Ever since the dawn of the Marvel Cinematic Universe made Iron Man a much more mainstream character, the general audience has increasingly come to care about his exploits. Even though a huge portion of the reason that people like this Avenger so much is that Tony Stark is a really entertaining guy, the awesome armor that he wears also captivates audiences.

Given the public nature of fighting bad guys on an international and sometimes intergalactic scale, much is known about what Tony can do while wearing the Iron Man armor. Despite that, when it comes to the things Tony can do when wearing one of his suits, even many real-life fans of the character are unaware of many aspects of his armor. With that in mind, it is time to take a look at this list of 15 secrets about Iron Man’s suits that Tony Stark wouldn’t want to reveal.

15 He Built A Slightly Weaker (But More Secretive) Armor

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For the most part, when Iron Man makes a new set of armor you can depend on the idea that it will be more powerful than the last one in a notable way. However, that isn’t always the case as evidenced by the time he built a suit that traded away some of the offensive abilities of his last set of armor in return for being stealthy.

14 Iron Man Built An Armor that Dwarfs the Hulkbuster

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In order to be able to deal with the massive threat of the Hulk in an uncontrolled rage, Tony Stark had the foresight to build a massive set of armor called the Hulkbuster. Still, that suit is tiny compared to his Godkiller II armor which was designed to take on beings so large that in the movie Guardians of the Galaxy one of their heads is a mining colony called Knowhere.

13 One Set of Armor Was Too Advanced

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As a part of his endless attempts to build the perfect armor, Tony created a so-called living armor that had incredibly advanced processors. Unfortunately, the armor developed sentience, began using lethal force without Tony’s permission, and even attacked its maker. Strangely enough, the only reason the suit ceased to be a danger is it sacrificed itself to keep Tony safe when he suffered a heart attack.

12 The Original Iron Man Armor Was Pretty Weird

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Clearly, a very powerful weapon, Tony’s first armor featured many gadgets that have reappeared in his subsequent suits. On top of that, it also included some oddly specific devices like finger saws and loudspeakers on its belt. Still, its strangest feature by far was that it included a metal kilt that was designed to keep a sensitive area of his body especially safe

11 Tony’s Armor Turned Itself Into a Car

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When reading about Iron Man’s exploits in the comics or watching him on film, it often seems like he must be able to see the future since he appears to be prepared for just about everything. As it turns out, that is the case because he includes some ridiculous features in his suits. For example, his Mach 52 armor could turn itself into a car.

10 One Version of the Suit Was Designed For a One of a Kind Vacation

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For someone like Tony Stark, taking a vacation in a typical place was never going to suffice. That probably is why he built himself a suit of armor that he could use to take a holiday among the stars. In order to pull this off, the suit had the ability to recycle everything from air to fluids that could sustain his body.

9 Iron Man Once Used Roller Skates

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Imagine this, somehow you gain the ability to fly at will overnight. Pretty awesome, right? While we can’t speak for everyone, there is no doubt in our mind that if that happened we’d have no interest in roller skates going forward. Despite that, not only did Iron Man include skates in his armor at one point but he was in flight and landed in order to use them.

8 One Iteration of the Iron Man Armor is Stored in Tony’s Bones

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In order to have his armor available to him at a moment’s notice, Tony Stark created a suit that could be carried in a briefcase. Of course, in Tony’s mind, that wasn’t impressive enough. Clearly, the most obvious way to deal to have armor on him at all times was to create a suit made of microscopic arc reactor powered nanomachines he could store in his bones.

7 Tony’s Tech Has Gotten Into the Wrong Hands Many Times

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First inspired to build an Iron Man suit to save himself, before long Tony Stark decided to use it to fight for the betterment of the world. Sadly, that has backfired at points as villains like Norman Osborn and Victor Von Doom have reverse-engineered his technology. On top of that, Riri Williams also figured out his suits for herself but she used that to become the hero Ironheart and Tony supports her efforts.

6 Simple Beginnings

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Arguably one of the most interesting mainstream superheroes of all-time, Tony Stark is partly defined by the massive ego he carries around wherever he goes. As a result, it seems obvious that he wouldn’t want people to know that at various times he had to plug a suit of armor he was wearing into a wall outlet just like an everyday appliance.

5 One Version of His Space Armor Included a Catheter

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If you have ever found yourself wondering how Tony Stark can stay in his Iron Man armor for extended periods of time, it is better not to think about it as some of the details are pretty unfortunate. For example, when he wore a suit of armor designed to keep him alive in the vacuum of space it included the use of a catheter.

4 In One Universe the Armor Surrounds Tony’s Body in Goo that Protects His Skin

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For those of you who are unaware, many Marvel comic book stories have taken place in alternate universes that feature different versions of mainstream heroes. In a strange twist, the Ultimate universe’s Iron Man armor fills up with goo that surrounds Tony’s body when he is in the suit like a baby in utero.

3 Venom and Carnage Inspired Tony

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When it comes to someone like Tony Stark, you’d probably expect them to be influenced by other superheroes that spend their time protecting the masses. As a result, he probably wouldn’t want you to know that the antihero Venom and Carnage who is an outright villain inspired him to create a liquid metal armor that interacts with the user’s brain.

2 Tongue Operated

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As a character, Iron Man debuted all the way back in 1963 so in his early days, he manipulated his armor by operating things like switches and motioning his body in specific ways. Of course, he only has so many fingers so that could have limited his abilities. Instead, he built some of the switches into his helmet and during fights, he manipulated them with his tongue.

1 One of His Most Powerful Suits Was Stolen

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Truly a heroic human being, for years Tony Stark has put himself at risk over and over in order to save the masses. However, he clearly should be more responsible with his security since Wolverine once broke in and stole his underwater armor so he could meet with Namor. If the world found out that happened, an endless array of villains would follow suit.

Sources: tvovermind.com, screenrant.com, cbr.com