Whether it is comic books, video games, or the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tony Stark is known for having a variety of Iron Man suits. Tony is constantly improving his suits and debuting new models in almost every appearance.
Whether the suits are infused with magic, alien technology, or built to defeat a specific enemy, Tony has a unique suit to fit any situation. While many suits from the comics have made their way into other forms of media, the sheer number of suits Tony has had over the years means that there are some that have yet to appear anywhere else outside Marvel Comics.
15 Celestial Hulkbuster Armor
Never let it be said Iron Man is afraid of exotic technology. When Knull attacked the Earth, Iron Man took one of the dead Celestials Knull had and found a way to turn it to his own purpose. To that end, Iron Man basically created the biggest and most powerful Hulkbuster armor of all time.
Unfortunately, unlike many of the villains who've forced Iron Man to upgrade, the armor didn't do him any good. After tracking down an out-of-control Hulk, though he dominated at first, an incredible amount of gamma energy caused Hulk to destroy part of Stark's armor. The rest of the armor was wrecked after a gamma-transformed Thor used his powers to destroy the rest.
14 Ice Age Armor
The Ice Age armor is proof that Stark will always find a way to be Iron Man, no matter where he is. After one of his missions sends him back to the past, Stark holds on as best he can with his regular armor. However, when he finds himself under attack by various threats of the Stone Age, including Mephisto, he has to come up with a new plan.
Relying on some spare vibranium and the leftover materials of his original armor, Tony Stark crafts a new suit made out of ice, the only thing that could serve as a proper conductor. The armor lasts only a single issue before Stark sends himself back to the future.
13 Iron Man The Crossing
Iron Man has always had trouble keeping secrets from other heroes. One secret he couldn't help keeping though was that he'd been mind-controlled by Kang the Conqueror, and forced to turn against the rest of his team. During that time, he opted for an upgraded version of his Classic Armor.
A suit that would eventually be known as The Crossing Armor, this was also the Model 15. The Model 15's most distinctive features were the giant gauntlets and the rivets around the shoulder pieces. The suit looked darker and more twisted than Tony Stark's usual version, indicating he'd changed and become a tool for Kang.
12 Superior Iron Man Armor
The Superior Iron Man armor was created by Tony Stark after he had his moral compass inverted during the AXIS event. With his mind completely uninhibited by a conscience, Tony created the Endo-Sym armor, a suit that was partially symbiotic in nature.
The Superior Iron Man armor could reshape itself at will, allowing Tony Stark to even appear as if he wasn't wearing armor. Easily one of his strongest suits, the Superior Iron Man armor suit lasted until the beginning of Secret Wars. Afterward, Stark left the armor behind as his moral alignment was restored, opting to create a new model of armor instead.
11 Heroes Reborn Armor
One of the most radical designs of the Iron Man armor came in the mid-90s. The Heroes Reborn era took the entire team to another universe, completely resetting their histories and making them play out differently. In this timeline, before Tony Stark joined the Avengers he was a scientist working on an experimental armor.
Known as the Prometheum armor, this new suit represented all the excesses of the '90s. Referred to officially as the Model CE1, it's an over-designed mess of a suit that only lasted for a single year. Nonetheless, the suit could still stand up to threats like the Hulk, so it did its job.
10 The Cold Iron Armor
The Iron Man Armor Model 48, also known as the Cold Iron Armor, may not be the most advanced suit that Tony ever created, but it's certainly one of his most useful. Despite always going by the alias Iron Man, the Cold Iron suit marked the first time one of Tony's suits was actually made of iron.
Looking like a mix between War Machine and the original armor Tony built in captivity, the Cold Iron Armor featured a canon on the back, iron blades on the arms, and could fire iron-based projectiles. With iron being the weakness of dark elves, this suit was immune to dark elf magic and was what Tony wore when fighting Malekith.
9 The Godkiller Mk II Is Tony's Biggest Suit Ever Created
The original Godkiller armor was an ancient machine designed to combat the Celestials. Even though Tony Stark was unable to pilot the original, he learned enough to create a similar suit of his own design.
The Godkiller Mk II was the biggest suit Tony ever created, so big that it could match the size of a Celestial and had to be stored on Mars. Even though the suit was strong enough for one Celestial, unfortunately, it wasn't a match for multiple Celestials at once, and was destroyed soon after.
