Tony Stark’sIron Manis one of the Avengers' strongest heroes, with his bleeding-edge suits enhancing his strength to superhuman levels. However, many of Tony’s enemies make Iron Man look weak by comparison, turning the Armored Avenger into an underdog for the ages.
Here are Iron Man’s 10 strongest villains of all time. For this list, we’re ignoring characters like Thanos, Korvac and Count Nefaria who Tony usually faces alongside the Avengers, and focusing onrecurring foes or those who were part of iconic moments in Iron Man lore. Where possible, this list refers to Marvel’sIron ManualandOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universecomics for strength levels, though it’s worth keeping in mind that, like Tony, his villains are always upgrading their suits, meaning those numbers are always climbing.
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10Mallen (And Other Extremis-Powered Humans)
First Seen in Iron Man Volume 4 #1 by Warren Ellis & Adi Granov
Mallen was the first enemy to upgrade himself to superhuman levelsusing the Extremis virus, created by Dr. Maya Hansen and Dr. Aldrich Killian.Extremis lets its user rewrite their biology, allowing them to drastically enhance their body. The first generation of Extremis-users gained superhuman strength and speed, as well as the ability to breathe fire, unleash powerful electrical discharges, and heal from serious injuries in record time.
A domestic terrorist, Mallen used Extremis to try and kill various political figures, and was eventually killed by Tony, who decapitated him with a repulsor ray. Mallen was strong enough to injure Tony Starkthroughhis Iron Man armor and throw vehicles with ease.
9Titanium Man, Piloted by Boris Bullski and Kondrati Topolov
First Seen in Tales of Suspense #69 by Stan Lee and Don Heck
A gigantic suit of armor with a major strength advantage over Iron Man,the Titanium Man suit enhances its user’s strength by a factor of 50. That made original pilot Boris Bullski particularly dangerous, since he possessed low-level superhuman strength. The original version of the suit included a stasis beam, energy weapons housed in the suit’s ‘eyes’ and radar rings that chase and restrain their target. Titanium Man’s armor has been upgraded multiple times since, most recently requiring both Iron Man and War Machine to outfight him.
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8Crimson Dynamo, Piloted by Anton Vanko, Dimitri Bukharin, Valentin Shatalov and Others
First Seen in Tales of Suspense #46 by Stan Lee, Robert Bernstein and Don Heck
The Crimson Dynamo is essentially the Russian Iron Man, and a longtime fixture onthe semi-heroic Winter Guard team, alongside Russian superheroes Darkstar, Ursa Major and Vanguard. There have been many versions of the Crimson Dynamo armor over Marvel history, with various pilots and versions of the suit. Perhaps the most powerful is the Crimson Dynamo IV-X, which can lift over 90 tons.
Designed by original pilot and inventor Anton Vanko, theCrimson Dynamo generally has strength greater than Tony’s Iron Man armor(though with less maneuverability.) Vanko was an expert in electricity-based weaponry, and Crimson Dynamo is especially effective at disrupting other devices and utilizing energy weapons.
7Iron Man 2020, aka Arno Stark
First Seen in Iron Man Volume 5 #12 by Kieron Gillen and Dale Eaglesham
When Tony discovered he was adopted, he was doubly surprised to learn that his parents had a biological son - Arno Stark. While the two originally tried to forge a relationship as brothers, Arno’s callous streak eventually led to conflict, withArno stealing the Iron Man codenameand becoming Iron Man 2020. The suit uses proprietary Stark tech, including repulsor technology and laser weaponry. The cogs on the suit’s shoulders also act as a close-range weapon, able to spin at incredible speeds. The strength level of Iron Man 2020 varies depending on the suit’s power source, with a similar variant of Arno able to lift 100 tons at maximum, according toIron Manual Mark 3.
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6The Controller, aka Basil Sandhurst
First Seen in Iron Man #12 by Archie Goodwin and George Tuska
The Controller is a genius villain who uses insidious gadgets known as ‘slave discs’ to take control of innocent people. These discs connect directly to the victim’s brain stem, forcing them to obey the Controller’s commands, while also siphoning mental energy back to the Controller’s exoskeleton suit. The Controller is capable of controlling as many people as he has slave discs for, and has commanded entire armies in the past. While the Controller only has minimal superhuman strength thanks to his self-made exoskeleton,the energy gathered from his thralls can enhance his strength up to 100 times, allowing him to lift approximately 100 tons (according to theOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z.)
5Firepower, aka Jack Taggert
Debuted in Iron Man #230 by David Michelinie and Bob Layton
The test pilot of an experimental suit created using stolen Stark tech, Jack Taggert was later persuaded to kill Tony Stark, having grown obsessed with Iron Man after constantly battling him in a sophisticated simulation.The Firepower suit was designed as a weapon of first resort against rogue superhumans, and was shockingly powerful - able to lift 100 tons.Armed with grenades, surface-to-air missiles, a particle cannon and an experimental mini-nuke codenamed Terminax, it could also reach 250 mph thanks to its powerful jet boots.
