Given his contributions to the world as Iron Man, Tony Stark is one of the most skilled craftsmen and super-geniuses in the Marvel Universes. The Marvel Cinematic Universe ensures that the character will always be respected by mainstream audiences, but hands down, the best version of Iron Man is in the comics, and ergo, the comics feature his best suits of armor.

The MCU could only showcase a few classic costumes for Iron Man, as not all of his suits could be adapted to the movies. While his suits in all their forms are incredibly powerful, they also tend to be non-lethal. He is a hero after all, so while his suits are made to neutralize colossal threats, he doesn't seek to kill. Keep in mind, though, that before he became a hero, he was a manufacturer of deadly weaponry. He knows how to make violent tech, and sometimes, he resorts to his savage ways for his Iron Man creations.

10 The Iron Scab Leaves a Scab on the Multiverse

Devil's Reign: Superior Four #1 by Zac Thompson, Davide Tinto, Matt Milla, and Ariana Maher

After Mayor Wilson "Kingpin" Fisk outlaws vigilantism in the state of New York, imprisoning the Fantastic Four in the process, he gifts their Baxter Building headquarters and its resources to Dr. Otto Octavius. Using a multiversal conduit, Doc Ock summons variants of himself from alternate realities to lead a new, dark Fantastic Four: the Superior Four.

After recruiting Otto Howlett, Otto Blaze, and Otto Banner (versions of himself as Wolverine, Ghost Rider, and the Hulk respectively), Doctor Octopus and his variants build a Council of Ock to control everything. Together, they enter the Gulted Gulch of Earth-5069, where they are immediately attacked and confronted by the Iron Scab. The Iron Scab doesn't reveal his identity before being killed, and the Superior Four dispose of him rather quickly in Iron Man's worst nightmare come true, but this Iron Man variant leaves an impression with a menacing outfit behind devilish red eyes.

9 Doc Ock Takes Tony's Tech for Himself to Form the Iron Men

Doom: The Emperor Returns #1 by Chuck Dixon, Leonardo Manco, Mariana Manco, and Randy Gentile

In another universe, rather than oppose Iron Man, Otto Octavius would become Iron Man. Doom: The Emperor Returns #1 takes place in a pocket dimension created by Franklin Richards during the "Heroes Reborn" event. Upon learning that the reality he was in was a false one, Doctor Doom sought to take it over from Franklin and rule over it. To Doom's dismay, there are characters in this world unaware that it's fake, namely Doc Ock and his Iron Men.

This is not to be confused with Marvel's "Heroes Reborn" arc that was anchored by creators Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness in 2021. Years earlier, in Marvel's 1996 "Heroes Reborn" arc, the Avengers and the Fantastic Four were sent away to an alternate reality away from the Marvel Universe for an entire year.

Using Tony Stark's technology, Otto leads an army of freedom fighters whilst donning Iron Man's darkest armor. He has turned Tony's dream into a nightmarish walking death trap equipped with fiendish tentacles to execute his most wicked intentions, even as a hero.

8 Iron Maniac Shows Iron Man Embracing Villainy

Marvel Team-Up #22 by Robert Kirkman, Andy Kuhn, Marte Gracia, and Rus Wooton

In an alternate reality where Scarlet Witch never causes the "Disassembled" arc, it is Tony Stark who grows mad as the sole survivor of the Titannus War. After overruling Latveria and killing the Human Torch, Mister Fantastic sends Stark to Earth-616 to stop his conquest. Upon being captured by S.H.I.E.L.D., he starts to not only understand the villain he's become, but Iron Man becomes willing to embrace villainy.

Using Captain America's ex-girlfriend to build a new suit, Iron Man becomes the Iron Maniac. Readers watched for years as Tony created suits with the good intention of stopping war, but this is an example of how he willingly becomes a product of war. It calls back to the far more vicious weapons manufacturing done by the Tony of old from his origin story.

7 The Cancerverse Armor Is Among Iron Man's Most Grotesque Transformations

Realm of Kings #1 by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Leonardo Manco, Mahmud Asrar, Bruno Hang, and Cory Petit

The Cancerverse refers to the world of Earth-10011, which was thrown into a tailspin upon the death of Death herself. She's soon replaced by the Many Angled Ones, elder gods who transform the Avengers into the Revengers. As such, Iron Man and the other Marvel heroes evolved into twisted versions of themselves who mutate at the first sign of injury. Upon each mutation, Iron Man and his allies become more monstrous and unrecognizable.

Iron Man and the Revengers' disgusting healing powers unleash a final fate for Iron Man that makes him look downright terrifying. The aesthetic of Iron Man goes from being a proverbial knight in shining armor to something more akin to a medieval knight that decapitates at the sheer sight of trouble. Beyond the actual appearance of the armor itself, the red eyes complement the outfit, allowing Tony to strike terror.

6 Iron Man's Horrific Tentacle Armor

Dark Avengers #183 by Jeff Parker, Neil Edwards, Terry Pallot, Sotocolor, and Joe Caramagna

As the Thunderbolts hop through multiversal realities, the Quinjet crashes and F.A.C.T.'s Kell thinks she's met the main canon's Iron Man. She learns the hard way that she's not on Earth-616 anymore when Tony sprouts horrific tentacles that pierce through Kell's body. This is the Iron Man of Earth-13584, the co-leader of the Iron Force alongside Ant-Man.

