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Iron Man's armor in other media

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Iron Man's armor in other media

The armor worn by the Marvel Comics character Iron Man has appeared in many types of media since it debuted along with Tony Stark in Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963). It has most notably been featured in the live-action films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Robert Downey, Jr. portraying Tony Stark.

Contents

Live action

Iron Man director Jon Favreau wanted the film to be believable by showing the eventual construction of the Mark III suit in its three stages. Stan Winston and his company were hired to build metal and rubber versions of the armors. Favreau's main concern with the effects was whether the transition between the computer-generated and practical costumes would be too obvious. Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) was hired to create the bulk of the visual effects with additional work being completed by The Orphanage and The Embassy.

The Mark I design was intended to look like it was built from spare parts: particularly, the back is less armored than the front, as Stark would use his resources to make a forward attack. It also foreshadows the design of Obadiah Stane's Iron Monger armor. A single 90-pound (41 kg) version was built and was designed to only have its top half worn at times. The Embassy created a digital version of the Mark I. Stan Winston Studios built a 10-foot (3.0 m), 800-pound (360 kg) animatronic version of the Iron Monger suit. The animatronic required five operators for the arm, and was built on a gimbal to simulate walking. A scale model was used for the shots of it being built.

The Mark II resembles an airplane prototype, with visible flaps. Iron Man comic book artist Adi Granov designed the Mark III with illustrator Phil Saunders. Granov's designs were the primary inspiration for the film's design, which were streamlined by Saunders, making it stealthier and less cartoonish in its proportions. Sometimes, Downey would only wear the helmet, sleeves and chest of the costume over a motion capture suit. For shots of the Mark III flying, it was animated to look realistic by taking off slowly, and landing quickly.

Saunders created concept art for the War Machine armor and said that it was originally intended to be used in the film but was "cut from the script about halfway through pre-production." Saunders said that the War Machine armor "was going to be called the Mark IV armor and would have had weaponized swap-out parts that would be worn over the original Mark III armor," and that it "would have been worn by Tony Stark in the final battle sequence."

For Iron Man 2, Industrial Light & Magic again did the bulk of the effects, as it did on the first film. ILM's visual effects supervisor on the film, Ben Snow, said their work on the film was "harder" than their work on the first, stating that director Jon Favreau asked more of them this time around. Snow described the process of digitally creating the suits:

On the first Iron Man, we tried to use the Legacy [Studios, Stan Winston's effects company] and Stan Winston suits as much as we could. For the second one, Jon [Favreau] was confident we could create the CG suits, and the action dictated using them. So, Legacy created what we called the "football suits" from the torso up with a chest plate and helmet. We’d usually put in some arm pieces, but not the whole arm. In the house fight sequence, where Robert Downey Jr. staggers around tipsy, we used some of the practical suit and extended it digitally. Same thing in the Randy's Donuts scene. But in the rest of the film, we used the CG suit entirely. And Double Negative did an all-digital suit [the Mark V] for the Monaco chase.

Because of how form-fitting the Mark V suitcase suit was required to be, the production team researched some of the classic comics armors, since they were seen as essentially variations on muscle suits. One specific aspect of an earlier armor was the color scheme from the Silver Centurion armor. The Mark VI armor was designed by Granov and Saunders to be sleeker than the Mark III, while retaining many of the Mark III qualities.

In The Avengers, Saunders stated that "director Joss Whedon was looking for something that had the 'cool' factor of the suitcase suit (from Iron Man 2), while still being a fully armored, heavy duty suit that could take on an army in the final battle." To that end, Saunders borrowed ideas that had been proposed in Iron Man 2 as well as some ideas that had been abandoned in Iron Man and merged them together in a modular suit that has big ammo packets on the arms and a backpack. In addition, the chest piece of the Mark VII was changed from the triangle shape of the Mark VI, back to the circular shape of the Mark III.

