Marvel Officially Crowns Iron Man’s Most Impressive MCU Armor (According to His Dad)

Warning: Contains spoilers for Invincible Iron Man #17!

Marvel has confirmed which Iron Man suit that Tony Stark thinks his father would find the most impressive. A haunting dream sequence in the Invincible Iron Man comic series sees Tony reunite with Howard Stark for an imagined heart-to-heart in a suit of armor that has also appeared in the MCU. The reasoning why this specific suit is so remarkable gives context to Iron Man’s psyche and his relationship with his father.

Invincible Iron Man (2022) #17 by Gerry Duggan and Patch Zircher begins after the villain Feilong crashes his War Machine Sentinel into Iron Man’s Sentinel Buster armor. Concussed and delirious, Tony makes his way out of the advanced suit of armor while experiencing a disturbing fever dream.

Tony reunites with his deceased father in the dreamy vision while wearing his first suit, the Mark I armor. Though Tony is initially embarrassed by his dad seeing his low-tech suit, Howard reassures him that it’s actually his most impressive given the dire situation it was created in.

Why Tony Stark’s Mark I Armor Is Such An Achievement

The vision of Howard Stark proves Tony’s perfectionism, as he feels the Mark I armor is still his best suit given the materials he had available. While Tony knows the first suit isn’t his most technically advanced, it illustrates his engineering ability in a more impressive way than his creations that were made without limits. In an origin identical to the MCU’s Iron Man, Tony Stark built his Mark I armor in a cave when taken hostage and forced to build a weapon in Tales of Suspense #39 by Larry Lieber, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Gene Colan, and Don Heck.

Tony Stark’s complicated relationship with his father is a key part of his character, and the envisioned conversation between them speaks to Tony’s mindset and how his father influences him from beyond the grave. Tony is always making improvements on the Iron Man armor, crafting dozens of unique suits along the way. Given the extensive resources bestowed on him by generational wealth, the billionaire still feels like he hasn’t reached his full potential outside the cave. Iron Man may never feel like his heroic quest is adequate, as he’s desperate for approval from a dead man that can’t give it.

Iron Man Needs to Go Back to Basics After the Sentinel Buster

Tony seemingly has no higher limit to reach after building what he deems to be the most powerful Iron Man armor with the Sentinel Buster, revealed in Invincible Iron Man (2022) #16 by Gerry Duggan, Creees Lee, and Walden Wong. This armor had the power to take on an army of Stark Sentinels. It was made from the metal mysterium, which is immune to magic and impervious to Wolverine’s adamantium claws. As this armor was still taken down by Feilong, the reappearance of Tony Stark’s Mark I suit could be a hint that the character’s next best move is to go back to basics.

With Tony Stark’s back against a wall, and a team-up with metal manipulator Magneto approaching in his series, it seems like a status quo shift is coming for the tech genius. Invincible Iron Man #17 takes readers on a journey through the mind of Tony and his various neuroses that illuminates where the character stands and his standards for himself. Iron Man envisioning his dad’s approval of his lowest-tech armor, over the dozens of advanced suits created since, could have greater ramifications on the genius superhero’s personal narrative and his place in the Marvel Universe as a whole.