Everything in the MCU, from its most thrilling battles to its most heartfelt moments, can be traced back to a single Marvel superhero: Iron Man. Single-handedly leading the entire MCU in 2008, Iron Man has become one of the most powerful, not to mention most iconic, heroes in the Avengers. While Thor and the Hulk may have outmatched him in brute strength, Iron Man has always been a force to be reckoned with, proving time and time again that he can take on the world's greatest threats.
However, as impressive as Iron Man is in the MCU, his power level has been drastically reduced from his original incarnation in the comics. In the comics, Tony Stark is still the same person with the same innate abilities that he has in the MCU, but Tony Stark in Marvel Comics is a force of seemingly limitless power. While he has yet to bestow the highest levels of power on other superheroes, Iron Man is still an absolute beast of a character who punches well above his weight class. From brute strength and speed to incredible feats of technological prowess, there's a reason Iron Man is Marvel Comics' premier armored Avenger.
Iron Man's exploits in the MCU are among the most thrilling and exciting
It has been firing repulsor rounds since day one
In the MCU, Tony Stark built his prototype Iron Man armor from scraps in a cave to escape a terrorist organization. Taking this idea to heart, Tony Stark continued to develop and expand his initial Iron Man armor concept, eventually resulting in the iconic armored suit that the world has come to recognize as such. Through his suit, Tony Stark can perform incredible feats of strength and speed, and withstand immense amounts of punishment. That's without even considering the Iron Man suit's absurd amount of weaponry, including missiles, repulsor beams, and energy conduits.
Iron Man… it's pretty cool. It has a nice ring to it. I mean, it's not technically accurate; the suit is a gold-titanium alloy. But it's kind of evocative.
Some of the most memorable moments of Iron Man's exploits in the MCU include his explosive team-up with War Machine against Justin Hammer's drone army in Iron Man 2his titanic battle against the Hulk in Avengers: Age of Ultron thanks to his Hulk Buster armor and his climactic battle against Thanos in Avengers: EndgameIron Man demonstrated his durability by taking a direct lightning strike from Thor and redirecting it back at him in the first Avengers film. He also stopped Bucky from ripping out his arc reactor in Captain America: Civil WarWhile Thor and the Hulk have consistently been shown to have higher base levels of strength, Iron Man has been no slouch.
Comic Book Iron Man Surpasses MCU Version
His clothes are much more powerful
In the comics, Iron Man is a horse of another color. His suits can perform just about any technological feat imaginable: invisibility, hacking, flight, physical reconstruction, atomic force microscopes, etc. If someone can imagine it, there's a good chance Iron Man has already built it.
A great example of how advanced and varied his suits are in the comics can be seen in his battle against Magneto in AVX: Against #1 (by Jason Aaron, Andy Kubert, and Morry Hollowell). While this is still considered an extremely controversial battle among fans, Iron Man scored a narrow victory over the Master of Magnetism by flying into battle in a suit made of carbon nanotubes that could repel many of his powers.
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Key executions |
Creative team |
Release Year |
|---|---|---|
|
Armor Wars |
David Michelinie, Bob Layton, Mark Bright, Barry Windsor-Smith |
1987 |
|
Extremes |
Warren Ellis, Adi Granov |
2005 |
|
Hyperspeed |
Adam Warren, Brian Denham |
2007 |
|
The Invincible Iron Man |
Brian Michael Bendis, David Marquez |
2015 |
|
The Invincible Iron Man |
Gerry Duggan, Juan Frigeri |
2022 |
In its original comic book form, the Marvel Universe is a radically different place than the MCU. There are beings like The Sentry, World Breaker Hulk, Blue Marvel, and more, each of whom outclasses Iron Man in ridiculous ways. Of course, that has never stopped Iron Man from working hard to develop cutting-edge technology to combat these god-like beings.