Iron Man was almost killed during his first battle with Firepower, and Taggert has remained one of his most underrated enemies. Powered by solar batteries, the Firepower suit is capable of solo running for extended periods - ideal for Taggert, who is an expert tactician and fighter capable of developing sophisticated attack plans.
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4Ironmonger, Piloted by Obadiah Stane, Justine Hammer and More
Armor First Seen in Iron Man #200 by Denny O’Neil and Mark Bright
Thanks to a hostile takeover of Tony Stark’s Stark International, his family’s old rival Obadiah Stane was able to pillage Tony’s Iron Man tech and develop what he considered a far superior suit, able to lift over 50 tons in its Mark I debut (in contrast, the Mark I Crimson Dynamo could lift 1 ton when introduced.) The suit has passed from villain to villain ever since, with anincredibly powerful new version recently wielded by Justine Hammer(the daughter of Tony’s old enemy Justin Hammer.)
Hammer’s upgraded version of the suit is made of Mysterium - an unbreakable element which is immune to magic and so strong, evenCaptain Marvel couldn’t bend Tony’s Mysteriumwalking cane. The Iron Monger suit uses Stark’s repulsor tech and laser weaponry, with jets that could reach 275 mph in the Mark I.
3Arsenal Alpha and Arsenal Beta
Debuted in Iron Man #114 by Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen
During the Cold War, Tony’s father Howard Stark was hired to create an unbeatable weapon that could be used in case the USSR successfully invaded America. Howard’s solution was the Arsenal robot - a nigh-unbeatable android programmed to destroy key American resources so they could not be used by the USSR. So far, Iron Man has discovered two Arsenal units - Arsenal Alpha and Arsenal Beta - and both are among the strongest foes he’s ever fought.
When Arsenal Beta fought the Avengers,it took on Hulk, Wonder Man and She-Hulk as an equal. The Arsenal robots are heavily armed, with flamethrowers, toxis gas grenades, various guns and ‘inertia darts’ which could even piece the Hulk’s skin, as well as laser and electro-shock weaponry.
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2Fin Fang Foom
First Appeared in Strange Tales #89 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
One of Marvel’s most iconic villains,Fin Fang Foom may look like a dragon, but he’s actually an alien from Maklu IV. Possessing human intelligence and fiery breath, Fin Fang Foom has been on Earth since the 8th Centry, andadvanced technology from his ship led to the creation of the Mandarin, one of Iron Man’s most formidable villains. Fin Fang Foom’s top strength is unknown, but theOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universeconfirms it’s in excess of Class 100 (able to lift >100 tons.)
Fin Fang Foom is naturally gigantic, and is also known as ‘He Whose Limbs Shatter Mountains and Whose Back Scrapes the Sun,’ however Makluans are capable of changing their size at will. Fin Fang Foom has also showcased rare abilities including telepathy, acid mist-breath, and the ability to survive the destruction of his body as an astral consciousness.He can also manifest his negative emotions as separate beings. Despite his appearance, Fin Fang Foom possesses technology far in advance of anything on Earth, and has been both a physical and technological threat to Iron Man in the past.
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1Ultimo
Debuted in Tales of Suspense #76 by Stan Lee and Adam Austin
A mysterious robotic being,Ultimo is one of many giant androidscreated on a distant alien planet. After being knocked off course by a meteor, Ultimo was discovered by the Mandarin, who sicced the colossal villain on his old nemesis Tony Stark. Ultimo possesses strength of approximately Class 100, able to lift in excess of 100 tons.Its robotic body is effectively invulnerable to harm and can absorb and repurpose energy used against it, as well as repairing any damage near-instantly. Ultimo can also merge with other sources of metal to grow bigger and bigger, and can ‘infect’ biological life to act under its control, while also granting its host mechanical enhancements. Ultimo possesses adaptive AI that identifies past vulnerabilities and adjusts its base design to remove any weaknesses.
Iron Man later discovered the planet on which Ultimo was created, discovering that the Earth-based villain is just one of an army of UItimo robots which are designed to run on biological matter, eating any living being they come across. These robots were later reprogrammed by Wilbur Day’s Stilt-Man, who routinely kidnapped people from across the galaxy to feed to his new army (as seen inIron Man Volume 6, from Christopher Cantwell and Ángel Unzueta.)Ultimo’s maximum height (and thus maximum strength) are unknown, but the robot has been shown to grow to hundreds of feet.
Those are the 10 most powerful villains fromIron Manlore - let us know which of Tony Stark’s other enemies belong on this list, as well as which entries you think should be higher or lower in our ranking.
