Nothing is impossible in the Marvel Universe because the comics have allowed heroes and villains to accomplish truly absurd feats, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe has always been treated as slightly more “realistic.”
As a normal human being, it was seen as out of the realm of possibility that Tony Stark could accomplish things that gods struggled to achieve, but being Iron Man was a mantle no-one but Tony could carry. In this list, we’ve considered those feats by Iron Man that took us all by surprise when they played out in the MCU. What better way to show that we love Tony 3000 than to check out these 10 seemingly impossible things Iron Man pulled off.
10 Becoming Iron Man
The first feat in the MCU by Tony Stark was becoming Iron Man himself. Firstly, he overcame what had to be a million-to-one chance of surviving the Ten Rings' attack, before coming out with a device that kept the shrapnel from reaching his heart.
He would then create an entire exo-suit (with a little help) using nothing but “a box of scraps” and also managed to do hide the plans so expertly that they were hidden in plain sight. Despite having just the one shot at it, the first “impossible” scenario was completed by the man who would be known as Iron Man when he destroyed the terrorist camp and flew to his freedom.
9 Making A Perfect Arc Reactor
Coming back to the “box of scraps” part, the arc reactor made by Iron Man was unparalleled. It’s so pure in its energy that it was capable of keeping Tony alive as well as power his Iron Man suits.
No-one could replicate this technology even when they tried to reverse-engineer it, making the arc reactor something that shouldn’t have been possible theoretically speaking. Continuing on the evolving process of the arc reactor, the Iron Man suit would reach unfathomable levels of progress to the point that advanced technology possessed by the Guardians of the Galaxy paled in comparison.
8 Creating A New Element
People spend decades trying to prove there’s a new element out there, but our boy Tony not only proved the existence of one but went out and created it. Admittedly, Howard Stark was the first to go down this road, but Tony was the one who reached the finishing line.
It was this element Tony needed to replace the arc reactor in his chest that was slowly poisoning him. Not only did Tony create the new element, but he also implemented it in his latest Iron Man suit and headed off to beat Whiplash.
7 Surviving In Deep Space
Maybe Tony did figure out how to get around the “icing problem” he once had with the Iron Man suit, as the armor showed signs of life for a couple of minutes while out in deep space. As it happened, Iron Man had to deflect the nuclear bomb headed for New York City in The Avengers, and the only place he could find was through the portal into space.
Once out there where no man had ever reached, Iron Man maneuvered the nuke onto the Chitauri mother ship and blew it up. Just a few seconds ago, no human had ever witnessed alien armies before, and here was Iron Man destroying them all in a single go. His suit would then guide him down back to safety through the portal.
6 Creating A Time Travel GPS
In Avengers: Endgame, had Tony not gotten on board with the Time Heist plan, then the trillions who had died in the Snap would have remained dead. Earlier on, Smart Hulk had failed to figure out the right settings for the time travel to work, causing Ant-Man to turn into a young and old man. Luckily, Tony arrived to set things right.
By the time he arrived at the Avengers HQ, Tony had already created the Time Travel GPS that was needed for the team to go through time. Even though he himself had called it a “billion-to-one cosmic fluke,” it turned out Iron Man didn’t cater to impossible odds.
5 Making Thanos Bleed
Thanos’ durability was absolutely off the charts, as the Titan was never put down until the Infinity Stones came into play. In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos had steamrolled through every opponent, and it seemed impossible anybody could cut through his durability.
Even though Tony ultimately lost, Iron Man managed to incapacitate Thanos momentarily. Tony did so by deflecting the Power Stone, which had earlier been confirmed to be capable of destroying planets. Iron Man would then follow up by smacking Thanos with his empowered suit, causing the Titan to spill blood for what might have been the first time ever.
4 Fixing Captain America's Shield
This one gets overlooked all the time, but you should stop to consider how impossible it was to break vibranium, let alone think of fixing it. However, after creating all those Iron Man suits, Tony seemed to figure something out.
In Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther used his vibranium claws to permanently scar Captain America’s shield, which remained there for the duration of the film. In Avengers: Endgame, Iron Man unveiled the shield to show that he had shined it back up to mint condition. He didn’t have any access to vibranium of his own, making this the most underrated impossible feat that he’s achieved so far.
3 Perfecting A Nanotech Suit
The idea of nanotechnology was treated as a pipe dream by almost everyone, but the last versions of Iron Man were solely based on it. These suits were so far ahead in technology, they were capable of harming beings like Thanos and Cull Obsidian.
Not even Wakanda, where vibranium enabled the country to be the most advanced civilization in the planet, could boast the kind of technical wizardry Iron Man came up with. Unfortunately, now that Tony is dead, it seems impossible anybody will be able to come up with the perfect version of the Iron Man armor.
2 Creating An Infinity Gauntlet
Thanos had to travel all the way into the nine realms and head onto Nidavellir to force Eitri and the Dwarves into creating the Infinity Gauntlet out of the magical Uru material. This would have made it seem like there was no chance another Gauntlet could be made, but Iron Man created one right in his own alley.
Lacking the magical components that would make the Gauntlet safe to wear, Tony still fashioned a good enough version using the nanotechnology we saw in the Iron Man armor. The Infinity Stones were objects of creation, and it is bonkers to stomach the fact that a human from Earth was able to manufacture a Gauntlet to use and control them.
1 Using The Infinity Stones
Nobody before Thanos had wielded all the Infinity Stones at the same time, which was considered an impossible dream that earned the villain the label of a madman. Even the Mad Titan didn’t achieve this feat without the Gauntlet.
Despite knowing it was certain death if he so much as touched a Stone with his bare hands, Tony was able to assimilate all of them into his suit, even managing to utter “I am Iron Man,” before snapping his fingers and becoming the only mortal being to wield the Infinity Stones in tandem.