"While demonstrating his new JERICHO MISSILE, genius weapons designer TONY STARK fell victim to an ambush by THE TEN RINGS. While in captivity, Stark invented the IRON MAN MARK I."
The Iron Man Armor: Mark I was Tony Stark's first Iron Man suit, built to help him escape from forced captivity by the Ten Rings. The suit was crafted from the limited resources around him, including salvaged pieces of scrap metal, machine parts, and pieces of Jericho missiles.
While in the captivity of the terrorist organization the Ten Rings, Tony Stark was forced to build one of his Jericho missiles for them. However, while working on the missile, Stark was secretly building an armored suit to escape with the help of his fellow captive, Ho Yinsen. Stark put the suit on and escaped the compound but was forced to leave without Yinsen, who died of fatal gunshot wounds buying time for Stark to power up the armor.
Once Stark exited the cave, he used the suit's flamethrowers to destroy the Ten Rings' stockpile of his own Stark Industries weapons. While setting the camp ablaze the suit suffered damage from enemy gunfire, causing some of the suit's systems to malfunction or fail. With the suit nearing failure, Stark then used the suit's rudimentary rocket thrusters to escape the enemy camp just before the weapons detonated.
Stark managed to escape, but at the cost of the armor, which he was forced to leave behind. Once he returned to America, he used the suit's schematics to create a more advanced version of what he later referred to as the Iron Man suit.[1]
Found[]
The remains of the Mark I were located in the desert by the remainder of the Ten Rings, who retrieved its pieces and roughly reassembled it according to Tony Stark's see-through schematics to examine its design. Later, during a secret meeting with the Ten Rings, Obadiah Stane stole the Mark I suit and used its design as the basis for his own Iron Monger Armor. [1]
The Mark I armor is displayed
Eventually, Stark retrieved and reassembled the Mark I. It was kept in his workshop and was given its own independent Arc Reactor.[2] When Stark's mansion was attacked by the Mandarin, the Mark I was destroyed when damage to the mansion's systems caused the suit to explode.[3]
Alternate Universe Versions[]
Escaping the Ten Rings[]
In an alternate universe, Tony Stark and Ho Yinsen were taken hostage by the Ten Rings, who demanded that they recreate the Jericho. Instead, they created a large, armored suit to be powered by an ARK Reactor. They continued work on the armor for months, and reached the point where they only required a further week of assembly. They took a break to play backgammon, but Raza Hamidmi al-Wazar appeared, killed Abu Bakar, and demanded that they finish the Jericho missile the following day. Stark and Yinsen quickly finished the armor, and Stark donned it. The final systems were delaying their upload, so Yinsen ran ahead of Stark to buy time. The armor finally uploaded, so Stark went into action.
The armor protected Stark as Ten Rings agents tried to shoot him. Stark used the armor to kill several Ten Rings agents and found Yinsen, who was dying. Stark avoided a rocket-propelled grenade and retaliated against al-Wazar for firing it, using the armor to burn his face. Stark then watched Yinsen die and used the armor to escape the cave. As insurgents approached him and fired at the suit, breaking it, Stark used the armor to light the Ten Rings' supply of Stark Industries weapons on fire, causing an explosion. Stark used the armor to fly away, avoiding the explosion. However, the boosters quickly ran out of fuel, causing Stark and the armor to crash into the desert. The armor fell apart as it fell, allowing Stark to climb out of it and get rescued by James Rhodes.
The Ten Rings searched for the armor, and one insurgent eventually found a gauntlet. They continued their search and reconstructed the armor. Obadiah Stane then met with al-Wazar and stole the armor, building an Iron Monger Armor based on it.[4]
In an alternate universe, Tony Stark and Ho Yinsen built a suit of armor out of scrap metal while being held hostage by the Ten Rings. Stark donned the armor and used it to get out of his cell while Yinsen guided him. He tested the flamethrower as insurgents appeared and attempted to kill him. Stark moved through the base and took advantage of the suit's gravity, as well as its flamethrower, to kill the insurgents who attacked him. Stark destroyed the remainder of their weapons and flew away from the Ten Rings Base using the armor.
Obadiah Stane then got access to the armor and admired it. He merged Stark Industries with another company and asked them to analyze the armor's power source. A.I.M. used the armor to build a new Iron Monger Armor.[5]
In an alternate universe, Tony Stark built a suit of armor which he used to escape the Ten Rings. However, Stark was unable to properly dispose of the armor, leading the Ten Rings to get to it. They agreed to sell it to Obadiah Stane, so Raza Hamidmi al-Wazar started moving it. However, Stark began chasing al-Wazar out of hopes of revenge. Al-Wazar managed to reach Stane, who rendered al-Wazar unconscious using the Sonic Taser and stole the armor.
Stane donned the armor when he kidnapped Pepper Potts and realized that Stark would be coming to rescue her. Stane used the armor's strength to throw cars at Stark, who avoided them and blasted the armor. Stark caused the armor to blow up, and disposed of it properly at J.A.R.V.I.S.'s urging.[6]
Capabilities[]
"How do you think the Mark I chest piece is gonna hold up?" "That chest piece was never designed for sustained flight."
Tony Stark's original Iron Man Armor serves as the basic template from which every armor after it was built. The Mark I armor was constructed entirely from recycled Stark Industries machine and weapon parts, in addition to any of the other limited resources at Tony Stark's disposal while held captive. Although not as advanced as future models, the armor is an extraordinary piece of technology put together in a dire situation and is a longstanding testament to Stark's extraordinary intelligence.
Superhuman Strength: The armor greatly increased Stark's strength and durability, enabling him to overpower armed terrorists and survive an aerial impact with the ground after escaping. The suit was powered by a small electric motor that is partially exposed at the suit's lower back. The engine powered a pair of external, belt driven mechanisms in the suit's legs that helped support the vast weight of the metal suit. Similar mechanisms in the suit's arms and legs helped Stark to move around while wearing the armor and amplified the strength behind his movements, allowing him to throw punches that could destroy a heavy metal door, knock human enemies back several feet, and partially embedded his arm in a cave wall. Wrapping his hands with tape and the thick welding gloves prevented his hands from breaking on the impact.
Multiple layers of durable metal salvaged from missile casings made the armor impervious to medium caliber firearms and reinforced its physical attacks. Because the armor only covered a majority of the vital areas to keep from becoming too cumbersome, Stark wore the thick pants, leather jacket, hand wraps and gloves that he used for welding and molten metalwork, underneath the armor as added protection and insulation against the heat from the suit's flamethrowers.
Superhuman Stamina: The armor allowed Stark, who had been held hostage in a cave for several months, the energy required for his escape from the Ten Rings Base. He was completely undeterred by bullets flying at him and was able to casually walk toward the shooter before pushing him to the side, allowing him to fight through the base without exerting an exorbitant amount of energy. Once he had escaped the base and crash landed in the suit, Stark still had the stamina to begin wandering in the desert and search for help.
Flight: While not capable of sustained flight, the armor was capable of limited flight through single-fire rocket thrusters located on the back of each leg, enabling him to escape during the destruction of the Ten Rings' camp.
In the comics, Tony Stark kept using the Mark I for a while before eventually replacing it. During this time, he painted it gold as the original gray appearance had the unfortunate effect of scaring innocent people.
