One of Iron Man's best MCU armor designs got an awesome update in And if...? season 3. Released on eight consecutive days, And if...? Season 3, the final chapter of the MCU animated series, introduced new variants, such as the Celestial Agatha Harkness, a Red Guardian Avenger, the Storm Thunder Goddess, and the Mech Avengers, to the MCU. The latter, debuting in And if...? Season 3, Episode 1, 'What If... the Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers?', put an unexpected twist on one of Iron Man's best live-action designs.
During his time in the MCU, Tony Stark created many different Iron Man armors, each one more technically proficient and advanced than the last. Many of them were destroyed during his battle against Aldrich Killian in 2013. Iron Man 3but he continued to innovate long after wrapping up the Phase 2 trilogy. In fact, some of Iron Man's best designs were seen after Iron Man 3and one of these exciting additions to the MCU received a major update in And if...? season 3making the nearly decade-old design even better.
The Hulkbuster was Iron Man's coolest creation
The Hulkbuster first appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron
Tony Stark first deployed Veronica and the Hulkbuster armor in 2015 Avengers: Age of Ultron. Veronica was designed to try and contain an out-of-control Hulk, with the Hulkbuster armor allowing Stark himself to face the gamma-irradiated form of Bruce Banner in an even match.. This was seen during the duel in Johannesburg, which occurred when Scarlet Witch manipulated Banner's mind, causing him to rage uncontrollably. The Hulkbuster established itself as one of Stark's best creations, as it finally managed to bring the Hulk to his knees.
The Hulkbuster was later seen being used by Bruce Banner to help battle Thanos and his armies in Wakanda in Avengers: Infinity War. With the Hulk refusing to appear after being humiliated by the Mad Titan, Banner's use of the Hulkbuster allowed him to act as the Hulk would, albeit with some upgrades, and he used this armor to kill Cull Obsidian.a member of Thanos' Black Order. Hulkbuster's armor is extremely powerful and gained even more importance in the premiere of And if...? season 3.
And if...? Season 3 updates the Hulkbuster armor in the coolest way
And if...? The Mech Avengers wore updated Hulkbuster armor
The initial moments of And if...? The premiere episode of Season 3 saw the original Avengers team tasked with dealing with an army of giant Hulk monsters. To help you during this Gamma War, Tony Stark upgrades his Hulkbuster armor to create massive mech suits for each member of the Avengersallowing them to fight in Power Rangers Zord-like machines against the army of Hulks. This tradition carries over to the new Avengers team, and Bruce Banner's own enhancement allows these mech suits to come together as the Mighty Avenger.
This evolution of the Hulkbuster armor is incredible to see in the MCU. Even if this takes place in an alternate reality across the multiverse, this And if...? the plot showed the potential of Tony Stark's genius, as he is able to take something already fantastic and make it bigger, stronger and more impressive. It would be awesome to see Mech Avengers make the move to live action in Phase 6bringing their versions of Iron Man's Hulkbuster armor back to the MCU proper.
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- Release date
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February 14, 2025
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July 25, 2025
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July 24, 2026