10 Coolest Iron Man Armors Tony Stark Built for Other Heroes

It’s no secret that Tony Stark has created some absolutely jaw-dropping pieces of tech throughout his Marvel Comics history, including and especially his legion of Iron Man suits. While fans have seen Stark donning pretty much every variation of Iron Man armor he’s crafted for himself, they’ve also seen the ones he’s made for other people, and those suits are equally awesome.

Tony Stark doesn’t have any superpowers aside from his inherent brilliance. This means that he relies on his increasingly impressive Iron Man suits to keep up with the likes of Captain Marvel, Thor, or the Hulk. This also means that Stark pretty much has a monopoly on such super-suits in the meta-sense, as they are Tony Stark’s unique path towards super-heroism that becomes cheapened with every copy. Technically anyone who wears an Iron Man suit immediately gains all of Iron Man’s powers (minus the inherent intelligence, anyway), so it makes sense that Marvel Comics doesn’t give everyone who isn’t as strong as Captain Marvel or Thor an Iron Man suit. That being said, there have been a few occasions where Iron Man has shared his tech with those around him, and in such occasions, the results were phenomenal. Here are the Top 10 coolest Iron Man armors Tony Stark built for other heroes!

10 War Machine

James “Rhodey” Rhodes is someone who’s been a significant part of Tony Stark’s life since his debut in Iron Man #118 by David Michelinie, Bob Layton, and John Byrne, even so far as taking up the Iron Man mantle in Iron Man #170. However, Rhodey wouldn’t become a hero in his own right until Avengers West Coast #94, which is when he made his official debut as War Machine. Designed by Tony Stark, the War Machine armor is incredibly reminiscent of the classic Iron Man suit (which Rhodey was familiar with), except it was decked-out with massive weapons and reinforced armor for extra security and power. This is the longest-lasting suit Tony made for another hero, and is easily one of the most significant.

9 Black Widow

Tony Stark made Black Widow an Iron Man suit on two separate occasions – in two separate universes. The first was in the Ultimate Universe, as shown in Ultimates 2 #4 by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. Tony Stark gifted Black Widow her own ‘Iron Maiden’ armor that was stylistically similar to his own, though fully blacked-out in color. Over in the prime Marvel Comics universe of Earth-616 (specifically in Avengers #28 by Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness), Iron Man designs Black Widow a suit that’s more akin to War Machine armor, though a bit more sleek and with specialty designs that made it stand out as a Black Widow suit – and that armor was dubbed the War Widow.

8 Black Cat

In the Iron Cat series (by Jed MacKay and Père Perez), Tony Stark builds Felicia Hardy aka Black Cat her own Iron Cat armor. Visually, the armor looks more or less identical to Tony’s classic Iron Man design, with the addition of energy claws on the suit’s fingertips, a black mask-like design around the eyes, and cat ears that sit atop the armor’s helmet. This is the first suit on this list that didn’t grant someone with no superhuman powers all the abilities of Iron Man, but rather enhanced the preexisting superhuman abilities of the established hero. The Iron Cat complemented Black Cat’s aesthetic and powerset, while still looking and feeling like an Iron Man suit.

7 Captain Britain

Brian Braddock, or Captain Britain in Earth-616, was just a regular human in the universe in which he wore a version of the Mark 1 Iron Man suit as shown in What If? X-Men Age of Apocalypse #1 by Rick Remender and Dave Wilkins. In that alternate universe of Earth-93074, Braddock wears the original Iron Man suit, but rather than it being all gray, it is covered in the Union Jack. This armor was designed by the Tony Stark of this reality, but seemed more like repurposed armor than a specifically designed gift, though it was enough to make Braddock a formidable hero.

6 Luke Cage

While Luke Cage is probably the last person who would need the protection of a suit of armor given his powerset, he didn’t say ‘no’ to the offensive upgrades that came with his very own Iron Man suit. In fact, the style of the suit itself reflects that, as it is very minimal with only the necessary placements of armor on Cage’s body that offer superhuman enhancements, like gauntlets for energy blasts, boots for flight, and a helmet to navigate/pinpoint targets. This suit was featured in the Venomverse: War Stories #1 story “Force Majeure” by Aaron Covington and Khary Randolph, where Luke Cage used it to face off against Doctor Doom.

5 Reed Richards

In Marvel Comics’ Empyre event by Al Ewing, Dan Slott, and Valerio Schiti, Tony Stark made Reed Richards his own Iron Man suit, complete with Mister Fantastic’s usual costume color scheme and the Fantastic Four insignia on the chest. This entry is especially entertaining, as Reed was very reluctant to wear one of Tony Stark’s suits, but was forced to in a last-ditch effort to save the world. This suit is a cool addition to Fantastic Four canon (as well as Reed Richards’ wardrobe).

4 Spider-Man

Perhaps the most iconic suit made but not worn by Tony Stark is the Iron Spider Armor, which was created specifically for Spider-Man and made its debut in The Amazing Spider-Man #529 by J. Michael Straczynski and Ron Garney. Similar to the suit made for Black Cat, the Iron Spider Armor complimented Spider-Man’s powers and enhanced them in creative and useful ways – including the extra mechanical arms. This suit not only enhanced Spider-Man’s powers and gave some variety to his many costumes, but it also was a standout aspect of the entire Civil War event.

3 Pepper Potts

This entry is the purest example of Tony building a suit of armor to protect someone he loves, rather than attack his enemies. Stark made the Rescue Armor specifically for Pepper Potts, who found the specialty suit in Invincible Iron Man #10 by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca. It was called the ‘Rescue Armor’ due to the fact that Rescue was Pepper’s superhero codename while wearing the suit. However, the undertones of Tony building the armor for Pepper in an attempt to ‘rescue’ her from the dangers of the world surrounding them is clearly present, making this suit especially significant.

2 Mech Avengers

While Tony Stark is a master in developing his unique style of high-tech suit, he ventured into the realm of anime mechs for one storyline, as these suits were more akin to those featured in popular anime series like Vultron or Neon Genesis Evangelion. As shown in Avengers: Mech Strike by Jed MacKay and Carlos Magno, Iron Man developed gigantic mech-suits for every member of the Avengers, transforming Earth’s Mightiest Heroes into the world’s most technologically advanced protectors in truly epic (and undeniably awesome) fashion.

1 Iron Avengers

Similar to the above entry, this one shows Iron Man using his technological genius to create robotic Avengers. The difference, however, is that the so-called Iron Avengers are immeasurably darker than the Mech Strike Avengers. The Mech Strike Avengers were the core team each with their own fun, giant robot fighter that displayed their logo and costume. The Iron Avengers, however, was a sick attempt at replacing the Avengers with hollow suits of armor that pale in comparison to the originals. In Earth X #1 by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, and John Paul Leon, the Avengers are dead, and Iron Man attempts to replace them with robots of his own design. This entry is admittedly less of a suit built for someone, and rather a legion of suits built to replace a whole team of ‘someones’, making the Iron Avengers the most extreme (and sick) example on this list.

From giving his friends and allies an extra power-boost in battle and protecting the ones he loves with a personally-made suit of armor, to literally building an entire Avengers-level mech-squad, it’s easy to see how these are the Top 10 coolest Iron Man armors Tony Stark has built for other heroes.