Tony Stark began his professional career as a weapons designer, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that he's good at creating dangerous toys. Going back through the comics and into the MCU films, Tony's creations helped set him apart as a superhero among people with actual powers, which isn't an easy thing to do. After getting thrown into a cave, he was forced to create weapons for some really bad people, but that only gave him ideas. He set to work and created a nearly limitless power source and then made a suit of armor to aid in his escape. That suit of armor was more than a defensive shell, as it came jam-packed with weapons.
Over the years, Stark's Iron Man suits have included some of the more interesting and devastating weapon systems in the Marvel Universe. On the surface, he's just a guy wearing a cool suit of sleek armor that enables him to fly and pack a punch, but there's far more happening beneath the surface that you may not know about. Underneath that shiny exterior beats the heart of a true weapons designer and Tony's innovations in that area have helped to keep him alive and fighting well into the 21st century. You may think you know all of the tricks Tony has up his armored sleeve, but odds are, you don't know everything he's got going on in that suit of armor. Here are the 20 most OP weapons hidden in Iron Man’s armor.
20 FLAMETHROWERS
When Tony created his suit of armor in the first Iron Man film in 2008, he was decked out in a lumbering iron hulk that looked as it was welded together from various pieces of other tech in a cave. Granted, that's exactly what it was, but other than provide shelter from the storm of gunfire coming his way, it also had a few weapon systems built into it.
Probably the most useful and devastating piece of equipment Tony fit into his suit was a flamethrower equipped to both wrists. He used these to not only take out the bad guys, but also to destroy their equipment (mostly consisting of Stark weapons). Flamethrowers are great for close-quarters combat and made for a perfect addition to his MCU Mark I suit.
19 HOLOGRAPHIC PROJECTORS
Not all weapons are offensive and some of the best and most useful are defensive in nature. Such is the case for Tony's Holographic Projectors, which he can use to project holographic decoys of himself into battle. He has yet to use this in the movies, but the comics are full of examples of Iron Man projecting multiple copies of himself to confuse enemies.
He has used this tech to trick an enemy into attacking something that wasn't there, but it also comes in handy when he needs to fool a weapon into attacking them instead of him. He can also use this tech to project the areas surrounding onto his armor, which works as an incredibly useful form of camouflage. Essentially, he can blend into his surroundings and project a drone for his enemies to follow.
18 STRENGTH ENHANCEMENT
One of the most obvious weapons Tony has built into his suit is the superhuman strength it affords him. This isn't just an everyday exoskeleton that helps him lift things weighing a couple hundred pounds, as the Iron Man suits have been shown to enable Tony to life items up to 100 tons in weight. Putting on the Iron Man suit puts Tony into the upper echelons of strength classification in the Marvel Universe.
His strength can be increased beyond the 100 ton limit with additional power and some of his suits are outfitted for even more strength enhancement. The Hulkbuster Armor is rated to lift up to 170 tons, which comes in handy when it comes time to keep the Hulk from rampaging through a city.
17 REMOTE OPERATION
Another weapon system Tony has outfitted into his newer pieces of armor is the ability to operate them remotely. This essentially enables Tony to create and operate an army of drones he can control from anywhere in the world. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tony demonstrated this tech when he helped and confronted Peter Parker. The armor was controlled so well that Peter (and the audience) initially believed Tony was inside.
In Iron Man 3, Tony was able to bring forth all of his suits of armor to fight as a sort of drone swarm against Aldrich Killian. This is one of those techs that works as both offensive and defensive, but overall, it's an incredibly useful ability Tony has employed on numerous occasions in the comics as well as the MCU.
16 MULTIPLE PROJECTILE LAUNCHER
Looking at Iron Man's Mark II suit, it doesn't appear to have many weapon systems built into it. That belief is dispelled rather quickly when Tony flies into Afghanistan to take care of his former captors in the first Iron Man film. Tony lands just before a group of civilians are harmed. This presents Tony with a problem: how to take out the aggressors without hurting any of the innocent people.
As it turns out, there isn't any problem at all when a couple of shoulder-mounted devices appear. Tony's HUD identifies the targets and his multiple projectile launcher fires at each one of the enemies and takes them out in one fell swoop. It isn't clear if these are directly aimed bullets or some sort of small rocket, but whatever they are, they worked perfectly.
15 M134 MINIGUN
Not all of Tony's weapon systems are as well-hidden as the others. Take, for example, the M134 Minigun strapped to the shoulder of the Iron Patriot armor. This weapon system is one of the deadliest in the US Arsenal and it looks absolutely amazing on the shoulder of a guy wearing a sleek suit of armor. The M134 Minigun is a six-barrel rotary machine gun capable of firing up to 6,000 rounds per minute.