Holding The Sentry back with just its thrusters is a feat for the history books, as seen in The Invincible Iron Man #11 (by Daniel and Charles Knauf and Patrick Zircher.) For those unfamiliar with the character, The Sentry is essentially a walking deus ex machina of the most powerful caliber who was able to rip the Greek god Ares in half with no problem. So, yeah, Iron Man holding his own against him is a pretty awesome testament to his powers in the comics.
Iron Man fought the biggest and baddest in comics and lived to talk about it
He is fighting against The Sentry and Magneto
The best way to properly explain how powerful Iron Man is in the comics is to describe them in detail. At a basic level, Iron Man's strength puts him on the level of Power Man, Colossus, and The Thing. He may need the occasional upgrade to his armor or outside help to power it up in an emergency, but Iron Man has been able to hit with the heaviest of hitters.
His armor can withstand hits from The Sentry, a fully armed Helicarrier, and even his own Hulk Buster suit. His speed is comparable to and even more incredible than Spider-Man's reflexes, and he can travel in excess of Mach 3 when necessary. The repulsor technology in his suit is known for its offensive uses, but can also exponentially increase his speed in the air when necessary. His suit's onboard computer systems can also analyze fighting styles and increase his speed to match or surpass a fight.
Perhaps the most impressive feat Iron Man ever accomplished was Iron Man #288 (by Len Kaminsky and Kevin Hopgood.) When Tony Stark was frozen in cryogenic stasis to prevent a techno-organic virus from consuming his entire body, a team of scientists managed to reactivate his body through a computer.
Tony's consciousness was still alert and active, and when he realized that his body was coming back online, he became dissatisfied with watching other people work and decided to write his own operating system on the fly. To reiterate, Tony Stark rewrote his brain's operating system while he was nothing more than a sentient consciousness trapped in a cryogenically frozen body. Tony Stark is a technological genius of the highest order, who could make brilliant villains like The Mad Thinker and Quasimodo blush.
Iron Man is amazing wherever he appears
Even though his comic book version is even stronger
Iron Man has never been portrayed as weak or incompetent in the MCU, not even remotely. He has always been shown as one of Earth's most fearless, brave, and selfless heroes, often using his infinite wit as a disguise to hide his true feelings. His armor has defeated Crimson Dynamo, Hulk, the Chitauri, and Ultron throughout the MCU.
As the Infinity Saga proved most definitively, Iron Man was more than on par with Thanos and his Black Order. But as incredible as those feats are, they aren't nearly as powerful as the ones he accomplished in the comics. That could be because, throughout the MCU, Iron Man has mostly fought alongside other heroes, rather than alone. This makes sense, as it would be strange to see Iron Man show up to a fight alone when there are other heroes in the movie.
Sometimes I wonder who the real me is… this beautiful metal skin I created, or the fragile flesh thing that wears it.
But for fans who have read Iron Man's adventures in the comics, there is no comparison. Comparing the two versions of him is a bit unfair, considering that so many threats and villains do not exist in the MCU. If Blacklash, Blizzard, Spymaster, or Beetle had appeared in the MCU, there would be a good chance that Iron Man would have performed just as well as his comic book counterpart.
However, with the Infinity Gauntlet saga to his credit, the Challenge of Champions event, and both Secret Wars events to his name, the comic book version of Iron Man simply has more experience fighting bigger, badder threats. His multiple suits of armor are incredibly more powerful than his MCU suits, and he’s had more chances to shine. But regardless of where he shows up, it’s important to remember that Iron Man is still one of the best Avengers in history, both in the movies and in the comics.
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Wonder
Marvel is a multimedia powerhouse spanning comics, films, television and more, captivating audiences with its iconic characters, emotional storytelling and diverse worlds. From the legendary Avengers to street-level heroes like Daredevil, the Marvel Universe is vast and ever-expanding.
- First TV show
- the incredible hulk
- Launch
- Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Holland, Brie Larson
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MCU
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, heroes like Iron Man, Captain America, and Captain Marvel battle threats to Earth and the universe.
- Latest movie
- The Wonders
- Launch
- Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Holland, Paul Rudd, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson
