POLL: Vote for Your Favorite Iron Man MCU Armor

Tony Stark’s design sensibilities have certainly left a mark on the Marvel Cinematic Universe – 85 marks, if suit numbers are anything to go by! Across the Infinity Saga, fans have seen numerous iconic Iron Man designs both original and adapted from the comics emerge on screen. Each one represents a new evolution in Stark technology, whether it’s a new power source, new weapons and functions, or just a snazzy new paint job.

To celebrate Stark Week, we want to know what you consider your favorite MCU Iron Man armor! Pick from one of the 10 options below, and if you need a reminder about each suit, head down to the Hall of Armor as we recap the unique advances throughout the films.

Iron Man Mark I

You know how the old saying goes – Tony Stark built this in a cave with a box of scraps! Every hero has humble beginnings, even if the genius innovator wasn’t so humble himself. The Mark I lacks the streamlined finesse of later suits, but you can’t deny its importance on Tony’s journey to becoming Iron Man. Even with limited resources, he repurposed Jericho missiles and scrap metal to create a suit durable enough to destroy a weapons stockpile and protect him from his captors.

Iron Man Mark II

An innovator is always looking to improve on past successes. Once Tony Stark returns home, he gets to work revisiting his Mark I designs to make an updated Iron Man design with access to more materials. Still sporting the sleek silver color scheme, the Mark II design boasts a more articulated shape, even more capability for offensive maneuvers, and it had an internal Heads Up Display integrated with J.A.R.V.I.S. The suit wasn’t the most advanced it could be, though, because it was susceptible to damage and freezing at high altitudes.

Iron Man Mark III

Tony Stark knows a thing or two about branding – and the Mark III armor is the first to introduce the iconic hotrod red and gold scheme. The rapid evolution just from the Mark I armor to now is simply astounding, integrating independently powered arc reactors and additional palm repulsors for flight aid and eventually attack capacity. The Mark III was also the first of Tony’s suits that integrated an on-board weapons system, and it solved the icing problem of its predecessor.

Iron Man Mark V

Also known as the Suitcase Suit, Iron Mans Mark V suit swapped the silver back in place of gold for this new and portable armor. It made its debut on the racetrack in Monaco when Whiplash attacked. In order to be more lightweight and capable of configuring into its suitcase shape, the suit consisted of many more small panels and articulated elements. When activated, Stark was able to engage the partial armor and allow the suit to automatically envelop him. Despite the emphasis on portable and compact storage, the suit didn’t compromise on its strength and maneuverability. However, its durability lacked a little in comparison to previous models.

Iron Man Mark XXXIII

Making a large leap in mark numbers, the Iron Man Mark XXXIII is also popularly known as the Silver Centurion armor. With each new iteration, Tony Stark has continued to improve strength, durability, and even energy efficiency. As the name suggests, the Silver Centurion is another red and silver suit, created for the Iron Legion after the Avengers took part in the Battle of New York. It has blades hidden in its arms in addition to the traditional repulsor, but its most notable feature is its energy-saving capability, making this suit less likely to run out of power mid-battle.

Iron Man Mark XLII

The progidal son returns. The Mark XLII brings gold back in a BIG way for this autonomous propulsion suit. One of the most unique advances to this suit was the way in which each segment of the suit could individually fly to the user and assemble into the completed suit, controlled by microchips implanted in Tony Stark’s arm. It is one of the boldest advances in suit technology, especially spurred on after the Battle of New York. While it was intended to be Tony’s new main suit, he was forced to take it out of testing early for use, meaning he couldn’t tweak all of its design flaws before bringing it into battle.

Iron Man Mark XLIV AKA “Hulkbuster”

As Tony Stark’s team-ups with the Avengers became recurring instances, he began to learn and adapt to his fellow heroes. His suit innovations weren’t solely to his benefit, after all. The massive Mark XLIV armor was created with the help of Dr. Bruce Banner, created for the sole purpose of combating and subduing the rampaging Hulk. Tony typically wore another suit within the suit in case of emergency ejection, and the suit had a roving mobile service device called Veronica for emergency repairs mid-combat.

Iron Man Mark L

For Tony Stark’s 50th armor, he went even more ambitious than ever before. From simple AI-controlled launches to autonomous deployment controlled by microchips, each suit leading up to this point made stylish, functional vaults over the last. So, for Iron Man Mark L, the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist unleashed nanotechnology, the likes of which had never been seen before. This suit had a trim, muscle-like structure and was capable of shifting, rebuilding, and repairing itself mid-battle. The nanites could also form weapons on the fly, reshaping into blades, blasters, and all manner of other tools. It could be stored in a sleek bodysuit, able to materialize around its user in a matter of moments.

Iron Man Mark XLIX AKA “Rescue”

The Rescue Armor is a sleek champagne gold and lavender blue suit designed by Tony for his trusted aide and partner Pepper Potts. Dubbed Mark XLIX, it has stylistic similarities to Tony’s Mark LXXXV suit as well as comparable innovations. Potts uses this in the final showdown with Thanos and his Black Order, and its durability and repulsor power are remarkably effective in eliminating the Mad Titan’s allies and transport. There are even independent drone elements that help Pepper aim and fire more concentrated blasts of energy from the suit.

Iron Man Mark LXXXV

The Mark LXXXV Suit is Tony Stark’s final suit of armor, surpassing the capabilities of all that came before it. In capability and style, it is a most direct improvement of the Mark L nanotech suit, which was destroyed by Thanos. Its design reintegrated some of the classic, larger armor elements from earlier iterations of the suit and was far more capable of withstanding superhuman attacks. But perhaps most importantly, with its nanite technology and advanced energy harnessing, the suit was able to integrate and adapt to the sheer might of the Infinity Stones, granting Tony Stark near omnipotence enough to save the entire universe from Thanos’ onslaught.

If you’re still looking to connect with fans and share your favorite Iron Man armor designs, be sure to join us during Stark Week on the Sideshow Social Network or in side.show/geekgroup! And as always, don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!