For Iron Man 3, Chris Townsend served as visual effects supervisor. The film featured over 2,000 visual effects shots and was worked on by 17 studios: Weta Digital, Digital Domain, Scanline VFX, Trixter, Framestore, Luma Pictures, Fuel VFX, Cantina Creative, Cinesite, The Embassy Visual Effects, Lola, Capital T, Prologue and Rise FX. Digital Domain, Scanline VFX and Trixter each worked on separate shots featuring the Mark XLII armor, working with different digital models. The studios shared some of their files to ensure consistency between the shots. For the Mark XLII and Iron Patriot armors, Legacy Effects constructed partial suits that were worn on set. Townsend explained that "Invariably we'd shoot a soft-suit with Robert [Downey Jr.] then we’d also put tracking markers on his trousers. He would also wear lifts in his shoes or be up in a box so he'd be the correct height – Iron Man is 6'5". Digital Domain had a small team embedded at Marvel, where Marvel's art department created flat concept art including front and back views. Digital Domain's team then created full 3D versions of 14 suits from those illustrations and later turned those assets over to Marvel and Weta Digital for use in their shots. One of the challenges of realizing the suits in 3D was in re-working the designs to ensure the suits had the correct physical aspects to allow them to show realistic movement.

Concept art released in March 2014 for Avengers: Age of Ultron, revealed the inclusion of a "Hulkbuster"–like armor.

Animated

In the 2007 direct-to-DVD film The Invincible Iron Man, Stark with James Rhodes' help creates a grey and bulky suit of armor (similar to the original Iron Man armor that Stark and Yinsen created in the comics) in order to escape from caves. After returning to Stark Industries in America, Stark reveals to Rhodey that he had previously used his company's resources to create several multi-use armors (including the Hulkbuster armor, the War Machine armor, and Ultimate Iron Man's armor) that he had been keeping in storage until the time was right to reveal them to the public. Stark first uses his Underwater suit to fight off the Elementals, destroying one while sustaining minor damage to the suit. Stark subsequently uses a red-and-yellow suit (resembling Iron Man's standard armor) to destroy two Elementals in a volcano, although there was severe damage to his suit. When he returns to China, Stark returns to using his grey suit to fight the last Elemental, an army of Terracotta soldiers, a giant dragon, and even the Mandarin.

1994 animated series

As noted above, Iron Man's modular armor was his standard suit for his appearance in the 1990s Iron Man animated series, but with a slightly modified face plate to give it the traditional mouth-slit. The suit was redesigned in the second season of the show, most significantly by restoring the "mouthless" appearance of the armor. (The season 1 armor appeared in a flashback early on)

The trademark of a changing armor remained a constant in the animated series, with the first season featuring the hydro-armor and deep space armor, straight from the comics. The second season, however, was when the variant armors became a focal point of the series; the new modifications Stark made to his suit allowed it to shape-shift into different forms with specialized capabilities that could be called upon for the assorted situations he found himself in. The hydro-armor and space armors were incorporated into this mechanism, and more armors from the comics such as the stealth armor and Hulkbuster armor were introduced. The series also introduced an array of original situational armor designs, including:

  • Subterranean drill armor - Brown and gold, with an arm-mounted pneumatic drill for underground burrowing.
  • Inferno armor - Red and gold with pink highlights, this armor was resistant to extreme temperatures and outfitting with fire-extinguishing foam, which proved helpful in combat with Firebrand.
  • Samurai armor - Never actually used in combat, this highly stylized armor was blue and grey.
  • Radiation armor - Blue and silver armor to shield against radioactive danger, capable of firing x-ray blasts.
  • Lava armor - Red and silver armor that can resist submergence in magma, which proved helpful when Iron Man had to recover one of the Mandarin's rings from within a volcano.
  • Magnetic armor - Purple and silver, with the ability to generate electromagnetic pulses, once used by a microscopically reduced Iron Man to fibrilate Hawkeye's heart.
  • Bio-energy armor - DNA-powered red and gold armor, used against the Mandarin's anti-technology field in the two-part series finale "Hands of the Mandarin".
  • Hydro armor - Yellow with a glass-domed helmet, is used for underwater situations.
  • Space armor - Used to break through the Earth's atmosphere, the only thing that appears to be different is that it has a jet pack.
  • Stealth armor - Dark gray, is used to stay silent and is unable to be traced by radar.
  • The toyline also featured two armors which did not appear in the series; an entirely silver Arctic armor and the Silver Centurion suit, dubbed Hologram armor.

    Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes

    Several types of Iron Man armors were also featured in the Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes episode "Shell Games". The armors that were featured were the Mark I Armor, Stealth Armor, Hulkbuster Armor, Arctic Armor, War Machine Armor, and the Silver Centurion Armor.

    Iron Man: Armored Adventures

    In Iron Man: Armored Adventures, a teenage Stark initially creates the first armor completely on his own. It is similar to the movie version of the Mark III armor, with a less complex design and more red. Once Obadiah Stane's scientists said the armor is "more advanced than anything we're currently working on" and that "it's years, if not decades ahead of current technology" (Tony even mentioned in the same episode that he may have "outgeniused himself" when he made the armor). In addition to the traditional abilities of the armor (superhuman strength and durability, flight, repulsors, and the uni-beam), it is able to generate an force field around it, uses magnetic manipulation, and has other various functions, including a remote command system to enable Rhodes to control it from a separate computer terminal if Stark cannot ("Secrets and lies"), a security system to prevent people from opening it when Stark is unconscious ("Seeing Red") and a secondary wheeled transportation system that enables him to "skate" when the flight system is damaged ("Masquerade"). It can even adapt to fit any size ("Don't Worry, Be Happy"). In "Ancient History 101", Stark even 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 (possibly based on how the comic version always carried his armor in his briefcase).

    The armor briefly gained intelligence in Episode 14 of Season 1 "Man and Iron Man". Problems arose due to its desire to protect Stark above all (including almost killing Whiplash, as it did in the comics) - by constantly keeping him inside itself. However, like in the comics, the armor sacrificed itself in order to save Stark during a cardiac arrest.

    The first variation of the armor appears in "Cold War", when he created enhanced Thermal Gauntlets for his armor and used them to help him fight Blizzard. After the fight, he talks about creating Arctic and Space Armor.

    New armors then appear in various episodes:

  • Silver Centurion: Red and silver, very similar to the original red and gold armor and its own comic counterpart in both appearance and abilities. Stark created it in the episode "Whip Lash", and used it in the same episode to fight the eponymous villain. The Silver Centurion armor made a cameo in "Don't Worry, Be Happy" and other episodes.
  • Stealth Armor: Again, initially similar to the red and gold armor, but with a different chest plate and shining cameras on the sides. First seen and used in "Field Trip". It allows Stark to become invisible and undetectable to cameras and sensors, including those used by Stark International. Unfortunately, this function burns up the power cells after a short period of time. The armor returned in "Panther's Prey" with a new design that is almost completely a bluish-black with red lights on the sides (more like its comic design). This version made several cameos in later episodes and was shown exploding in "Tales of Suspense (Part One)", though a rebuilt one was used in season 2. At the end of "Iron vs Titanium", Stark upgraded the armor with better weapons and stealth gear.
  • Hulkbuster Armor: A heavy-duty armor designed for maximum strength and endurance at the cost of reduced mobility. It has the ability to redirect energy shot at it and has powerful versions of the repulsors and uni-beam as well as missiles and shoulder mounted Gatling laser blasters. First used to take on the Crimson Dynamo in "Seeing Red" when Obadiah Stane redesigned and weaponized it and sent it after Iron Man. Stark later used it in "Uncontrollable" to fight the Hulk (a reference to its comic roots). The armor was later shown exploding in "Tales of Suspense (Part One)". Its designs were later used to create Firepower in "Armor Wars" (Stark refers to the suit by name in this episode). It has a slight resemblance to the X-Men villain Juggernaut. Stark later used the rebuilt armor to fight the Iron Monger in "Heavy Mettle". It appears again in the episode "Rage of the Hulk", in which Stark wears it over his regular armor, before it is severely damaged by the Hulk.
  • Space Armor: A mouth-less, black and gold armor that has all of the same weapons systems as Stark's standard armor. However, this armor also has extended life-support capabilities and an expanded propulsion system on the back (twin thrusters) for long-term flight and for flying into and maneuvering through space. Stark mentions making space armor at the end of "Cold War" and used it for the first time in "Fun with Lasers" against the Living Laser. It was later worn by Stark's father, Howard Stark, in the season 2 finale.
  • Arctic Armor: A white and gold armor that contains additional systems that project thermal energy from Iron Man’s gauntlets and uni-beam. Also, Stark said the Mark II armor's sonic disrupters were adapted from this suit. It has greater life-support functions and generally resists freezing temperatures. This special suit is equipped for long-range flight. Stark mentioned making arctic armor at the end of "Cold War" and used it in "Best Served Cold" against Blizzard.
  • War Machine Armor: Whereas Stark created the Iron Man armor as a multi-environment suit for exploration and rescue, the War Machine armor was created for fighting. The War Machine is as fast as the Mark I Armor, but it has numerous weapons, more powerful and bulkier than the normal armor. Equipped with more powerful versions of the Repulsors and Uni-Beam, the War Machine also sports three shoulder mounted missile launchers as well as wrist mounted machine guns and a shoulder mounted Gatling laser rifle. While Iron Man is red, War Machine is grey. The War Machine first appeared in the two-part season finale "Tales of Suspense", where Rhodes uses it to bring the Mark I Armor to Stark and help him against the Mandarin and Fin Fang Foom. Rhodey has since frequently used the suit throughout season 2.
  • Iron Man Mark II Armor: In the second season of series, Stark creates a more powerful suit of Iron Man Armor. Its design possibly originated from the Extremis Armor from the comics and the first season's Silver Centurion Armor. In addition to the enhanced versions of all the systems from the Mark I Armor, it also has wrist mounted flame blasters, shoulder mounted missile launchers, sonic disrupters (Stark mentions they were adapted from the Arctic Armor) and more powerful repulsors and Uni-Beam. Starting with the episode "Extremis", Stark controls the Mark II using his Extremis abilities.
  • Rescue Armor: Also known as the Stark Solutions X-51 Stealth Infiltrator Armor, was created by Stark for Pepper Potts. Essentially an upgraded version of the Stealth armor but with better Repulsors, the Uni-beam, Energy Grenades and Laser Spark blasters. Just like the Stealth Armor, it has a stealth mode equipped inside it. The suit was given to Pepper at the start of the episode "Dragonseed" as an early birthday present. The armor is recolored purple and white; rather than in the comics, where the color is crimson and silver. In addition it is more feminine looking then the comic version.
  • Hyperpulse Mark 9 Armor: A highly advanced Iron Man armor worn by Andros Stark of the year 2099, that looks like the Cosmic Armor from the comics. This armor utilizes Time Travel capabilities, Ultra-Repulsor Blasts, runs on Extremis 16.5 and can create hard light Holographic photos. Andros's AI for this armor is JARVIS. Through the advanced technology of this armor, Andros alone could take on the combined might of Iron Man, War Machine, Hawkeye, and SHIELD. However, being that Andros prevented the creation of the Vortex Virus, it is unknown if this armor still exists in the future. The Hyperpulse Mark 9 only appears in the episode Iron Man 2099.
  • The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

    In The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes series, in which Iron Man is the co-leader of the Avengers, his standard armors are based on the ones in the film series. In "The Kang Dynasty", he even made special suits for the Avengers to use in the space battle against Kang, excluding the Hulk (who only needed a breathing mask) and Black Panther (who was still in Wakanda).

    His current armored suits give him the standard superhuman strength and durability, flight, repulsors and the unibeam projector. They also have energy shields, an electromagnetic pulse generator, arm-mounted cannons and projectile launchers, various tools like a drill or detachable hip tasers, and can absorb and release energy.

