moralless Iron Man would look like.
5) Fin Fang Foombuster
This armor has another name; the Twenty-Story Iron Man. Tony deployed this armor when Fin Fang Foom attempted to destroy New York City in Tony Stark: Iron Man #1, and with its massive strength managed to push the dragon back out into the ocean. This armor is actually initially launched as two massive repulsor cannons that are capable of blasting the enemy themselves, but then combine with the central cockpit to become this behemoth of metal and power. It’s twenty-stories tall, and is made up of multiple smaller, independent ships. That practically makes this an Iron Man Megazord, and how can that be anything but awesome? This suit tickles the part of your brain that just wants to see a giant robot hit things, and that’s all it needs to do.
4) Godbuster Armor
What’s better than armor designed to take down the Hulk? Armor designed to bring down gods. The eScape was a virtual reality developed by Tony Stark which was taken over when its operating system, Motherboard, went full AM on humanity. Motherboard was practically all powerful inside the cyberspace, and ruled it with all the reality warping abilities of some of Marvel’s highest tier characters. But she wasn’t the only one who made the most of their surroundings. Tony’s mind was freed from the physical limitations of the human brain inside eScape, and used his unlimited imagination to design an armor more powerful than anything he’d ever conceived before. He used it to beat Motherboard in her own realm, and then had it 3D printed to use it to bring down the Controller with ease. Back in the real world, the complexities of the design faded from Tony’s mind, and deeming the armor too powerful, he destroyed it and the devices that made it. This armor only lasted from Tony Stark: Iron Man #10 to #11, but it stands as one of Tony’s greatest works.
3) Iron God
This armor was created when Tony and his allies were doing battle against Korvac, and both men bathed themselves in the Power Cosmic in Iron Man volume six #14. Tony’s Iron Man armor was reforged as the Iron God armor, resembling the look of the Silver Surfer. The Power Cosmic made Iron God omnipotent, letting him see everything at once and travel to anywhere in the universe with a thought. After leaving Korvac trapped in another dimension, one of his first acts was to make everyone in New York City as smart as he was, actually making Mister Fantastic dumber. Tony used his power to rule NYC like a god, stripping away people’s intelligence when they broke the law, and even killing his own friends when they tried to take the Power Cosmic away. In the end, he reset everything back to how it was and relinquished the power, thinking it was too dangerous to use.
2) Virtual Armor
When Tony’s brother Arno stole the Iron Man identity, he recreated the Godbuster Armor to use as his suit, and Tony had to go on a journey of self-discovery to bring his mad brother down. Iron Man 2020 volume two #5 showed us exactly what that culminated in; the Virtual Armor. This armor was a solid hologram, made from the entirety of eScape given form. It could mold into any shape or object that Tony needed, limited only by his imagination. Tony said that it was easily his greatest invention, and instantly made the Godbuster Armor dated. Tony smashed what was considered his magnum opus with ease, and then used the Virtual Armor to trap his insane brother in a simulation of the reality he wanted to live in, knowing that was the only way to help him. This armor could do anything Tony imagined, and serves as the embodiment of Tony’s constant strive towards the future. This is the armor of the future, and Tony Stark is the ultimate future man.
1) Celestial Hulkbuster
Why have the bog-standard Hulkbuster Armor when you can elevate it to be bigger and better in every single way? Don’t be fooled by the name. This isn’t your normal Hulkbuster, it isn’t a bigger suit with more weapons, this armor is special, because this suit is made from the body of a dead Celestial. This armor appeared in Thor volume six #25, where a battle between the God of Thunder and an out of control Hulk threatened to tear the world apart. A Celestial had previously been killed by Knull, who tried to use it to destroy the Earth, and after he was beaten, the corpse remained. Tony was never one to let resources go to waste, and converted the dead space god into one of the coolest looking armors to ever hit comic books. I mean, just look at that design, that pose, those wings! This armor is awesome, and at the end of the day, isn’t that what we want most from an Iron Man armor?
Tony has dozens of suits that he’s worn over the decades, and almost all of them are awesome in their own way, but some are way cooler than others. No matter what your preferences, all of these armors deserve their praise for something, because they all represent something about Tony or comics that we all love to see. Which Iron Man armor is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
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