This is one of those weapons that Tony doesn't prefer to use, which may be due to the devastation they can cause. He happily built one onto the Iron Patriot's armor, but he could certainly use one should the need arise. Typically, these are mounted onto vehicles for use in heavy combat, which is why it works perfectly for a souped-up suit of armor.
14 LASERS
When most people think of lasers, they probably picture some sort of laser blaster in a sci-fi movie, but for Tony's systems, they are more of a piece of non-lethal equipment. He has used them in the films multiple times to cut or weld pieces of metal, but when you look at how quickly and efficiently he can slice through anything, it's clear he could easily use them as a seriously lethal weapon.
The Mark VI Iron Man suit demonstrated the use of these lasers when he was able to immediately cut through metal upon contact. They are single-use beams, which may be powered internally by an unknown chemical reaction, but whatever their power source, they are incredibly powerful and capable of cutting through anything.
13 REPULSORS
Iron Man's repulsor technology is easily his most well-known tech when it comes to the Iron Man suit. Repulsors were initially designed to make the suit fly, but they have many uses outside their intended purpose. As the name implies, repulsors use energy to push things away from them. In the feet, they enable flight, but for the hands, they can be used to stabilize flight or as powerful weapons.
In the comics, animation, and films, Tony has used his repulsors as his primary weapon. They are powered by his arc reactor in the films, which means the more powerful or advanced that system, the stronger the repulsors. He can stun people like Thor or destroy equipment like Hammer Drones. He can also use them to create a narrow concentrated beam for a variety of purposes.
12 UNIBEAM
The Unibeam is a specialized type of lighting Iron Man can use as a powerful searchlight capable of projecting a beam in every spectrum of light. This includes the visible light spectrum as well as much of the invisible spectrum, which includes X-Rays and other forms of light. While a specialized searchlight may not seem like much of a weapon, there are ways Tony has enhanced it to make it one.
He can increase the power to the Unibeam via the Arc Reactor and create a weapon capable of taking out anything in his path. This makes the Unibeam one of those devices that has multiple uses in both defensive and offensive weaponry. He emits the Unibeam from his chest, but it can drain his energy quickly so it must be used conservatively.
11 FREEZE BEAM
Not all of Tony's weapons are the kind that blow things up or push them into a wall, some are relatively non-lethal and can be used for a variety of purposes. One such weapon is his Freeze Beam, which is a beam of highly concentrated Ultra-Freon used to... well, freeze things. This amounts to what is more commonly known as a "freeze ray" and he has used it from time to time to stop his enemies in their tracks.
Like many of his more versatile beam weapons, the Freeze Beam emits from his chest and can be used as a last resort when an enemy is right on top of him. He has yet to demonstrate this ability in the MCU, but has been known to use it in the comics and cartoons every now and again.
10 PULSE BOLT
Iron Man's repulsors are capable of delivering different forms of energy he can use as weaponry. Instead of just being able to shoot out repulsor rays all the time, he can also fire off a weapon system called the Pulse Bolt. Pulse Bolts are an incredibly powerful discharge of plasma energy that build up strength the further they travel. This works as a dangerous weapon, but they implode if they are overloaded and move too far from their energy source.
This weapon isn't used as often as his repulsors, but you could have seen it in action if you played Marvel Heroes. Pulse Bolts are reserved for those enemies who need to take a bit more of a punch than traditional repulsor technology can offer.
9 ENERGY BLADE
Believe it or not, Tony Stark can handle a sword. Granted, he isn't the type of guy who would just pick up any old sword and use it in battle—the guy is clad in armor and fights some of the Marvel Universe's biggest bad guys after all. For his Mark VI suit, Tony developed a new form of energy weapon he uses called an Energy Blade.
There are multiple forms of energy projection Tony can use for an Energy Blade. He can envelop a traditional sword in repulsor energy, which effectively turns the blade into a much more powerful weapon. He can also form the energy into a small blade emitting from his right hand and even create a shield he can use to provide additional defense.
8 PULSE BARRAGE
Most of Iron Man's weaponry is for mid to close-range combat, but he does have a few weapon systems installed for long-range engagements. One such weapon system is the Pulse Barrage. He uses this weapon for long-range attacks due to the relatively small amount of energy it requires against its potential lethality. His normal Pulse Barrage can be used to engage multiple enemies at range similar to an artillery strike, but his Red Pulse Barrage upgrade is far more dangerous.
The Red Pulse Barrage can be used to penetrate through enemies and hit others behind them making it highly effective against groups of enemies. He can also use it to ricochet off of objects enabling him to hit enemies hidden behind cover.
