Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) unveiled the MCU by proclaiming, “I am Iron Man.” It not only led to the establishment of the new superhero universe but, made Tony Stark the new darling of a lot of fans who were obsessed by Bruce Wayne. Everyone wanted to live like the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist and smooth-talking Avenger that Robert Downey Jr. introduced a little over a decade ago. He might be one of the coolest superheroes around, but, what makes him truly awesome is his Iron-Man armor.
However, being confined inside a metallic armor is not all that good. In fact, there are certain disgusting realities about it, and here we will reveal to you 6 of the grossest facts about the Iron-Man armor. This will make you rethink about your love for the Iron-Man!
1. His Helmet switches are operated by tongue
Right from his debut, Tony Stark has always been using cutting edge tech, especially in his superhero suits. However, we must not forget that he has been around for fifty years and what used to be cutting edge back then is nothing like what we have now.
Courtesy of MCU, we are accustomed to seeing Iron-Man being dependent on AI for every single move. However, in 1963, everything Tony used to do was enabled by some wrist actions and switches placed inside his helmet that he used to operate using his tongue. It’s up to you to call that brilliant, ingenious or gross.
2. His suit is attached to him like a symbiote
In Superior Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus took control of Peter Parker’s body, leading to the concept of “villain turning into a hero” becoming popular. Marvel decided to create an event on this theme. Axis is an event that reversed heroes and villains, turning Tony Stark into the Superior Iron-Man, who was basically the same guy, but, with not much morals and a symbiote based suit.
This suit called Model 50 armor was a liquid smart metal which was linked to Tony’s brain creating a nexus between man and machine. Why he created a suit based on Venom is for anyone to guess, but, a machine accessing your brain was never going to turn out well.
3. It had goo to protect his skin
Just like various other Ultimate Universe heroes, the Tony Stark of Earth 1610 is unlike the famous Invincible Iron-Man. To begin with, the Ultimate comics version of Tony had a brain covering his body, or in technical terms, neurological pathways spread over his skin which gave him great mental prowess, but, delicate skin.
It is quite gross to be a gigantic brain, but, in order to stay safe and functional, Tony’s father Howard Stark created the Iron-Man armor to protect his son’s skin from damage. Instead of capsuling him inside metal, in this version, Tony floats inside a protective blue goo inside the armor.
4. It developed sentience and attacked him
The outcome of creating so many armors is that one day they are likely to become smart enough to think independently. When that happens, one can only hope that they had good vibes for their maker.
Sadly, this is the world of comic books, where you can never expect things to go as per the plans of the superheroes. The same thing happens to the ‘living armor’ of Tony, which turned into a reckless killing machine and went to the extent of replacing Tony himself. It, however, didn’t intend to cause any harm and that brought its end as it sacrificed itself to save Tony’s life when he suffered a heart attack.
5. His limbs are regenerated by bacteria
This one is again from the Ultimate universe, and here the Tony Stark of Earth 1610 has taken the premise of a protective armor to an entirely different level. He created a suit so advanced that it could recreate limbs or organs damaged in battle.
Tony wore something like a bio-organic 3D printer which was quite suitable to his dangerous missions. The blue liquid contained in his suit not only guarded his skin but, it also absorbed kinetic impact and channel the energy. It also had a quick healing option that also regenerated limbs as well as internal organs.
6. It got permanently attached to his skin (Age of X)
Earth 11326 is known as the Age of X universe, which is an alternate universe wherein life is absolutely difficult for the mutants. In this world, there is a mighty anti-mutant clamor, which leads to millions getting killed and another millions being imprisoned in concentration camps.
In this confrontational world, Tony gets exposed to a virus which fused his armor to his skin, leading to the armor slowly taking over him, until he reaches a stage where his life depends entirely on the suit. It was called the Steel Corpse, and Stark died when he tried to prevent his suit from murdering the mutant kids. Steve Rogers put a bullet in the back of his head to stop the murders.
