One of the best things about being a billionaire such as Tony Stark is that money is no object when designing new toys. But how realistic is the Iron Man Armour? What would the real Iron Man suit made from?
Iron Man 127 Demon In A Bottle
Iron Man is always updating his suit and adding some new gadgets to stay on top of his game. He has owned hundreds of suits in the past 55 years.
From the original mark 1 through to the modern MCU, Tony Stark is always perfecting his Iron Man suit to become stronger and more efficient.
The extremis armour even incorporated nanotechnology which allowed the suit to become stored in the hollows of Tony Starks bones.
But would an Iron or Gold Suit be practical for Iron Man’s Armour?
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What Can The Iron Man Suits Do?
The suit has many different functions and is made from a durable material that is surrounded by a force field.
Every suit has its own weapon system, added strength, the ability to fly, and a number of sensors and radios for communication with others.
The suit has additional abilities such as solar energy collection in case the conventional methods to recharge are not needed. Some suits can be folded down flat so that Tony could store them in his bulletproof suitcase.
Tony’s armor has a number of repulsors that are standard on his suit. They may be magnetic and they are made from charged particles. They are also able to work as a force beam.
The Pulse Bolts came on a later suit and they are able to gain energy as they travel. The limit on them is around 329 meters or the length of three football fields.
There is also a uni beam that is mounted on the chest of the suit.
Why Does The Iron Man Armour Change?
In a fictional multiverse, the suit has changed over the past couple of years. It is said that this has been done by Stark making modifications on his suit. He has also changed his suit so he could handle specific situations and dangers.
The real reason is that different artists drew the suit in ther own style and they changed it to fit their own ideas.
As the name suggests most people think that the suit is made out of iron. This however cannot be true in any practical way. Iron is not a suitable material for such a suit as Tony Stark requires.
There are some reasons for this. Iron is very heavy and it is also dense. Iron rusts quickly and it is not as strong as some other metals including steel. It would also never be bulletproof.
In the first MCU movie, the genesis of the Iron Man suit was conceived within a cave from spare parts. It was rather clunky and crude looking as this suit may have actually contained some iron.
As the Iron Man armour became more efficient Tony would have begun to develop it using other materials. Many wonder what other metal can be used to make this suit.
What Would The Iron Man Suit Be Made From In Real Life?
As we have seen the real Iron Man Suit would not be practical if created from iron. The exoskeleton of the suit is most probably formed from Nitinol which is a nickel and titanium alloy.
This material is light and it will not weigh Iron Man down when he has taken flight. The suit can also recover after getting hit or damaged.
Nitinol is said to have healing properties. It can keep its shape at high temperatures and once it is heated to transformation temperatures it will go back to its original shape.
While this is a good theory none of the movies have confirmed that this was the material that was being used.
Others experts state that the suit is made from a Titanium Single Crystal material. This material is hard, is able to hold up to corrosion, and can also withstand high temperatures. It is used to make jet engines and can stand up to bird strikes.
The suit has a complex design. New technology including 3D printing will help with this design process. The suit will be able to be flexible and will be able to be made with fine details.
What Is The Iron Man Suit Made From In The Comics?
Each comic has a slightly different suit due to its purpose. The suits are strong and durable fictional materials surrounded by a force field.
Here is the list of all existing armors of Tony Stark and the components used to construct them:-
Mark I:-Iron-Copper-Magnesium Alloy
Mark II:- Chromium and Titanium-Steel Plating
Mark III:- Gold-Titanium Plating
Mark IV:- Titanium-Gold Plating
Mark V (suitcase armor):- Titanium-Steel Plating
Mark VI:- Gold-Titanium Alloy
Mark VII:- Gold-Titanium Plating
Mark VIII:- Platinum and Titanium Plating
Mark IX:- Gold-Titanium Plating
Mark X:-Gold-Titanium Plating
Mark XI:-Gold-Titanium Plating
Mark XII:- Gold Titanium with High Density Carbon and Steel Alloy Exoskeleton
Mark XIII:-Aluminum and Titanium Steel Plating
Mark XIV:- Titanium Plating
Mark XV (Sneaky armor):- Gold-Titanium Plating
Mark XVI (Nightclub armor):- Gold-Titanium Plating
Mark XVII (Heartbreaker armor):- Gold-Titanium and Vibranium Plating
Mark XVIII (Cassanova armor):- Gold-Titanium Plating
Mark XIX (Tiger armor):- Gold-Titanium Plating
Mark XX (Python armor):-Gold-Titanium Plating
Mark XXI (Midas armor):- Enriched Gold-Titanium Plating
Mark XXII (Hotrod armor):- Titanium Plating
Mark XXIII (Shades armor):- Gold-Titanium Plating
Mark XXIV (Tank armor):- Gold-Titanium and Vibranium Plates with Kevlar Reinforcements
Mark XV (Striker armor):- Titanium Plating
Mark XXVI (Gamma armor):-Titanium Plating
Mark XXVII (Disco armor):- Gold-Titanium Plates with a High-Density Carbon Steel Alloy Exoskeleton
Mark XXVIII (Jack armor):- Gold-Titanium Plating
Mark XXIX (Fiddler armor):- Gold-Titanium and Vibranium Plating
Mark XXX (Blue Steel armor):- Titanium-Steel Plating
Mark XXXI (Piston armor):- Gold Titanium Plating
Mark XXXII (Romero armor):- Gold-Titanium and Vibranium Plating
Mark XXXIII (Silver Centurion armor):- Titanium-Steel Plating
Mark XXXIV (Southpaw armor):- Titanium Plating
Mark XXXV (Red Snapper armor):- Heavy Gauge Gold Titanium Alloy
Mark XXXVI (Peacemaker armor):- Heavy Gauge Gold-Titanium Plates
Mark XXXVII (Hammerhead armor):- Titanium Plating
Mark XXXVIII (Igor armor):- Titanium Plating
Mark XXXIX (Gemini, Starboost armor):- Gold-Titanium Plating
Mark XL (Shotgun armor):- Gold-Titanium Plating
Mark XLI (Bones armor):- Titanium Plating
Mark XLII (The Prodigal Son):- Ceramic Titanium Plating with Reinforced Silicon Infused-Steel
So, the maximum cases Titanium is common then gold and the fictional material Vibranium.
What Is The Iron Manual?
The design for the suit and the materials that are used in the suit can be found in the Iron Manual. When this manual was published it gave instructions on how to make some of the iron suits.
After the manual was published other versions of the iron suit appeared so these new versions may have a different construction to formulate them.
The suit is said to be made from two million discrete units which are around the size of a grain of sand. They have a large surface and are durable.
The force field is said to protect the cells of the suit. Each of the cells is its own unit and they can contribute to the energy levels that are needed by the suit as a whole. This is another reason why the suit is still able to be used even after being damaged.
The suit operates with some basic principles. The suit is designed to be holistic. Each part of the suit when inactive is able to collapse and the cells of the suit will be reduced in volume. This is like an accordion when it is folded up when it is not being used.
When Tony designed his suit he was looking for a design that would be able to be automated when needed.
If you are a fan of Iron Man, check out this article. It offers easy to follow instructions to build your own Iron Man Armour.