7 SMART MISSILES
Over the years, Tony has outfitted his suits of armor with a number of rocket launchers firing off different types of missiles. He was able to install a rocket launcher in his Mark I suit, but the systems he installed after that first trial make that original system look infantile. Tony developed much smaller systems with Smart Missiles capable of packing a serious punch in a very small package.
The Smart Missiles used by Tony in his Iron Man suits (Mark II and beyond) are able to target and exploit weak points. That's how he was able to blow up a tank with a tiny rocket, as it located the vehicle's weak point and exploited it. These tiny rockets deliver maximum damage with only a small payload.
6 HYPER-VELOCITY IMPACT
Iron Man is certainly a tough character, but weapons and strength aren't always going to help in a fight when you have to go up against someone like Spider-Man. Sure, Iron Man is stronger and has better gadgets, but Spider-Man has a Spider-Sense and can flip and jump and dodge out of everything Iron Man throws his way. How, then is Iron Man able to fight him in the comics? Hyper-Velocity Impact.
The Hyper-Velocity Impact system is a built-in software program that enables Iron Man to quickly react to a threat. It increases his ability to think much faster than normal, enabling him to anticipate and avoid attacks. If he really gets going using it, it can generate an electrical bubble around him, which further enhances his defenses and offensive capabilities.
5 TRI-BEAM
The Tri-Beam is a modified form of the Unibeam that is directly powered by the Arc Reactor. This system was first developed by Tony for his Mark VI armor first seen in Iron Man #218, written by David Michelinie and Bob Layton who also illustrated the book back in 1987. The Tri-Beam was initially adapted for underwater use though it could drain the suit's energy quickly if used.
Over the years, Tony has modified his primary weapon systems to include the Unibeam for specific requirements. The Tri-Beam proved incredibly useful underwater, but over time, Tony moved away from its use to incorporate more enhancements into the Unibeam/Tri-Beam. Tony rarely leaves his inventions "as-is" and always changes them for the better.
4 MULTI-BEAM
The Multi-Beam is an aptly-named weapon system that enables Tony to fire off multiple forms of energy. This system is arguably one of his best because it enables the Iron Man armor to absorb different forms of energy and then release them in the form of a concentrated blast back at his enemies.
Not only can the Multi-Beam fire off concentrations of whatever energy Iron Man absorbs, but it can also do so with multiple forms of energy at the same time. This means that if he were to absorb several types of energy from different sources, he could then channel that energy back via a blast of energy composed of all those forms of energy all at once. It's a truly devastating weapon, but it does require a great deal of energy from external sources to function efficiently.
3 PENTABEAM
With all these beam weapons, you might think Tony would be satisfied, but the man never stops inventing. The Pentabeam isn't simply a beam composed of five elements, but it is a weapon system that incorporates a microwave lensing projector. This specialized projector can create directed beams of ultra-high multi mega-joule electrons alongside acoustic energy, neutrons, and protons to form a devastating blast at whatever he targets.
The Pentabeam is, by far, more powerful than the Tri-Beam and Multi-Beam weapon systems, but like all his weaponry, it requires a great deal of energy to deploy. Tony uses this weapon when he needs to take on a serious threat (which happens fairly regularly in the world of Iron Man), but it isn't his most powerful beam weapon in Iron Man's arsenal.
2 OMNIBEAM
The Omnibeam is the most powerful beam weapon Iron Man can deploy and it makes all his other beam weapons look like flashlights. The Omnibeam can generate light heated up to 25,232 degrees Fahrenheit (14,000 Celsius), which is hotter than the chromosphere of the sun. He can use this light to permanently blind his enemies and stun them into submission, but that's not all the Omnibeam can do.
In addition to causing blindness, the Omnibeam can emit an ultrasonic attack so intense, it can stun superhumans like the Hulk. It can also increase in intensity enough to disintegrate a target. He uses this weapon by drawing in the energy around him until it becomes so intense that he fires it off from his chest reactor with billions of petawatts of energy.
1 PROTON CANNON
When Iron Man's weaponry needs to pack that extra punch, he can pull out an insanely large Proton Cannon and fire a concentrated blast at his enemies. In the game, Marvel vs. Capcom, the Proton Cannon is one of Iron Man and War Machine's Hyper Combos and it is one of those weapons that appears out of nowhere, but causes a great deal of damage to your opponent.
It may seem like something that would only be used as a finishing move in a game, but rumor has it the Proton Cannon might make an appearance in Avengers: End Game. Rumored photos show what is almost certainly an MCU version of the ultimate Iron Man weapon, so we may finally get to see Iron Man strap a giant cannon onto his shoulder in the movie world.