Quick Links

Without a doubt, the Avengers movies are the most anticipated and eventually the most fulfilling superhero films to watch, since there is a way Marvel happens to do everything right when it comes to these movies. This is not to try to pick a fight with die-hard DC fans, but no DC movie can entertain you and leave you breathless as much as an Avengers movie can, true or false? Moving on, have you ever wondered who the most powerful Avenger is? On the other hand, an even better question would be; which Avenger is the best, judging more from the Avengers movies and not necessarily from comics?

According to the New York Post, an article printed on April 30, 2015, on the paper's website claimed that Iron Man was without a doubt the best Avenger - a claim that had very reasonable backing. Although some people would not consider him better than The Hulk or even Thor, who is a god, we can all agree without question that people love Iron Man more than they love any other Avenger.

One of the things that make Tony Stark or Iron Man so popular is the technology at his disposal. Tony seems to have access to technology that the rest of the world can only imagine exists - tech that helps him come up with the best armors in all superhero universes. Tony has had at least 46 Iron Man armors to date, although the number is sure to increase as his technology continues to advance.

Here are fifteen of the craziest armors Iron Man has ever made, with most of these being some of the most powerful he has. Which here is your most favorite?

15. 1602 Iron Man

Via SuperHeroHype

Marvel 1602 is a very interesting eight-part series unfolding in a timeline different from what we are familiar with. In this series, the Marvel superheroes belong to the Elizabethan society, and the characters here are those from Marvel's 1960s era. In this series, some characters that we know very well to be heroes are actually villains, characters like Iron Man and The Hulk, and most of them do not appear, as we know them in the conventional Marvel Universe timeline. This armor is crazy in every way, since its appearance is too far from what we are used to, and although this world's Iron Man made it, it is worn by the same world's hulk. Lord Iron, as is his name in the 1602 world, is an inventor and a renowned weaponeer, was captured, and forced to make this armor by David Banner, this world's Hulk. The armor looks great but seems to be the least powerful on this list.

14. Mark 5: The Suitcase Armor (Iron Man 2)

Via One Sixth Warriors

The Suitcase armor, which is also called "Football", is a beauty and it represents the first of its portable kind since, before the armor, Tony Stark had to be in the Lab to suit up. The crazy thing about this armor is that its capabilities are not for heavy combat, but it is for use only in emergencies where Stark can escape with his life and protect a few other people. The first glimpse we get of the suit is in the movie Iron Man 2, where Ivan Vanko (Whiplash) attacks Stark at the Grand Monaco Racing Track. The highlight of the fight was watching Stark wear the suit because from there he did receive a beating from Whiplash but he eventually defeated him. Although the Mark 5 was badly damaged during this fight, the portability experiment was successful. Some of the upsides to having this armor are its lightweight, hand-mounted repulsors, flight capabilities, and of course, its portability.

13. Mark 2 Armor (Iron Man)

Via paper4pc.com

The Mark II armor here is one of the most beautiful armors in Tony Stark's arsenal, with its seemingly simple design and it single metallic gray color making it so different from most other armors. Going by the movie Iron Man released on May 2, 2008, Tony wears this suit and takes it out for a test run. Since this is the first time Tony is achieving flight in his suit, J.A.R.V.I.S (Just A Rather Very Intelligent System) tries to explain to him why he should take it slow, but knowing how stubborn Tony is, he pushes it to its maximum. This suit is so crazy because it is the first of a new breed of armors. The air pressure boot-jets give its wearer unbelievable speed, a wide range of weaponry including the chest-mounted Monobeam, hacksaws at the fingertips, hand drills, electromagnets, and an electric field generator among other cool features.

12. Model-Prime Armor

Via Marvel Database

The official name for this suit is Iron Man Armor Model 51, which is one of the most advanced suits Tony has ever designed. The crazy thing about this suit is that Tony designed it to change shape and color depending on the situation at hand. The first time he used this suit was its prototype version at the Collector's Contest of Champions, where the action was too much for it leading to its destruction. However, when Tony finished the full version of the Model 51, he was unstoppable. This suit is an all-in-one tool set that is both streamlined and less complicated in design compared to other suits. This suit, unlike most of Stark's suits, is connected to his brain and it has the ability to transform into other models in Stark's arsenal such as into the Hulkbuster, or the Samurai-like armor. The suit protects Stark automatically from all forms of attack and has a unique stealth mode feature that projects Stark as a hologram.

