What Happens in Armor Wars? Tracing its Comics History, Who's Involved & More

With the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) deciding to tackle Armor Wars, it’s time we dive deep into this Iron Man saga as told in the very pages of Marvel comics.

In this post, we’ll go into what the Armor Wars arc was all about, which Marvel characters were involved, and many more.

What Is Armor Wars?

In the comics, Armor Wars refers to a story arc that spanned several issues of Iron Man from 1987 to 1988. Technically speaking, the original saga ran through Iron Man #225 to Iron Man #232.

Note that we say the “original” saga because other newer Armor Wars arcs would eventually be told by Marvel. For instance, there’s the What If Iron Man Lost the Armor Wars issue that came out on What If? Then there’s a four-issue series called Iron Man & The Armor Wars first published in 2009. That’s not to be confused with the Ultimate Comics: Armor Wars that happened the same year. Finally, 2015’s Secret Wars saga featured an Armor Wars mini-series as well.

The Armor Wars story is also known as the Stark Wars. The Stark Wars title was used during the series’ original run. But when the trade paperback collection was later released in 1990 and 2007, Armor Wars was used.

What Happens in the Armor Wars Saga?

When it comes to armor technology, Iron Man’s tech is basically the best on the face of the earth, except maybe for tech aided by Vibranium (here’s looking at you, Wakanda).

But what if Iron Man’s armor tech falls into the wrong hands, like criminals or worse, supervillains?

This is the central plot of the Armor Wars saga. Iron Man takes it upon himself to either retrieve the top-secret armor tech stolen from him, at all costs.

Suffice it to say that fellow superheroes, friends, allies, and even the US government are not feeling too comfy about that “at all costs” part.

Is Tony Stark in Armor Wars?

Yes, Tony Stark is right smack in the middle of the Armor Wars saga. The story, after all, involves the armor technology he developed and is now trying to protect.

The saga begins when Stark discovers that the technology behind the armor used by supervillain Force was based on his Iron Man suit.

After interrogating Force, Stark later learns that Justin Hammer had copied Iron Man armor tech to develop Force’s battle suit, thanks to some nifty industrial espionage courtesy of Spymaster (who sold the information to Hammer).

Having access to Stark’s armor design, Hammer basically starts developing battle suits for any bad guy looking to settle scores with Iron Man.

Who Is in Armor Wars?

Stark knows his armor tech is already being peddled in the black market by Hammer. But he doesn’t know for sure which supervillains got his tech.

So he decides to go after every armored bad guy on the planet (well, technically speaking, Earth-616).

Unfortunately for him (but not for Marvel comics readers), there’s more than one. His “hit list” not only includes familiar names like Doctor Doom and Shockwave, but also the Beetle, Controller, Crimson Dynamo, Mauler, Professor Power, the Raiders gang, Stilt-Man, and Titanium Man, among many others.

At first, Iron Man gets by with a little help from old friends. He teams up with Ant-Man (Scott Lang) and War Machine. The West Coast Avengers even offered to lend a hand.

But his mission would soon get more complicated – mainly because Stark starts to target armored superheroes as well.

He attempts to test the battle suit worn by Stingray (a US government-sponsored superhero). Things get out of hand when he insists even as the other dude declines to be tested.

As it turns out, Stingray’s armor design wasn’t stolen from Iron Man’s after all. The government isn’t happy about the incident and now it wants Shellhead stopped.

This is where S.H.I.E.L.D. and Colonel Nick Fury decide to step in. Stark appears to accede to their demands to stand down, but secretly deactivates S.H.I.E.L.D. 's Mandroids (armors based on Stark tech).

Iron Man’s actions start to get Steve Rogers’ attention. Even the entire West Coast Avengers attempted to intervene but to no avail. When Stark gets involved in an incident that kills a Russian baddie (Gremlin, using Titanium Man’s suit), Iron Man loses his Avengers membership.

Don’t worry, we won’t spoil the saga’s ending here. But for those who haven’t read the seven-issue series yet, the resolution is to die for, so to speak.

Who Is the Villain in Armor Wars?

Technically, Justin Hammer and Spymaster are the most responsible for leaking Iron Man technology to criminals.

But you can also argue that the Armored Avenger himself was both the saga’s antagonist and protagonist.

The arc’s plot centers on him, no doubt, but it’s also his actions that lead to consequences, some of which resulted in deaths (Gremlin) and injuries.

This dual role is not lost to Tony Stark. At the saga’s end, he’s forced to confront his guilt, while resolving to do better as a superhero.

The Original Armor Wars Story vs Armor Wars II vs 2015 Armor Wars

So how is the original Armor Wars saga connected to the Armor Wars II arc and the much more recent 2015 Armor Wars story?

You can argue that the connection is pretty thin.

Let’s start with Armor Wars II. It takes place not long after the first Armor Wars series, spanning through eight or so issues of the Iron Man comics from 1990 to 1991.

In this story, Tony Stark’s central nervous system is hijacked by the Marrs twins (Desmond and Phoebe) and evil inventor Kearson Dewitt. Iron Man not only loses control of his body, he also suffers memory loss.

There’s actually not much armored-guy-vs-armored-guy action in this arc. But if you’re looking for great art, Armor Wars II doesn’t disappoint in that department, thanks to amazing artwork from the legendary John Romita Jr (a personal favorite of this writer).

But what about the newer 2015 Armor Wars series? This is actually part of the bigger Secret Wars saga.

For those who are not familiar with Secret Wars, it tells of the end of the Marvel Universe (as well as other alternate universes) as we know it.

In the wake of the Marvel Universe’s destruction, various versions of Earth join together to form the Battleworld planet, which gets populated with multiple alternate variants of Marvel characters we know and love.

Within Battleworld exists a domain called Technopolis. Because of an airborne virus, Technopolis inhabitants are forced to wear armor.

The guy who maintains peace in this realm is War Machine. He is challenged to duel Titanium Man, which sets off a chain of events involving various armored and superpowered beings fighting each other.

For all Tony Stark fans out there, know that he’s in the story. But we must warn you, this version of him may not be as heroic as you’d expect.

Is Armor Wars in the MCU?

Yes, Armor Wars is in the MCU. Originally announced as a series, Marvel has since decided to release it as a theatrical release. The movie is set to feature War Machine (Don Cheadle) as the lead character.

After dying in Avengers: Endgame, everyone’s favorite genius billionaire playboy philanthropist isn't taking center stage.

But that’s not to say Tony Stark’s presence is not felt. Technically, Iron Man might be dead, but his legacy is alive through his tech (Spider-Man and War Machine would definitely agree).

And considering that Justin Hammer already exists in the MCU (thanks to Iron Man 2), the movie should not have any major problems adopting the original comics saga’s plot.