After building your first set of armor in a cave with a box of scraps, Iron Man
forged hundreds of new sets of armor. And while Tony Stark’s longest-running goal has been to perfect his primary armor, he’s had to build new sets to face, survive, and defeat specific opponents.
From Hulkbusters to Godkillers, Iron Man has created various armors to combat specifically dangerous enemies. While not all suits are as effective as Stark hopes, they often serve to cause major damage that can turn the tide of any major battle. When faced with a super strong villain or superhero, only Iron Man has what it takes to see a problem of apocalyptic proportions… and solve it. creating an Iron Man ‘Buster’ armor built to fight just one enemy.
1
Hulk Buster
First premiered in: Iron Man #304 (1968)
Its first and most iconic iteration of specific armor sets designed to take down a specific enemy
the Hulk-Buster
has become a popularly known name, especially for new fans after the MCU Avengers: Age of Ultron film. Interestingly, the original Hulk-Buster wasn’t technically a suit of its own. Instead, the anti-Hulk machine is a collection of multiple replaceable modules which are attached to his Iron Man Model 13 armor.
Reinforcing his traditional arsenal, Hulk-Buster has several new weapons. Its primary strength comes from the magno-hydraulic muscles that enhance each blow to deliver approximately 200 tons of force. The suit also has a sensor designed to track gamma radiation and an impact-resistant coating.
2
Anti-Black Panther Armor
First premiered in: Black Panther #44 (2002)
Iron Man’s Model 21 armor was designed by a future version of Tony Stark, who was mind-controlled into turning against Black Panther. Unlike almost all other suits, the Anti-Black Panther Armor is not constructed from a metal base. Instead, the plastic molded armor uses a mix of ceramic, a polymer weave, and “bioneutral gel pack” circuitry.
In doing so, Stark created a suit that Black Panther’s claws wouldn’t be able to cut through. Additionally, a cheap cloaking device was installed that was no more defensible than a movie projector screen. Ditching his traditional suite of mechanized weapons, Iron Man installed adaptive combat guidance AI into the armor. This allowed Stark’s armor to collect data from his fight with T’Challa and control Tony’s body movements to better combat the Wakandan King’s abilities and weaknesses. These general weaknesses are not completely unexpected, as most of Iron Man’s stealth suits sacrifice combat power for reduced noise and more fluid body movements.
3
Thor-Buster
First premiered in: Iron Man #64 (2003)
After Doctor Doom orchestrated a secret conflict between Sokovia and Asgard, Thor was caught up in Doom’s schemes, quickly becoming the story’s villain. Using a Norn stone that Thor had given him just days before, Tony Stark used the Asgardian relic to imbue his Model 22 Iron Man armor. with the power of Asgardian magic. Originally intended to be used as a renewable energy source, the stone pushed a new level of energy through Tony’s arc reactor.
His new costume was visually inspired by the Asgardian Destroyer’s armor, delivering a clear message to the God of Thunder. Despite the additional power boost Iron Man received from the Norn stone, Thor still proved too powerful to defeat. Happily, Thor, Iron Man and Captain America discovered Doom’s underhanded plotmaking the Thor-Buster an obsolete and unnecessary unit.
4
Phoenix Hunter
First premiered in: Avengers vs. X-Men #5 (2012)
During the 2012 crossover event that saw Earth’s Mightiest and the X-Men turn on each other following news that the Phoenix Force was rapidly approaching Earth. Although some mutants believed that
the Phoenix Force would bless them
With good luck, the Avengers believed it would level the planet. In response, Iron Man and Ant-Man created the Model 38 to ward off the impending cosmic force.
Looking and functioning like the Knightmare Frames featured in Geass CodeThe Phoenix-Buster is a mech-like armor designed for rapid space travel and cosmic disruptions. Instead of killing the Phoenix Force, fractured the cosmic being into five equal pieces that each had relationships with members of the X-Men. Like many other variants of armor sets designed specifically for Iron Man, the Phoenix-Buster has proven useless in stopping the imminent threat it was designed to defeat. However, the armor itself still looks incredibly powerful, an aesthetic that Tony Stark would return to sometimes in the future.
5
Anti-Squirrel Armor
First premiered in: The unbeatable Squirrel Girl wins the Marvel Universe! #1 (2016)
This adorable and unique armor set was designed by Tony Stark after his original armor failed to combat
Squirrel Girl’s evil clone
Allen. Allene proved to be a formidable threat after she lured the rest of the Avengers into a trap, incapacitating the entire team. Using his weapons as if they were his own, the suit took a severe beating from the unsuspecting clone with squirrel skills.
Virtually a complete copy of the MCU’s Hulk-Buster armor, Iron Man’s Model 53 armor’s only major deviation from traditional Hulk-Busters. This version has a cute squirrel face which is painted on the central visor of the head. Naturally, though, this armor proved to be fruitless against the insane strength that Doreen and Allene possess.
6
Fin Fang Foom-Buster
First premiered in: Tony Stark: Iron Man #1 (2018)
One of Iron Man’s most interesting armors, Iron Man’s Model 57 armor is a massive model hundreds of feet tall. Rather than being a singular model, the Model 57 is actually several armed vehicles that transform and form a single unit. Practically, this armor set is Marvel’s next best thing to a Megazord, taking direct inspiration from other mechanical Sentai-style television shows.
