The first armor was created in-story by Stark and Ho Yinsen, and was designed by artist Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963).

Every suit has a self-contained environment, assorted onboard weapons systems, enhanced strength, thruster-aided flight, and various communications arrays and sensors, such as radar and radio.

[4] It was recolored gold for the character's initial batch of adventures in Tales of Suspense,[5] before being redesigned again by Steve Ditko later in the year – this was the first version to feature a red and gold/yellow scheme, which would come to be Iron Man's most recognizable look.

In 2008 he recalled that editorial directions in 1981 were that going into outer space was "a big deal", and devised the first space-going Iron Man suit with this edict in mind.

He devised a component system of armor that could be customised according to various missions, and noted he didn't "like to play fast and loose" with the rules of science and technology.

[9] Created by writer Matt Fraction and artist Ryan Meinerding, this new armor is sleeker in appearance, and is featured in the 2010 crossover storyline the "Heroic Age".

After defeating Norman Osborn in 2010, Stark creates a new "Bleeding Edge" Iron Man suit to replace the Extremis version.

[18] The suit's repulsor rays, which are located around the knuckles, chest, back, and legs of the armor, as well as in the traditional palms, also function as cameras or "eyeballs", which afford Stark a 360-degree panoramic view.

[13] Temporarily replacing the suit's primary composite—iron/platinum—with carbon nanotubes renders it immune to Magneto's powers when he and Iron Man fight over Utopia.

[19] After Stark decides to retire as Iron Man, he undergoes a surgical procedure that expels the Bleeding Edge technology from his body, rendering the armor inert.

The second season, however, was when the variant armors became a focal point of the series; the new modifications that Stark made to his suit allowed it to shapeshift into different forms with specialized capabilities that could be called upon for the assorted situations that he found himself in.

Several types of Iron Man armors were also featured in the Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes episode "Shell Games".

In "Ancient History 101", Stark creates a pack that allows him to don the armor when and where he needs to, combined with anti-gravity devices so as to reduce the suit's weight.

[episode needed] The plot of the series involves Stark traveling to Japan to build an ARC station and also to test a new armor: Iron Man Dio.

The Japanese armor appears to have a red pentagon-shaped ARC reactor, is armed with powerful swords, and also uses repulsor rays and missiles in combat.

[episode needed] Yinsen, revealed to still be alive and piloting the Dio Armor, builds an army of autonomous drones called Iron Man Sigma.

[episode needed] In Iron Man: Rise of Technovore, Tony Stark dons an armor that could possibly resemble his Marvel NOW!

The abilities of the armor are pretty much the standard, namely extreme physical strength and speed, repulsor rays, a uni-beam, and a suitcase transformation module.

The armor clearly resembles the cinematic Mark VI, with gray plating on the knees and arms, but with a pentagonal uni beam instead of a triangular one.

The Mark VII is Tony's main and only armor in the follow-up animated film Iron Man and Captain America: Heroes United.

In Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, Iron Man's armor is almost identical to the cinematic Mark VI, although the name of this model is not stated in the series.

In episode 28, Iron Man gains the Build Up Plate, an extra piece of armor worn over his regular one, which grants him more firepower thanks to his Final Repulsor attack.

The standard Iron Man armor featured in Marvel Future Avengers bears a striking resemblance to the Mark XLVI from Captain America: Civil War.

The suit has prehensile abilities, shown when Tony Stark is able to control a gauntlet individually and then the rest of the pieces form up on him, completing the whole armor.