A Visual History of the Many Armors of Iron Man

When Iron Man made his debut in the Marvel comic Tales of Suspense #39 in 1963, he did so in a clunky piece of gray armor that looked something like a trash can with eyes. But in the 55 years since, Tony Stark has upgraded his armor more times than even the most knowledgeable comic book fan can count.

There have been armors for space flight, stealth, underwater missions, battles with the Hulk, battles with Thor, and pretty much any occasion the comic book writers can think of. Now, the folks at Pop Chart Lab have compiled all 99 of these variant armors for a poster that recounts the history of Iron Man’s many wardrobe changes.

In this piece, you can chart the evolution of the armor and see how the comic writers and artists are constantly tweaking the character’s iconic look. Some of these variants were only seen on a few occasions, like the Thorbuster suit, while others would go on to define the look of the character for an entire generation, like the modular armor that would be immortalized in the video game Marvel vs. Capcom or the Extremis suit that helped inspire the original movie design.

The poster also includes suits Stark made for other characters, like the Iron Spider, and alternate takes on the character like the Iron Man of 2020.

This Pop Chart Lab poster is launching just in time for the debut issue of Tony Stark: Iron Man #1, which hits stands on June 20 from writer Dan Slott and artist Valerio Schiti. The poster’s final slot is currently a placeholder image for the new suit Iron Man will sport in the issue and will officially be revealed closer to the release of the book.

If you want to guarantee your copy of the poster as soon as possible, you can pre-order it now, starting at $37. The posters will begin shipping on June 22. And if you’re in the mood for more Marvel merchandise, Pop Chart Lab also took a look at the history of Captain America’s shield, which you can order here.