    Additional armors from the comics that were shown in the series are:

  • Mark I Armor (also based on the movie version, but with full flight capability, repulsors, and unibeam) (first seen in "Ultron-5")
  • Mark II Armor (First seen in "The Ultron Imperative")
  • Mark VI Armor (First seen in "Breakout, Part 1")
  • Mark VII Armor (His standard armor in Season 1, the design of this armor is the same as the Mark VI Armor) (first seen in "Breakout, Part 2")
  • Mark IX Armor (His main armor in Season 2. The new suit is based on the Extremis armor and/or the Mark VI from Iron Man 2) (first seen in "Alone Against A.I.M.")
  • Classic Armor (First seen in "The Ultron Imperative")
  • Silver Centurion Armor (First seen in "The Ultron Imperative")
  • Hulkbuster Armor (A headless exterior unit over his standard suit) (first seen in "Everything is Wonderful")
  • Hulkbuster Armor II (A bulky suit that looks like the mainstream Hulkbuster armor) (first seen in "The Deadliest Man Alive")
  • Space Armor (First seen in "The Kang Dynasty")
  • Arctic Armor (First seen in "Casket of Ancient Winters")
  • Stealth Armor (First seen in "The Ultron Imperative")
  • Thorbuster Armor (An Asgardian Iron Man suit that was built in Asgard by Stark and Eitri the Dwarf using uru metal, making its repulsors similar to Mjolnir's lightning) (first seen in "A Day Unlike Any Other")
  • Marvel Anime

    The Iron Man anime series features an Iron Man armor similar to the movie's Mark III armor, except that in the anime the armor is only shown to be equipped with the repulsors, unibeam, and mini-rockets. Plus, instead of J.A.R.V.I.S. as the suit's AI; It has a female-voiced computer named "Computer" that sounds similar to the AI in the suit(s) of Iron Man Armored Adventures.

    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. Stark intends to mass-produce Dio and then retire as Iron Man. The Dio chest power core resembles the one on the Extremis Armor, but the armor is colored blue and silver rather than red and gold. Dio's head is also slightly redesigned from the typical Iron Man armor with curved features on its faceplate. The Dio armor is stolen in the first episode of the series, and Stark is forced to fight the Dio armor repeatedly over the series. Stark asserts the Dio Armor is a knock-off of the real Iron Man armor, but Dio is demonstrated as being equal to or surpassing Stark's standard armor in terms of performance. Maybe it's because the armor's performance depends on how good the pilot is.

    The SDF later create a suit of armor called "Ramon Zero", used by Captain Nagato Sakurai. It resembles a samurai's armor. The Japanese armor appears to have a red pentagon-shaped ARC reactor, is armed with powerful swords, and also uses repulsors and missiles in combat.

    Yinsen, revealed to still be alive and piloting the Dio Armor, builds an army of autonomous drones called Iron Man Sigma. These drones resemble the Dio Armor, except the Sigma armor is colored army camouflage.

    Iron Man: Rise of Technovore

    In Iron Man: Rise of Technovore, Tony Stark dons an armor that could possibly resemble his Marvel NOW! armor from the comics, but with even less gold color and a predominant red instead of black. The abilities of the armor are pretty much the standard, namely extreme physical strength and speed, repulsors, unibeam and a suitcase transformation module. Its unique feature is the extra thrusters on its back and feet and the small, retractable wings on the shoulder pads. Stark appears with the same armor in the follow-up anime movie Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher.

    Ultimate Spider-Man

    In the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man, the episode "The Iron Octopus" reveals several prior suits developed by Stark:

  • Mark I Armor
  • Mark II Armor
  • Mark III Armor
  • Hulkbuster Armor
  • Classic Armor
  • Avengers Assemble

    In the animated series, Avengers Assemble, Iron Man battles alongside the other Avengers. Iron Man reveals that he has made numerous armors in the episode "The Avengers Protocol Part 2". In season 2, his main armor looks slightly modified, with smaller shoulder plates and a more "movie-style" detailed helmet. Its prehensile capabilities are shown more prominently and now it has a suitcase module. It is currently unknown which model is this suit:

