Whenever Tony Stark utters the iconic words, "I am Iron Man," people believe him. The two identities are synonymous with each other, as anyone would find it difficult to imagine one without the other, specifically a Tony Stark without Iron Man. That being said, that doesn't mean that Iron Man can exist without Tony Stark.

There have certainly been characters who have adorn Iron Man-esque suits, either those inspired by Tony's suits or created by Tony for other heroes (i.e. Rhodey's War Machine), but not everyone has adopted the Iron Man moniker. This refers specifically to those few characters bold enough to literally leap into the shoes of Iron Man. The Iron Man namesake and mantle carries a weight with expectations that not everyone can fit, but a select few have called themselves Iron Man, with even fewer managing to sur Tony in the role.

10 Doctor Doom

Infamous Iron Man #1-12, by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Aleev

Following the events of Secret Wars and Civil War II, Doctor Doom is at a crossroads with his legacy, hoping to make peace with it. After years of being what can be best described as a diabolical and petty diva, he's ready to start anew. When Tony Stark is presumed dead after the conclusion of the second superhero Civil War, Doom takes the opportunity to redeem his past by paying tribute to someone he had been working closely with. In doing so, Doctor Doom becomes the Infamous Iron Man.

His time as Iron Man truly speaks to the complexity of Doctor Doom as a character, and his complicated legacy. It's a miniseries in which the once cartoonishly evil villain is trying to make a genuine change, whilst coming to with his villainy and coming to with a future where redemption may not be entirely possible for him.

9 "Happy" Hogan (with the Iron Legion)

The Iron Legion Debuts in Iron Man #300 by Len Kaminski, Kevin Hopgood, Steve Mitchell, Ariane Lenshoek, and Ken Lopez

Harold "Happy" Hogan is best ed as the longtime limo driver for Tony Stark, making him both a friend and assistant to the Iron Man, but he was once far more than that. At one point, when the world needed him most, he would become Iron Man, alongside other ing players in Tony's life.

The Mandarin became deadlier than ever once he had a superweapon called Ultimo in his possession. The power at his disposal proved too powerful for even The Avengers to handle, demanding the help from outside forces to save their necks. Rhodey would assemble Happy Hogan, his friend Eddie March, former Guardsman Michael O'Brien, Tony's former bodyguard (and sometimes love interest) Bethany Cabe, and Justin Hammer's ex-bodyguard Carl Walker. Together, using Iron Man suits, they became the Iron Legion, who surprisingly were able to destroy Ultimo.

8 Sonny Frisco's Iron Man 2099

Secret Wars 2099 #1 by Peter David, William Sinney, Antonio Fabela, Andres Mossa, and Joe Caramagna,

Much like Tony Stark decades prior, Sonny Frisco is an inventor with a mastery for all things metal in the year 2099. He was recruited into the Avengers of this era by Tyler Stone, the CEO of Alchemax. In doing so, he became the Iron Man of 2099, one of the is even cooler than Tony's.

Anyone can put on a suit of armor and call themselves Iron Man, but to use his super-intellect to create a suit of armor that ranks as stronger, better, and faster than the original is truly, mighty impressive.

7 Howard Stark of the New Ultimate Universe

As a result of The Maker's meddling, an entirely new Ultimate Universe has manifested, one with Howard Stark filling his son's usual shoes as the Iron Man. In Earth-6160, Howard would jump the gun by a few decades by founding the Iron Man technology before his son would. His inventions would be considered revolutionary to the point that the public dubbed him Iron Man. Howard would use his gifts for good early on, even trying (and failing) to stop the JFK assassination.

Howard would soon find himself in opposition to The Maker's Cabal, which his teenage son encouraged him to tackle. That soon backfires as Howard is quickly presumed dead, trapped in the confines of The Maker's City base. In his honor, Tony Stark carries his father's legacy as Iron Lad, even if it almost gets him killed.

6 Steve Rogers (in Bullet Points Reality)

Bullet Points #1 by J. Michael Straczynski, Tommy Lee Edwards, and John Workman

The universe of Earth-70105 presents a small, but drastic alteration to Marvel's canon. Dr. Abraham Erskine is the man who provides Steve Rogers with the experiment that turns him into Captain America, but in ths world, he dies before the Super Soldier experiment can get underway. As a result, the government has a backup plan that they introduce Rogers to: Project Iron Man. Instead of being injected with a Super Soldier Serum, Steve Rogers is instead surgically attached to a familiar, metal suit of armor.

