A brief guide to Iron Man's Armory

Between Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and the Avengers, Tony Stark had 7 different Iron Man suits. Get lost along the way? Not sure how to tell which one is which? This brief guide will help you along, through the events of The Avengers, and show you some of what's in store for Iron Man 3.

This post is in three parts:
Part I: Star's Armor I-VII - explains the Iron Man suits from Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and The Avengers
Part II: Other Pilots - includes Iron Monger, War Machine, Whiplash/Crimson Dynamo, Hammer Drones
Part III: Future Armors - includes all of the released armors to feature in Iron Man 3, for both Stark and Rhodes.

Part I: Stark's Armor: I-VII

The Hall of Armors, showcasing Mark I through Mark VII

Mark I. Famous for being built by Stark "in a cave, with a box of scraps!"

Mark II. Built by Stark when he first arrived back in the States. He took it for a test drive, and found an icing issue which led to the immediate creation of the Mark III. Later eyed by Rhodey (Terrence Howard), prompting the quote "next time baby." Surely enough, in the next movie, Rhodey (Don Cheadle) steals the Mark II to fight Tony when he's drunk at his house, then Rhodes takes off and the Air Force/Justin Hammer modify the armor into the War Machine.

Mark III. This is the suit used the most in the first Iron Man film. After being severely damaged in the battle against Iron Monger (Obadiah Stane), Tony built the Mark IV with a similar look. Originally the concept for this suit in the film was unpainted like the Mark II, but JARVIS applied a gold color. Tony suggested to throw in "hot rod red" and the suit was painted.

Mark IV. Built after Stark's battle with the Iron Monger. Used in the first half of Iron Man 2. Very similar to Mark III, the easiest way to tell the difference is that the Mark IV has golden V-shaped lines across the abdomen, whereas the older Mark III does not.

Mark V. The "suitcase suit" used in Iron Man 2 when Ivan Vanko (whiplash) attacked the Grand Prix. This suit is more vulnerable and not as strong as the Mark IV, but is lightweight as used as a back-up or in emergency situations.

Mark V in "suitcase" mode, carried by Stark's chauffeur, Happy.

Mark VI. Created using the new element Tony invented. Looks similar to the Mark III and Mark IV, a noticeable difference being that the chestplate now features a triangle instead of a circle. This suit featured the "one-off" wrist lasers used by Stark when fighting the Hammer Drones.

Mark VII. After using the Mark VI in battle against Whiplash, the Hammer Drones, Loki, Thor, and getting whipped around by the blades in the engine of the Helicarrier, it was finally time for a new suit to fight the Chitauri. Reverting again to the circular chestplate, this armor is easily distinguished from the Mark III and Mark IV by the silver coloring along the thighs. This suit featured many additional jet thrusters, a re-usable wrist laser, and was able to self-propel itself from a pod form, lock on to bracelets of the wearer, and form itself around Stark's body in mid-air. 

Mark VII self-propelled pod

Mark VII opening up on deployement

Mark VII assembling around Stark in mid-air

PART II: Other Pilots

Iron Monger. Built and piloted by Obadiah Stane as a response to Stark's Iron Man.

War Machine Mark I. After stealing Stark's Mark II armor, Rhodes, the Air Force, and Justin Hammer modified the suit. Rhodes removed the arc reactor and Hammer supplied a variety of weapons.

War Machine Mark II. So far seen only in the Iron Man 3 prelude comic. Stark was offended by Hammer Tech being used on his creation, so he confiscated the War Machine armor (his Mark II) and built Rhodey a new War Machine suit. Notice the rectangular chestplate, as opposed to the circular design of the Mark II. It is unknown if this suit will be seen in the film.

Whiplash Mark I.. While not technically an "armor," the harness is a suit/rig powered by an arc reactor, with energy-based offensive weapons (the whips). This suit lacked in defense, and was beaten even by Stark's weaker Mark V armor in Iron Man 2.

Whiplash Mark II "Crimson Dynamo." Increasing the efficiency of the design (based on Stark's advice, ironically), Vanko also added armor for a defensive aspect, allowing him to hold his own against both War Machine and Iron Man's Mark VI armor. It was suggested (but not shown) that this suit self-destructed, killing Vanko in the process.

Designed by Justin Hammer as a suit to be flown by a pilot, and modified by Ivan Vanko to be a drone he could control remotely, these Hammer Drones, painted in color schemes to match Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine military branches. Many of these were defeated by Stark and Rhodes, and the rest were destroyed via self-distruct.

PART III: Future Suits

"Iron Patriot." Some version of the War Machine armor, although I'm unsure at this point if it's simply a re-painted Mark II or a Mark III. I would guess the latter, because in the Iron Man prelude comic, War Machine's Mark II armor received significant damage. So I would assume this would be his third suit.

Mark XVII. (17). Officially designated "Artillery Level RT Suit" and nicknamed "Heartbreaker," this armor will be one of many new armors Tony used in Iron Man 3.

Mark XXXIII. (33). Officially designated "Enhanced Energy Suit" and nicknamed "Silver Centurion,"  this armor will be one of many new armors Tony used in Iron Man 3.

Mark XXXV. (35). Officially designated "Disaster Rescue Suit" and nicknamed "Red Snapper,"  this armor will be one of many new armors Tony used in Iron Man 3.

Mark XXXVIII. (38). Officially designated "Heavy Lifting Suit" and nicknamed "Igor,"  this armor will be one of many new armors Tony used in Iron Man 3. It is believed this suit is based on or will become the Hulkbuster armor.

Mark XXXIX. (39). Officially designated "Sub Orbital Suit" and nicknamed "Gemini,"  this armor will be one of many new armors Tony used in Iron Man 3. This closely resembles a figure in a toy line released recently that referred to the design as "Deep Space Armor."

Mark XL. (40). Officially designated "Hyper Velocity Suit" and nicknamed "Shotgun,"  this armor will be one of many new armors Tony used in Iron Man 3.

Mark XLII. (42). This has been the main suit used in photos, trailers, and toys promoting the new film, and will likely be the most commonly seen suit in the film.

At the end of the Avengers, Tony was using his Mark VII. By this film, he will be using at least his Mark XLII, and War Machine will have had two upgrades. That puts almost 40 new armors in that time space, some of which were shown in the trailer, in what Stark calls his "Iron Legion" in the prelude comic.