11. Mark 7 (The Avengers)

Via Iron Man Wiki

The Iron Man Mark VII armor was a special armor that Tony Stark used in the 2012 Avengers Movie. This Suit is amazing in every way, since some people do believe that thanks to the suit, Iron Man proved to be the most powerful avenger in that movie. The first glimpse we get of the Mark 7 is when Loki throws Tony out of the window and presumably falls to his death, but the Mark 7 swoops in and dives down to connect with Tony right before he hits the ground. During combat Mark 7 is badly damaged owing to the numerous aliens, fighting Tony at any one point, but the suit sure proves its worth. Tony instructs J.A.R.V.I.S to send all the power to the thrusters, which the system does, and he ends up saving New York and all the other avengers by redirecting the Nuclear weapon through the portal thus annihilating the enemy.

10. Silver Centurion Armor

Via DeviantArt

Although this armor appears in Iron Man's traditional colors of red and Silver, this suit marks the beginning of some of the most energy efficient armors built by Stark. Tony first used this suit to fight his enemy Obadiah Stane who had destroyed Circuits Maximus; Stark's small-time manufacturer based in Los Angeles. Circuits Maximus was special to Stark because it offered the distraction he needed as he was dealing with his alcohol addiction, and its destruction meant that Stark lost more than just a business, but also friends and almost his life. Stark used the Silver Centurion armor to defeat Stane and to destroy Stane International. What makes this armor crazy is its 3-D knitted metallic exterior and firm interior, a combination that makes Stark invulnerable to physical, cold, heat, acid, radiation, electricity, and any form of energy attacks. The armor's impenetrable force, its recharging capabilities, speeds in water and on land, and its advanced weaponry makes it a sure winner in any battle.

9. Captain America: Civil War Armor

Via Inverse

The armor that Iron Man wore in Captain America: Civil war is one of the newest armors film audiences have seen in action, and the good thing is that it did not disappoint too much. When Stark goes after Captain America and super-soldier James "Bucky" Barnes, how he wears this armor is nothing short of impressive; with the touch of a button and it grows from his index finger to the rest of his body. Despite the fact that the movie had Captain America's name on it and he was going to win the fight anyway, how Iron Man was able to dominate the fight against both Captain America and Bucky was outstanding. The fight was so complex because Iron Man could not use all he had against his fellow Avenger who was standing in the way of who he really wanted to beat. What is also impressive is how the suit scans Captain America's hand-to-hand fight pattern and gives Iron Man the ability to beat the Captain where he is strongest.

8. Endo-Sym Armor

Via Xionice - DeviantArt

The Endo-Sym armor is Tony's armor of choice in Superior Iron Man 1 and it is clearly one of his most beautiful armors. Tony Stark's choice of using this Endo-Sym armor in Superior Iron Man is very significant since this suit is superior to most of Iron Man's other suits in so many ways. First, this armor is made of a combination of smart-metal and alien venom symbiote elements, making it unique in every way. Tony can psionically control this armor to flow over his body whenever he needs it, and after covering him, the armor hardens and becomes like all his other armors. Regardless of distance or electromagnetic cloaking, this armor has the ability to locate and follow Tony wherever he goes. Although it seems as though not many people understand how the symbiote works fearing a repeat performance of what Spider-Man had to deal with, this is without a doubt one of his best yet.

7. Mark 30: The Extremis Armor

Via Pinterest

The Extremis Armor is simply one of the most unusual and technologically advanced armors that Tony Stark has, and he ended up with it following a battle with an enemy with nanotech enhancements who almost killed him. For Stark to survive, he injected his nervous system with a nanotech-based weapon so advanced it not only saves his life but fuses his armor to his body. This means that Stark has his armor inside of him in his bones and he can control it directly using brain impulses, therefore he does not need an artificial intelligence system to control it. This armor is crazy because it turns Stark into a cyborg, it is a good thing that he is fighting against evil villains and is not one of them. With this armor, stark does not need to worry about having to carry a bulky armor or having to deal with neural control interfaces; he becomes 100% Iron Man because his armor becomes part of him just like his skin.

6. Mark 41: Bones Armor (Iron Man 3)

Via Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki

The Mark 41, which goes by the name "Bones", is a unique armor that made its debut in the Iron Man 3 movie. This suit gets its name from its skeletal appearance, looking nothing close to sleek, or simple. Introduced to the audiences as part of Iron Man's legion at the final battle in Iron Man 3 when we got to see so many of Tony's suits come to his aid after he initiated "House Party Protocol". We did not get to see Tony wearing this suit, but we have seen it in action. The craziest things about this armor are its separation abilities, its speed, and its flexibility. This armor can split into numerous small pieces and then come back together during flight, it is much faster and more easily maneuverable compared to other armors, and it is very light and flexible owing to its unique design. When it comes to dodging obstacles or enemy firepower, none comes close to what bones can do.