He would prove to be an instrumental weapon in World War II. He wouldn't be removed from the Iron Man suit until years after the fact once his mission was completed. However, he'd have to be inserted back into the suit to face off a new threat named Peter Parker, who transforms into this universe's Hulk.

5 Tony's Brain Tumor Anthony, in the original Ultimate Universe

The Ultimates #10 by Jonathan Hickman, Sam Humphries, Luke Ross, Matthew Wilson, Clayton Cowles

Going back to the original Ultimate Universe, Tony Stark develops what he thinks initially is a brain tumor. Things take a strange turn when that tumor manifests as a child who Tony interprets as a figment of his imagination that, somehow, has sprouted a consciousness of his own. Tony accepts the strangeness of it all, adopting the child - so to speak - as his partner in crimefighting, even giving the ghostly sidekick a name, Anthony.

Anthony is Tony's companion through the Ultimates run, until Iron Man is captured by The Maker, who informs him that not only is his hallucination real, but it's actually an Infinity Stone. When the gem is removed from Tony's brain, it kills him, but because his brain was subjected to Anthony for years, the supposed brain tumor's consciousness was ed into Tony's Iron Man suit, becoming the new Iron Man in the process.

4 Nick Travis

Iron Man: The End #1 by David Michelinie, Bob Layton, Mike Cavallaro, Artmonkey Studios

The End was a non-canon swan song for the title character, one where an older Tony Stark in the distant future was painfully aware that he could not continue as Iron Man anymore. So he takes a protege under his wing in the form of Nick Travis, an MIT student who slowly rises through the ranks in Tony's eyes. Over time, he goes from a plucky student, to Head of Technology, to being appointed the next Iron Man for a new generation.

Together, as Travis trains under Stark, they create the perfect final armor with the perfect superpower. The two egos butt heads, but ultimately, both mean well, and by the story's end, they find a way to collaborate in an effort to defeat one last enemy in Tony's career, all before unveiling the new Iron Man to the world.

3 James Stark

Avengers Twilight by Chip Zdarsky and Daniel Acuna

Not all Iron Mans on this list are full-blown superheroes. In the case of Tony's very own son, this Iron Man initially walked down the path of darkness. Avengers Twilight focuses on the futuristic alternate reality featuring James Stark, the son of Iron Man and The Wasp, Janet van Dyne. Rather than become a superhero right off the bat, he used the fortunes inherited to him to turn the world into a police surveillance state. For a time, he was the Avengers' most dangerous foe.

One of the things that would make James so dangerous is the Iron Man suit he'd craft to combat the Avengers. As shown in his first fight with the Avengers, James' suit is just as powerful as his father's and, in other ways, perhaps even more so.

2 Tony Stark 2.0 AI

Iron Man: Hypervelocity

Tony Stark 2.0 was created as a feature to the Iron Man Armor Model 28, serving as a contingency plan in case the wearer was ever left unconscious or worse. It activates as a sort of supercomputer on autopilot. While the original Tony Stark of flesh and blood found himself incapacitated, his A.I. counterpart took control of all Iron Man operations.

Many comic book stories envision the dangers of what happens when A.I. or computers take over, but when this A.I. found itself in the driver seat, it miraculously did not go evil. In fact, it making for the perfect superspeed form.

1 James "Rhodey" Rhodes

Iron Man #170 by Denny O’Neil, Luke McDonnell, Steve Mitchell, Bob Sharen, and Rich Parker

Tony Stark historically has struggled with alcohol abuse. 1970 depicted Stark at the height of those struggles. He’s so drunken in the prior issue that not only does he inexplicably reveal his then-secret identity to his best friend, but he’s far too drunk to confront the supervillain Magma when he attacks Stark International.

With Stark incapacitated and time of the essence, Rhodey strips Stark’s Iron Suit off him and becomes Iron Man to save the day. His usage of the suit for the first time isn’t perfect, as it came unexpectedly at a moment's notice, but he nonetheless defeats Magma, slowly mastering its abilities. For a brief period, Rhodey would take over Tony's place as Iron Man over the course of several issues as Stark gets his affairs in order. In time, the militarian’s heroism would earn him his own Iron Man suit, dubbing himself War Machine.