  • Mark XLIX Armor (First seen in "The Avengers Protocol Part 1")
  • Mark L Armor (His main armor, its design is similar to the Mark XLIX Armor) (First seen in "The Avengers Protocol Part 2")
  • "Rubber Ducky" Armor (Undersea armor) (First seen in "Depth Charge")
  • "Herald" Armor (Actually the Mark L seemingly infused with cosmic powers by Galactus) (First seen in "Guardians and Space Knights")
  • Mark I Armor (First seen in "Exodus" as part of the show's incarnation of the "Iron Legion")
  • "Hulkbuster" Armor (First seen in "Exodus" as part of the show's incarnation of the "Iron Legion") During the episode "World War Hulk" it is shown Iron Man made each Avenger their own variation, meant to work with their personal abilities.
  • War Machine Armor (First seen in a cameo appearance in "The Avengers Protocol Part 1", later remote controlled in "Exodus" as part of the show's incarnation of the "Iron Legion")
  • Iron Patriot Armor (Probably retrieved after Norman Osborn became the Green Goblin again in "Ultimate Spider-Man") (First seen in "Exodus" as part of the show's incarnation of the "Iron Legion")
  • Stealth Armor (Black and gold armor, resembling Iron Man's Marvel NOW! armor from the comics) (First seen in "Exodus" as part of the show's incarnation of the "Iron Legion")
  • Undersea Armor II (A new, dark colored armor resembling the Mark XXXVII "Hammerhead" from Iron Man 3) (First seen in "Beneath the Surface")
  • Iron Kid Armor (An armor worn by the de-aged Tony, based on designs he made when he was 8 years old. It resembles a small version of his classic armor with the horned visor.) (First seen in "The Age of Tony Stark")
  • Silver Centurion Armor (An adaptation of the classic red/silver armor from the comics and the Mark XXXIII from Iron Man 3.) (First seen in the Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. episode "Wheels of Fury")
  • Asgardian Buster Armor (An armor which resembles Stark's Uru Armor from the 2011 crossover event "Fear Itself". It was taken over by Ultron.) (First seen in "Avengers Disassembled")
  • A red/gold armor that resembles the Mark VI from Iron Man 2, which was under the control of Ultron. (Fist seen in "Avengers Disassembled")
  • A red/gold armor that resembles the Marvel NOW! Space Armor MK III from the comics. It was controlled by Ultron against the Avengers. (First seen in "Avengers Disassembled")
  • Mark II (A metallic silver armor, where the design of his current armor probably came from.) (First seen in "Terminal Velocity")
  • "New Frontiers" Armor (A massive, enormous armor resembling Ultimate Iron Man's armor from the Ultimate Comics, which even though untested, was deployed to face Thanos head-on.) (First seen in "Avengers World")
  • New "Hulkbuster" Armor (A nearly identical armor to the Mark XLIV from Avengers: Age of Ultron, repainted green and grey by Bruce Banner to battle the Steel Corps.) (First seen in "Dehulked")
  • Omega Armor (A black, red and gold armor that Tony Stark is supposed to build in the future, in Kang's timeline.) (First seen in "Into the Future")
  • Giant Armor: (A skyscraper sized Iron Man like robot used by Tony to fight a cosmic empowered Thanos in Avengers World.)
  • Iron Man and Hulk: Heroes United

    In this direct-to-video team-up feature, Tony Stark displays three armors. His initial armor, the 'Mark VI', is a slightly bulky hypervelocity armor with a circular unibeam lens. It is somewhat reminiscent of the cinematic Mark III, but with a less complex paint job and more gold color. It is first seen battling a Hulkbuster armor run by J.A.R.V.I.S. in a training exercise. This time, Stark does not wear the Hulkbuster, instead giving the torso armor and the gauntlets to Hulk for extra protection against Zzzax. Stark's final armor is the 'Mark VII', an untested prototype which has better chances of defending against Zzzax. The armor clearly resembles the cinematic Mark VI, with grey plating on the knees and arms, but with a pentagonal unibeam instead of triangular one. The Mark VII is Tony's main and only armor in the follow-up animated movie Iron Man and Captain America: Heroes United. While there was also a Stealth armor, it was stolen and worn by Taskmaster.

    Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers

    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. Its weaponry and abilities are the standard, with flight capabilities, repulsor rays, missiles and the unibeam. When Akira, Tony's partner, inputs the hidden command 'X-W-1-0-1-Alpha-7', Iron Man can unleash his 'Ultimate Unibeam' attack. Because Stark is trapped inside a DISK (Digital Identity Securement Kit), he is always seen in his armor. In episode 28, Iron Man gains the Build Up Plate, an extra piece of armor worn over his regular one, which grants him more fire power thanks to his Final Repulsor attack.

    References

    Iron Man's armor in other media Wikipedia