Iron Man: Every Single MCU Armor, Ranked by Power

As Tony Stark prepares to enter what is widely rumored to be his last adventure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in April's Avengers: Endgame, the MCU superhero has built quite the extensive armory of suits to draw from in his long-awaited rematch with Thanos.

While Tony has reputedly built 42 Iron Man armors by the start of 2013's Iron Man 3, the genius industrialist is always tinkering and improving on his previous designs, constructing armors for specific purposes and threats. As such, below is a comprehensive ranking of every armor given a significant amount of screen time in the MCU from 2008's Iron Man to last year's Avengers: Infinity War.

20. MARK I

The first armor Tony Stark ever developed, the Mark 1 is understandably the weakest. Built from salvaged Stark Industries missiles and other repurposed ordinance in a cave deep in the mountains of Afghanistan, Tony and his friend Ho Yinsen constructed a miniaturized version of the arc reactor powering Stark Industries' headquarters in Southern California.

The slapdash reactor gave the crudely constructed suit just enough power to operate makeshift flamethrowers, hydraulic joints and even a small rocket launcher. With much of its machinery exposed, the suit was immobilized by heavy machine gun fire, forcing Tony to use an ejector function to barely escape his captors. The suit was later recovered by the Ten Rings and used by Obadiah Stane as the basis for his Iron Monger armor.

19. MARK II

The second suit Tony develops in the original film is more of a working prototype, eventually serving as the basis for both all his future designs and the foundation for James Rhodes' War Machine armor in Iron Man 2. More snugly fit and powered entirely by repulsor technology, the Mark II gives Tony the power of flight and the ability to reach supersonic speeds.

Unable to reach high altitudes without freezing in the atmosphere, Tony would decide to use different metal alloys for future incarnations of the armor.

18. MARK III

The third and final Iron Man armor built by Tony in the original film, and the first in the MCU to feature the classic color scheme, Tony uses a gold-titanium alloy to solve the freezing problem while painting it "hot rod red" to give it a little more flashy personality. The first armor to be deployed tactically, Tony outfits the armor with an extensive weapons array, includeing a wrist-mounted rocket launcher, powerful repulsor blasts from its gauntlets, shoulder-mounted targeted guns, flares in its legs and a powerful unibeam firing directly from the arc reactor.

While able to withstand a direct hit from a tank, the suit is not completely bulletproof as evidenced by bullet holes in the torso after an incursion into Afghanistan. Following Tony's battle with the Iron Monger at the end of the film, the suit is eventually replaced.

17. MARK V

Designed as a portable suit of armor in case he was ever caught unawares away from his main Iron Man suit, Tony created a compact armor disguised as a seemingly innocuous briefcase. While not as capable or protective as the normal suit, as seen with its scaled design and difficulty subduing Whiplash, the suit is capable of armoring Tony without the need for an extensive assembly rig.

The suit makes its debut during the Formula 1 race in Monaco during Iron Man 2, entrusted in Happy Hogan's care until Tony is ambushed by Whiplash. Sporting a color scheme similar to Iron Man's '80s Silver Centurion armor, the briefcase design is also a nod to how Tony would transport his armor on the go in the comics during the same period.

16. MARK IV

The final Iron Man armor to use a palladium core after Tony discovered a new element to power the arc reactor without the toxic blood poisoning the original core caused, the Mark IV is Tony's main suit for the majority of Iron Man 2. Featuring a slightly bulkier design than its predecessors, the suit gives Tony more protection than previous versions of the armor.

The suit is first unveiled during Tony's grand entrance at the launch of the Stark Expo before being worn by an intoxicated Tony at his birthday party in Malibu. Following a confrontation with Rhodey, the armor and its toxic core are retired for good.

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15. MARK XLII

The suit used by Tony for the majority of Iron Man 3, the inventor's trauma endured facing near-death during the Battle of New York led him to develop an armor that could fly directly to him from anywhere in the world. Featuring a predominantly gold color scheme, the suit uses repulsor technology to fly and attach itself to Tony, drawn to microchips the Iron Avenger implanted in his body.

While successful in traversing the continent to come to Tony's aid, the Mark XLII never progressed far beyond its prototype stage, with Tony discontinuing active development after the programming in the suit nearly caused it to attack Pepper Potts. During his final battle with Aldrich Killian, Tony directs the suit to encase the Extremis-powered villain and self-destruct.