This Iron Man armor is horrific for the same reason as the Iron Maniac: it unleashes a long-dormant, power-hungry, and most of all, war-hungry version of Iron Man that was once kept at bay before his origin story had him turn over a new leaf. It's the pro-war weapons manufacturer that Tony Stark used to be, now equipped with the Iron Man tech that he hadn't created yet. Evidently, with that weaponry at his disposal, it's a much more lethal Iron Man.

5 Iron Man Becomes the Iron Goblin to Fight Spiders

Spider-Island #2 by Christos N. Gage, Paco Diaz, Frank D'Armata, and Travis Lanham

The fall of Manhattan brings about a spider plague that many of the local heroes - particularly the Avengers - become inflicted by. The first issue ends with Spider-Queen and Adriana Soria's legion of superpowered mind-controlled followers locating the resistance of survivors, with Iron Man leading the charge. The second issue begins with readers seeing what Spider-Iron-Man is capable of, and it's more than the heroes can handle. Using Norman Osborn's Green Goblin formula, they are able to revert Stark to his mental faculties, at the cost of Iron Man going "a little green," to say the least.

Iron Man merging his armor with Goblin sensibilities makes for an unsettling hybrid.

It's the Marvel equivalent of someone getting Jokerized in the sense that it nearly drives everyone insane. That's a scary assessment in Iron Man's case, considering a sane Tony already occasionally shows signs of being unhinged. Iron Man merging his armor with Goblin sensibilities makes for an unsettling hybrid.

4 The Iron Guard Are Government-Issued War Machines

What If...? #64 by Simon Furman, Geoff Senior, Sarra Mossoff, and Richard Starkings

Iron Man hasn't had a secret identity in decades, but before he came out as Iron Man, Marvel prophesied the concept of Tony Stark going public as an act of selling out. He offers his tech formulas to the government in an effort to progress the world into a new Iron Age. The tech's trial run during the Vietnam War, both in combat and in medical situations, proves successful enough for the United States to go into overdrive, producing countless Iron Man suits.

The success convinces some heroes to hang up their boots, letting the Iron Guard take up the slack. Unfortunately, as the saying goes, too much of a good thing can spoil it. An Iron Man in every part of the world does more to strike fear into the hearts of citizens than hope. It's hard not to when the Iron Guard are multi-missile machines of war.

3 The Murderous Iron Man Is Capable of Murdering the Original

Avengers Mech Strike #5 by Jed MacKay, Carlos Magno, GURU e-FX, and Cory Petit

In his final showdown with Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Kang the Conqueror delivers to the fight a surprise: his own Avengers team comprised of demented variants from across the multiverse. For Tony Stark, he's fighting a far more murderous Iron Man. Very little is known about this alt-Tony Stark, but the evil Tony does allude to having a face like Tony before it became disfigured and covered.

The suit itself sports an arm cannon, most noticeably, and Earth-616's Tony its that his evil counterpart's tech is far more dangerous than expected. It's the fact that the Murderous Iron Man almost usurps the original that makes him so scary. If not for a cosmic Black Panther bringing matters into his own hands, the original Tony would have been a goner.

2 Iron Man Becomes an Anti-Mutant Leader with Sentinel Armor

Bishop: War College #4 by J. Holtham, Sean Hill, Alberto Foche, Victor Nava, Espen Grundetjern, and Travis Lanham

Bishop of the X-Men travels to an alternate universe that is drastically different, namely with all the X-Men becoming Black. More significant than that change is that classic heroes like Iron Man are spearheading an anti-mutant government organization known as the Human Liberation Front. In this world, mutants are as hated as they ever were before on Earth-616, if not even more so. To the dismantling of mutantkind, Iron Man imbues his armor with Sentinel technology.

The main canon Marvel Universe has featured a Tony Stark who is wholly welcoming to mutants, but the contrast to his character here is bone-chilling. This Iron Man is going through extreme efforts, even combining his tech with X-Men's rivals, just to kill all mutants. The dedication to hatred is mortifying.

1 The Adamantium Sentinels Strike Fear in Everyone's Hearts

Avengers & X-Men: AXIS #1 by Rick Remender, Adam Kubert, Laura Martin, Matt Milla, and Chris Eliopoulos

There was a time when the Red Skull used his powers to force Tony Stark into constructing Stark Sentinels, robots that are too powerful for the MCU. This new evolution of the classic villains is that these Sentinels sport unbreakable adamantium armor. Readers well acclimated with the X-Men franchise know that adamantium is the metal warpped around Wolverine's bone structure that makes him literally unbreakable.

Gifting that same kind of adamantium to the Sentinels makes them all the more unstoppable than they already are. Even worse, these Sentinels have Pym Particles, which they use to shrink heroes down to size to put them at a bigger disadvantage. Tony Stark's skills have made the Marvel Universe a better place, but he's capable of creating savage Iron Man suits that pose more of a threat than any enemy could.