8 The Mark IX In The MCU Didn't Come With Excalibur
The Mark IX armor appeared in the MCU and was notable as being the suit that Pepper wore during Iron Man 3. However, it certainly didn't share anything with its counterpart in the comics besides the model number.
Originally, the suit served as an upgrade to the previous Silver Centurion model while sticking closer to the design of Iron Man's classic suit. However, when the suit combined with the power of the legendary sword Excalibur, it received a magical redesign, resembling something like a mix between a medieval knight and a gladiator.
7 The Sentient Armor Is Ultron Mixed With Frankenstein's Monster
Iron Man's Sentient Armor came about as a result of a freak accident involving the downloading of Jocasta's AI, Whiplash's electric whip, and a lightning storm. This combination of events caused an electrical discharge that inadvertently brought Tony's armor to life like Frankenstein's monster. Much like Ultron, the Sentient Armor could learn and improve itself.
The Sentient Armor doubled as Tony's suit and partner until it became too bloodthirsty in battle. Ultimately, the Sentient Armor almost killed Tony until it realized Tony was suffering from a heart attack. The Sentient Armor gave its own cybernetic heart so Tony would live, and Tony ensured it received a proper burial as an Avenger.
6 The HulkBuster Armor Had An Extra Feature In The Comics
The Model 52 Armor is more of a loophole in the way that it technically is the Hulkbuster armor sporting the same design as the MCU's version that Tony wore in Avengers: Age of Ultron. However, what makes this suit unique in the comics is that it has an additional ability.
Similar to a Transformer, the Model 52 can change into a flying car and back at the push of a button. Though the Hulkbuster suit has been worn in other forms of media, the comics have so far been the only place Tony has worn a transforming car suit.
5 The Deep Space Armor Means Tony Doesn't Need A Spaceship
When Tony explored space and joined the Guardians of the Galaxy, he needed a suit specifically designed for deep space travel. Not only does the suit look cool with a design reminiscent of the sun, but it also comes with some serious upgrades.
The Deep Space Armor featured powerful shields and additional back thrusters that allowed Tony to travel through space at warp speed without the need of a spaceship. Tony Stark also installed a program that allows him to control his other suits back on Earth, no matter how far away in the galaxy he may be.
4 The Godbuster Armor Is Tony's Ultimate Weapon
Not to be confused with the Godkiller Anti-Celestial armor, the Godbuster armor is considered Iron Man's ultimate weapon. When the eScape allowed Tony to bypass the limitations of the human brain, the Godbuster armor was what he came up with.
With its power level off the charts, there is no telling what the suit was actually capable of achieving. After serving its purpose by defeating the villainous Motherboard, Tony Stark deemed the suit too dangerous and had it engage its self-destruct sequence.
3 The Virtual Armor's Power Is Essentially Limitless
Even though the Godbuster may have been Tony's ultimate weapon, the Virtual Armor that succeeded it was just as impressive. Rather than the traditional mix of metal and electronics, the Virtual Armor was made out of solid holograms.
Being completely virtual, the suit was technically invisible and only manifested itself as needed. The Virtual Suit could take on any form and manifest any weapon that Tony's mind could think of, meaning it was only limited by Stark's imagination.
2 The Outer Atmospheric Armor Looks Cool But Has Only Been Used Once
The Outer Atmospheric Armor was notable for its unique appearance, though Tony only wore it once to confront Justin Hammer in space. Like its name suggested, this suit was designed to function in space just past the atmosphere and likely wouldn't be able to handle further space travel like the Deep Space Suit.
Being a spacesuit, the Outer Atmospheric Armor possessed some unique features that other suits did not. Rather than the usual repulsor technology, the suit used compressed gas in the boots to launch and featured pulse and concussion weapons suited for space combat.
1 The Iron Sorcerer Armor Is The Perfect Mix Of Magic & Technology
The Iron Sorcerer Armor appeared in What If... #113 (by Chris Duffy, Gregg Schigiel, Ron Boyd, Nick Musolino, and Chris Eliopoulos), explaining why it has never appeared anywhere else since. In said story, Tony Stark became the Sorcerer Supreme in place of Doctor Strange.
Naturally, Tony doesn't simply wear the Cloak of Levitation and Eye of Agamotto the way Doctor Strange does. Instead, he integrates them into his own armor for a powerful fusion of magic and technology, complete with a helmet that looks like it was borrowed from DC's Doctor Fate.