14. MARK VI

The first Iron Man armor to be powered by the new element discovered by Howard and Tony Stark, the Mark VI is used by Tony in the final battle of Iron Man 2 and the majority of The Avengers. Slightly sleeker than the Mark IV and sporting a triangular arc reactor, the suit comes with all the weaponry of the previous version as well as a new wrist-mounted laser that Tony uses to slice through Whiplash's army of armored drones.

The formidable armor not only is used to ultimately kill Whiplash once and for all, but is later used by Tony to face Thor one on one during a brief misunderstanding with the God of Thunder. After being throttled restarting one of the Helicarrier's turbines, Tony retires the suit.

13. MARK VII

Used by Tony during the Battle of New York at the end of The Avengers, Tony is able to outfit himself with the Mark VII in the nick of time after being thrown out of Stark Tower by Loki through specially designed bracelets. The flares in the legs have been replaced by additional rockets used to dispatch the Chitauri, while the wrist-mounted lasers last several seconds longer than the Mark VI.

Marking a return to the circular arc reactor, the Mark VII also features back-mounted propulsion to improve the armor's maneuverability and speed while in flight. After venturing into deep space to save Manhattan from an intercepted nuclear missile and destroy the Chitauri fleet, the suit loses power and Tony retires it following the battle.

12. MARK XXV "STRIKER"

Seen briefly during the final battle in Iron Man 3, the Striker is designed for heavy-duty work with its two hydraulically-boosted jackhammer arms. In addition to its powerful battering abilities, the suit is specifically designed to withstand high temperatures and strong electrical currents with a rectangular arc reactor design.

After coming to Rhodey's rescue from Killian's Extremis-powered henchmen, the Striker is destroyed along with the rest of Tony's remote-controlled suits as part of his "Clean Slate Protocol" to show his devotion to Pepper in an effort to abandon his obsession with building a better Iron Man.

11. MARK XLI "BONES"

Another suit of armor briefly seen during the final battle of Iron Man 3, Tony eschewed the typical gold-titanium alloy plating in favor of a sleeker, streamlined design, nicknaming the armor "Bones." Without the added armor plating, the suit moves considerably faster and is more maneuverable than its traditional counterparts, able to disassemble and reform in mid-flight at will in seconds.

Using this ability, Bones is able to engage multiple Extremis targets at once before reforming during the final battle. Along with the rest of Tony's suits, Bones self-destructs as part of the "Clean Slate Protocol."

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10. MARK XVI "NIGHTCLUB"

A stealth suit designed by Tony, the Nightclub armor is able to change its color scheme and lighting based on refractive technology to better blend with its surroundings. As such, the armor is sleeker and lacks much of the weaponry that its counterparts possess, relying entirely on its repulsors and unibeam for combat.

Tony quickly outfits himself in the Nightclub armor while fighting Killian in the final battle of Iron Man 3. While he's able to fight the Extremis-enhanced villain hand to hand, Tony is forced to eject from the suit when Killian gains the upper hand right before he destroys the armor with a powerful blow.

9. MARK XL "SHOTGUN"

Immediately after Killian destroys the Nightclub armor during his fight with Tony at the end of Iron Man 3, Tony leaps into the Shotgun armor. Featuring a darker, more rounded design and a rectangular arc reactor, the suit is designed to withstand hypersonic speeds, able to exceed Mach 5.

While Tony is able to fare better against Killian in the Shotgun armor than in the Nightclub model, including blasting Killian point blank with its repulsors, the Iron Avenger is still forced to retreat before the enhanced villain slices the armor in half and destroys the arc reactor powering it.

8. MARK XXXVIII "IGOR"

Not explicitly designed for combat, the Igor armor was developed by Tony to handle excessive loads and lift especially heavy objects. With its looming stature, it is a precursor to the Hulkbuster and is the largest suit of armor created by Tony at the time of Iron Man 3.

Tony summons Igor during the final battle of the 2013 film to brace the shipping rig after one of its support beams is damaged during the explosive fight with Killian's henchmen, who were holding the president hostage.

7. MARK XVII "HEARTBREAKER"

Leading the rest of the fleet of remote-controlled armors into the final battle of Iron Man 3, the Heartbreaker gets its nickname from its oversized arc reactor. The boost in power makes the suit's unibeam vastly more powerful than its counterparts and can be adjusted to fire blasts of varying size as well as generate a makeshift repulsor-fueled forcefield in brief instances.

