Iron Man has had a long, rocky road in Marvel Comics. It seems as though his journey in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is at an end, but Tony Stark's legacy is not. One of the character's most important comic book storylines, Armor Wars, is becoming a Disney+ streaming series.

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This epic story defined Iron Man for much of the 80s and into the 90s. While the details of the story are very likely to be different in the MCU given the circumstances, a lot of the original comic story offers a roadmap for how this will play out on screen.

10 Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 MK V

In some ways, Armor Wars has already been adapted for the MCU. Elements of the original storyline were incorporated into Iron Man 2, which some fans might have missed. In that movie, Stark fears his technology will be appropriated by others, which eventually happens both on the part of the U.S. government in the form of the Iron Patriot, and the villain Whiplash. His technology also ends up in the hands of Justin Hammer, who creates his Hammerdrones based on the original Iron Man armor.

9 Stark Wars

Iron Man faces Crimson Dynamo in Marvel Comics

The story ran in the comics from Iron Man #225-#231 between 1987 and 1988. It was originally called Stark Wars within the individual issues, as the focus was more on stolen Stark Industries technology. Collected editions later renamed it Armor Wars, which might have sounded better. It was also how the story was originally advertised in other Marvel comic books at the time, with the tagline "THE ARMOR WAR BEGINS IN IRON MAN #225."

8 Promotional Push

Silver Centurion

At the time, Iron Man was not the marquee character he is now. That was evident in how little Marvel promoted the title, which upset both co-writer Bob Layton and writer-artist David Michelinie. The creative team had returned to the series after a hiatus and expected some promotional help, but editor-in-chief Jim Shooter told them they needed a big story to get any kind of push. The result was the idea for Armor Wars, the biggest Iron Man even in years.

7 Stolen Tech

iron man vs titanium man

The MCU has changed Iron Man in many ways from the comics, and that will likely be true of the Armor Wars storyline as well. However, the core concept of the event will probably carry over intact. In the comics, Stark discovers that the armor of the villain Force is using his exclusive technology.

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Stark then discovers that Spymaster, one of the top spies in Marvel, stole his technology and sold some of it to Justin Hammer, who then propagated it out into the rest of the world. This sets off a race to track down and render the technology useless to his many enemies.

6 Negator Packs

Stilt-Man

Iron Man's initial solution to stopping the spread of his tech into the wrong hands is the Negator Pack. These unique inventions destroyed any and all Stark Technology on contact. Used against armored foes, it was devastating. Iron Man first used this invention against Stilt-Man, one of Spider-Man's most pathetic villains, who had upgraded his suit of extendable armor with stolen Stark tech.

5 Iron Man Armor Model 9

Iron Man Armor Model 9

In the course of his early battles in Armor Wars, his then-current Silver Centurion armor is severely damaged. Tony Stark was always working on something new though, and his defeat at the hands of the villain Firepower gave him the chance to debut the Iron Man Armor Model 9. This is one of the most powerful Iron Man armors ever, and a throwback to his original red and gold suit. Iron Man would wear this suit well into the 90s and James Rhodes also briefly used a similar version of the suit,

4 Mandroid

SHIELD Mandroids

Iron Man's personal crusade to stop the spread of his technology led to some serious consequences. This included a battle with Mandroids, another Stark design. In a battle with the Controller, a boy was killed. This (and Tony's attack on government agent Stingray) led to the intervention of S.H.I.E.L.D., an organization that has changed in the MCU as much as Iron Man has. Nick Fury tried to rein Iron Man in. When that didn't work, Fury sent in the Mandroids to bring Iron Man in. Iron Man defeated all five of them fairly easily.

3 War Machine

War machine

War Machine is said to be the focus of the Armor Wars Disney+ series, and his role in the comic book story may inform what happens on screen. War Machine regrets a lot of his mistakes, and one of them is likely accidentally releasing all the prisoners from The Vault.

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Rhodey had infiltrated the Vault disguised as the villain Electro in his part in the adventure. He accidentally releases everyone once he's discovered, which leads Iron Man into a confrontation with Steve Rogers – then just the Captain – and a big headache for everyone involved.

2 Animated Version

Iron-Man-Animated

The significance of the Armor Wars storyline has made it a natural choice to adapt to live-action. It has also been the focus of animated adventures as well. This two-part episode more or less followed the plot of the comics, but in this case, Hawkeye stood in for Captain America. Iron Man confronted many of his major villains, some of which he had a hand in creating, including Crimson Dynamo and Titanium Man. The animation wasn't great in this series and even changed greatly from season one to two.

1 Ultimate Armor Wars

MODOK Ultimate Armor Wars

The Armor Wars have been a defining moment for Iron Man in more than one universe. Ultimate Armor Wars adapted the classic storyline for the Ultimate Marvel comics universe. This four-issue mini-series written by Warren Ellis, with art by Steve Kurth, debuted in 2009 in the aftermath of the Ultimatum event. In this case, Tony Stark is trying to rebuild his business and life after the devastation of the Ultimatum Wave, only to find his technology has fallen into enemy hands.

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