Unfortunately for Stark, the Model 57 barely held its own against the shapeshifting alien Fing Fang Foom. As Iron Man tried to use the armor to push Fing Fang Foom to the bottom of the sea, the creature landed several critical hits. Iron Man was forced to eject himself from the mecha and return to his previous model of armor.
7
Ultron-Buster
First premiered in: Tony Stark: Iron Man #16 (2019)
Coming from the same series that brought readers the Fing Fang Foom-Buster, Iron Man’s Model 65 armor was designed to defeat one of the Avengers’ greatest foes long before it was needed. Knowing that every time the Avengers took down Ultron he would find a way to return in the future, Iron Man found it necessary design a weapons system capable of defeating the synthetic enemy before the conflict even begins. Ultron, at the time, had launched a plan to integrate heroes’ bodies into Ultron drones, effectively creating puppet Avengers.
During his mission to save Wasp and Jocasta, Stark accidentally entered a machine designed to merge an organic and inorganic entity. This resulted in Iron Man’s slow and horrific merging with his armor. Fortunately, despite having to program Ultron’s influence, Iron Man successfully expelled the killer droid’s infection, removing the 97% of your armor that had already been incorporated in the flesh of Tony Stark.
8
Dragonslayer Armor
First premiered in: Miles Morales: Spider-Man #7 (2023)
This undisclosed model of armor was designed as a reaction against the Symbiote Dragon that had assimilated with the Extremis virus. The newly created Extrembiote Dragon was a terrifying force of malleable draconic flesh and Iron Man’s cutting-edge technology. The carnage later consumed the Extrembiote Dragon, creating an utterly terrifying creature of madness and lethal destruction.
The newly created Dragon-Slayer Armor leans heavily on an aesthetic somewhere between Medieval Knight and Green Goblin. In addition to the traditional Iron Man armor enhancements, the Dragon-Slayer Armor is armed with firearms and sonic weapons and a Outrageously overpowered EMP. Upon flying directly into the Extremiote Carnage, Iron Man released his EMP, completely destroying the Extermbiote and freeing those who were technologically fascinated by the Carnage’s unique Internet powers.
9
Sentinel-Buster Armor
First debuted in Invincible Iron Man #15 (2024)
Iron Man’s Model 73 armor is possibly the strongest set of armor that Earth-616’s Tony Stark has ever created. After human supremacist billionaire businessman Feilong took control of Stark Unlimited, he immediately began investing resources into creating the Stark Sentinels. Those Sentinel models were catastrophically powerfulcausing Stark to move underground alongside the mutant resistance.
The full armor set was a team effort between Tony Stark, Ironheart, Forge, and the Dwarves of Nidavellir. Forged from a mysterious “miracle metal” that is equally durable and resistant to magic, the Sentinel-Buster Armor is specifically designed to be resistant to any serious threat. As expected for a machine of this size, it can only be used sparingly. The power the Model 73 requires cannot sustain its use for more than a few hours. Most importantly, this is one of the few suits that Iron Man cannot pilot remotely. To fight for his new X-Men allies, Tony Stark would have to stand in front of an army of advanced Sentinels.
10
Galactus-Buster
First premiered in: Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011)
While this iteration of Iron Man’s armor is never seen in the comics, it’s too interesting not to include. Unfortunately, This costume is not playable in the game but is seen in the Iron Man exclusive ending. As its name suggests, the Galactus-Buster was designed to take on the formless, extradimensional Eater of Worlds, Galactus.
Within the canon of Marvel vs. Capcomthe Galactus-Buster is built after the end of the game, when Stark reflects on how difficult was it to defeat Galactus for the first time. Although players never get to see the suit in full operation, the few images provided late in the game of Iron Man appear very small compared to
the traditional form that Galactus normally takes
S. Along with many of his specifically designed armor sets, this suit would likely fail if used on Earth-616. However, it would be amazing to see this concept translated into comics anyway.
11
Anti-Transformer Armor
First premiered in: New Avengers/Transformers #2 (2007)
One of the few crossover armor sets on this list, the Anti-Transformer armor was created after Stark heard rumors of an imminent robotic alien invasion. Invented in a hurry to combat the size of the Cybertronian “threat”, the Anti-Transformer Armor was launched well before Iron Man had completed its weapons functions. Looking more like a Celestial than a Transformerthis gigantic process resisted the Decepticons for a time.
As with many of his specialized designs, this armor quickly proved to be useless, experiencing frequent power failures and weapon malfunctions. Ultimately, the suit was destroyed when Megatron decapitated its head, nearly killing Iron Man in the process. Immediately after the battle, Tony returned to the lab to design a new set of Anti-Transformer Armor that would surpass its original prototype.
12
Godzilla-Buster Armor
First premiered in: Avengers Annual #1 (2024)
Although this armor has never been seen in use, it is one of Stark’s most interesting and a great callback to the first Buster model that started this list. Returning to the traditionally bulky, walking tank-like look, this armor set stands about fifty meters tall, the height of the 1954 Godzilla canon. The Godzilla-Buster appears equipped with highly resistant radiation shielding and can be deployed with blood purifiers, which wouldn’t be the first time Tony implemented medical devices into his suits.
On the offensive side, each joint of this gigantic robotic machine is adorned with enormous spikes, giving Tony an advantage in hand-to-hand combat. It also appears that the armor operates with at least three massive arc reactors, giving Iron Man the power to sustain the mechanism for more than a few minutes. Although this limited series of variant covers gave fans this incredible crossoverk, unfortunately, Godzilla-Buster has not been seen in an official comic book crossover.