The Heartbreaker saves Rhodey when he is cornered by an Extremis-enhanced foe and carries him away before being dragged back into battle while Rhodey rescues the president. Like the remaining armors, the Heartbreaker ultimately self-destructs as part of the "Clean Slate Protocol."

6. MARK XLIII

Tony's main suit of armor during Avengers: Age of Ultron, the suit was built sometime after Stark destroyed his existing armory and had the arc reactor surgically removed from his chest. Sporting an inverted color scheme from the Mark XLII, the suit is able to go into sentry mode and protect Tony after he exits the armor.

The armor is used by Tony to assault the Hydra base in Sokovia, as well as in the Avengers' confrontation with Ultron in South Africa. Augmented by the Hulkbuster to stop an uncontrollable Bruce Banner, Tony retires the suit after the damages it sustains battling the strongest Avenger.

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5. MARK XLV

Worn by Tony during the Battle of Sokovia at the end of Age of Ultron, the Mark XLV features a more rounded design than its immediate predecessor and a larger breastplate with a hexagonal design housing the arc reactor. In this armor, Tony is able to hold his own against the vibranium-laced Ultron for a time and use its powerful unibeam, along with Thor and Vision, to severely damage the robotic foe.

After the battle, Tony retires the suit sometime after the events of Age of Ultron in a renewed, though ultimately unsuccessful, effort to leave his superhero alter ego aside once again to spend more time with Pepper.

4. MARK XLVII

Used by Tony during the events of Spider-Man: Homecoming, the Mark XLVII marks a return to a more analogue armor and the Mark XLVI's limited, hybridized nanotechnology. Featuring a predominantly silver design, the arc reactor is housed in a pentagonal compartment like the Mark XLVI.

Similar to the suits in Iron Man 3, Tony remotely controls the armor from the other side of the world while relaxing in India. Later, Tony surprises Peter Parker by revealing himself wearing the suit after rescuing the Staten Island Ferry in an arms deal gone wrong.

3. MARK XLVI

Iron Man MK XLVI Captain America Civil War — Marvel's Captain America: Civil War Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) Photo Credit: Film Frame © Marvel 2016

Used by Tony throughout the entirety of Captain America: Civil War, the Mark XLVI is Tony's first foray into nanotechnology, though largely still an analogue suit of armor. The hexagon housing the arc reactor has since been replaced by a pentagon while the suit itself is considerably sleeker than its predecessor and the helmet is able to be completely housed in its torso.

Featuring all the weaponry of the XLV, Tony uses the suit to fight Captain America and his fellow unsanctioned Avengers in Berlin, as well as the combined efforts of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes in a remote Siberian missile silo at the end of the film. Following the extensive damage suffered at his fellow Avengers' hands, Tony retires the suit while continuing his experiments into nanotechnology.

2. MARK XLIV "HULKBUSTER"

Also referred to by Tony as "Veronica," as an Archie Comics reference to Bruce Banner's romantic history with ex-girlfriend Betty Ross, the Hulkbuster is a powerful suit designed to go toe to toe with the Hulk should the Jade Giant ever go out of control and need to be subdued. Summoned from an orbital platform in space, the suit actually builds off Tony's existing suit and greatly augments his strength and firepower to fight the Hulk while providing him with spare parts on the go as the battle inevitably escalates.

The suit does ultimately succeed in taking down a rogue Hulk in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but results in heavy collateral damage and international backlash to the Avengers' unsanctioned activities. A slightly modified version of the suit is later used by Banner during Avengers: Infinity War, allowing the scientist to use the armor without an Iron Man suit of his own during the Battle of Wakanda.

1. Mark L "BLEEDING EDGE"

Tony's latest armor, nicknamed "Bleeding Edge," is easily the most advanced, powerful suit he has unveiled yet. Improving upon the nanotechnology he first developed in Civil War, Tony debuts the armor during Avengers: Infinity War to fight the Black Order in Greenwich Village. Housed in an external arc reactor worn on his chest, Tony is able to instantly cover himself with the nanotech suit and use it to build tools and weapons on the fly, augmenting his abilities.

During his battle with Thanos on Titan, Tony desperately used the suit's capabilities to strengthen his defenses by removing the intuitive nanobots from different parts of his body and was the first hero to visibly draw blood from the character in open combat, holding his own against the Mad Titan before his ultimate defeat, forced to use the nanobots to treat his grievous wounds.