Marvel Studios made quite the splash in 2008 with the release of Iron Man, a second-tier character in their catalog that has, in the last five years, become one of the most popular superheroes on the planet. The film successfully launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is currently the Big Man on Campus of the superhero film genre. Whether you're a Marvel fan or not, they're here to stay and that arguably wouldn't be possible without the success of Iron Man. We've seen Tony Stark suit up four times now on the big screen, in three solo films and alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes last summer in The Avengers. One of the most distinctive, and coolest things, about Iron Man is of course his armor. We've seen 42 models of the armor on screen. The Marks I, II, III, and IV in Iron Man, Marks IV, V and VI in Iron Man 2, Marks VI and VII in The Avengers. In Iron Man 3, Tony mostly wears the Mark XLII, his forty-second suit. After the events in New York during the Avengers, Tony suffers post-traumatic stress disorder and spends most of his time designing and building new suits, which he utilizes in the final battle in IM3. We see brief glimpses of various armors before the battle is done, and unfortunately that's all we're given before (Spoiler!) Tony destroys them all. It's no secret that Tony Stark will be returning in two Avengers sequels, the first of which, Avengers: Age of Ultron, will arrive on May 1, 2015. With the release of IM3 on digital download yesterday (out on Blu Ray and DVD on Sept. 24), I thought now might be a good time to take a look back at Iron Man's comic history, and find armor that deserves to be featured in future films. Everyone has differing opinions on their favorite armors, but I've compiled a list of 5 that I feel would work well within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and offer interesting story opportunities for Tony Stark down the line.
Honorable Mention: Iron Spider
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #529Though Sony has done a good job bringing Spider-Man to the big screen, it's a shame that Marvel Studios doesn't have the rights to the character. He's always been an integral part to the Marvel comics universe, is one of the world's most popular superhero characters, and would fit right in to the MCU. He also received a pretty awesome costume upgrade from Tony Stark in 2006 with the Iron Spider armor. Though there's virtually zero chance of it ever appearing on screen (in the foreseeable future, at least), it would be criminal not to include it on this list. Tony builds the armor after Peter Parker is resurrected from a battle to the death against the villain Morlun during the "Spider-Man: The Other" storyline which ran from 2005-2006. Peter wears it for a short time before abandoning it during the Civil War storyline. In the aftermath of the Civil War, Tony gives it to the three members of the Scarlet Spiders. The Iron Spider Armor possessed three mechanical spider-arms (called waldoes), gave Spider-Man the ability to glide using mesh webbing on the arms, and contains 17 layers throughout its workings that all have a function of their own. It's Peter's most functional costume, and let's face it, is just so
cool looking. I recommend reading more about it on the
Marvel comics wiki. And now, without further ado, 5 Iron Man armors we'd love to see on film...