5. The Bleeding Edge

Via Comic Vine

When Stark was asked whether The Bleeding Edge was an upgrade of the Extremis armor owing to their similarities in the Invincible Iron Man #25, he stated that it was not an upgrade but just a new armor. The crazy thing about this armor is that it resides within Tony Stark's body, and it manifests when commanded by his brain. When Stark commands the armor to appear, its fibrous web of platinum and iron cover his skin and fit him like a glove. This armor can change its appearance to look like clothes and later appear like any of the other armors. The armor has guns extending from the Iron Man's arms and it can project an extremely powerful energy sword that has the power to hurt even "The Worthy". Even more crazy is that this almost indestructible armor has the ability to self-restore in case a powerful force damages it, an ability that is active as long as Stark's arc reactor on his chest is intact.

4. Stealth Armor

Via SuperHeroHype

Iron Man has so many suits because he always needs to meet the ever changing demands of his work because villains come in all sizes, physical capabilities, and with weird supernatural strengths. The objective behind coming up with this armor is for him to avoid detection while foiling evil plans as well as going in and out of restricted areas unnoticed. This is the reason why this armor needs to be as sleek and noise proof. The crazy thing about this suit's original design was its lack of weapons. However, while Stark is wearing this suit he can be sure that it will give him superhuman strength, his durability will be upgraded to more than most suits, it has flight capabilities, and it projects a force field. The suit's invisibility function is one of the coolest bits of this armor, although its magnetic manipulation capability and enemy system hacking.

3. Mark 45: Space Armor

Via Marvel Database

Tony Stark built this armor to help him survive in space since as a human being he faces the same limitations we do. Therefore, unlike most other armors, this one does not collapse. What makes this armor crazy is the features that this one has that other do not. A small glimpse into the features reveal that solar power converters and a micro-nuclear supply pack power this armor, a cybernetic interface controlled the system, it can support life outside earth's atmosphere for two days, and the maneuvering is powered by liquid oxygen. With regard to weapons, a pair of palm mounted repulsors, a chest mounted unibeam, and epaulette-mounted concussion-burst cannons are enough to fight off any enemy. The armor has a range of sensors including sonar, radar, radio, and infrared scanners. The armor can attain escape velocity without the assistance of external thrusters, despite making it bulky and heavy on earth's atmosphere.

2. The Hulkbuster (Avengers: Age Of Ultron)

Via Nerdcotics.com

This has got to be the strongest armor that Stark has ever built because it was meant to battle the strongest and toughest being in the Marvel Universe; the Hulk. Measured to an outstanding weight of 170 tons, a simple glance at its sheer size and appearance tells you that this armor is heavy duty. The depth of metal protecting Tony Stark from the Hulk's punches is so thick that it would require too much power to penetrate, but we can always trust the Hulk to surprise us. Since the armor's exo-frame is designed for maximum strength, Iron Man's mobility and versatility are highly compromised. In the comics, we get to see the Hulkbuster in Iron Man Vol.1 #304, where the armor helps Iron Man to stand toe-to-toe with the Hulk on physical combat but only for a short period. In the movies, the Hulkbuster performed well in Avengers: Age Of Ultron but had the fight gone on a few seconds longer the Hulk would have obliterated this armor.

1. The War Machine Armor (Iron Man 2)

Via Iron Man Wiki

The official name for the War Machine is the "Variable Threat Response Battle Suit", an armor that was made ready for serious warfare. Although Stark made this armor to fight against the Masters of Silence, it made its appearance on screen in Iron Man 2, where it did nothing but impress. This armor is designed for war and was the beginning of Stark's experimentation with ballistic weaponry and laser-guided munitions. Some important features on this armor include an electric minigun on its shoulder, a missile box launcher mounted on its shoulder, wrist gauntlet cannons, a flamethrower, and a laser blade. Few armors can match up to the War Machine's heavy carbon-composite structure, its automatic targeting system, as well as its tactical computer system. Tony Stark built a similar armor for James Rhodes, with which James earned a spot on the list of superheroes. Rhode's version included unibeam and repulsor technology, making it one of the most advanced.

Sources: nypost.commarvel.wikia.com, en.wikipedia.org and screencrush.com.