Batman has his fancy utility belt and Wolverine's claws are always dangerous, but neither can compare to the firepower of one of Iron Man's shiny suits. The world got its first look at one of these mean machines in Tales of Suspense #39 in 1963, where Ol' Shell Head was seen sporting a bulky grey hunk of junk that saved his life during a daring escape from a Vietnamese prison camp. Since then, Tony Stark has used his engineering expertise to craft new state-of-the-art armors that have pushed the limits of the human imagination.

Over the past five decades, the Iron Man armor has changed size, color, and material to suit whatever fight the Golden Avenger finds himself in. These armors have come a long way from what we saw during his debut, but there has always been a common thread of Stark's pioneering spirit to link them all together. 

In Iron Man 3, which hits theaters today, we’re set to see the debut of dozens of new armors to Stark’s inventory, many of which have their roots set in the original comics. So in order to catch you up on some of our favorites that you'll see on the screen, here's the Complete Evolution of the Iron Man Suit.

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