Iron Manis a staple of theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), andlong after his death, his impressive battles remain etched into the minds of fans everywhere. Before the MCU began, there were several fairly successful movie entries featuring Marvel heroes. Spider-Man and Hulk were among the most popular heroes from the comics, and the X-Men managed to develop into a successful franchise under the leadership at Fox.
Meanwhile, less well-known heroes like Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America had been adapted to low-budget productions before, and they appeared occasionally in cartoons, but for the most part, they remained in the comics. ButRobert Downey Jr.’s performance as Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, changed things forever in 2008. And a big part of the film’s success was taking this iconic futuristic hero, and pitting him against others in a way that appeared authentic, and just incredibly cool.
10Iron Man Mark I Breaks Free From The Cave
Iron Man (2008)
Following that, it all started in 2008, whenTony Stark is kidnapped by terrorists known as the Ten RingsinIron Man. Stark’s captors attempt to force him to build them a powerful missile with his own technology, procured and purchased through black market channels. Stark is upset to find out what his weapons are doing first hand, and in an effort to both free himself, and to put things right, Stark builds the Mark I suit.
Mark I was large, clunky, and rudimentary, but it was enough to get the job done and get Stark out of a cave in the Middle East.With flamethrowers, Stark is able to push back against his captorsin an epic display that set the tone for the movie, and the MCU as a whole. And thankfully, things continued to get better from there.
9Iron Man Fights Whiplash At The Monaco Grand Prix
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Ivan Vanko, aka Whiplash, was the son of a disgruntled former colleague of Howard Stark’s. And while Howard managed to leverage their shared work and make massive profits, Anton Vanko was considerably less fortunate. In an attempt to avenge his father’s legacy,Ivan builds incredible whips with technologythat resembles Tony’s arc reactor, and attacks the billionaire inIron Man 2.
Everything in this scene is iconic. From the way Tony suits up with a suitcase, to Ivan tearing a car in half,the entire battle sequence is tense and visceral. And it’s clear that Ivan is not holding back, as he unleashes his rage on Tony with incredible precision. The fight starts with a crash as Tony’s car is sent flying, and ends with Ivan banged up in prison.
8Iron Man Versus Obadiah Stane, AKA Iron Monger
Returning to the first movie, Tony’s final battle against hisformer friend and mentor, Obadiah Stane, is one of the most harrowing in the MCU because ofthe emotional impact of the betrayal. Stane uses Stark’s new arc reactor, pulled from his chest, to power a new suit. Then, he attempts to murder Tony in order to lay claim to Stark Industries and his enormous fortune for himself.
This battle occurring in the first movie sets the tone for everything that comes after in the MCU, and it did a fantastic job.
This battle occurring in the first movie sets the tone for everything that comes after in the MCU, and it did a fantastic job. The brutality of the fight, the fact that Tony loses pieces of the suit as he fights, and the way he eventually uses his intelligence, in tandem with the suit, to exploit the weaknesses in Stane’s suit, all come together to make thisone of the best fights in the MCU.
7Iron Man & The Iron Patriot Versus Hammer Drones
Iron Man 2features a number of incredible fights for Tony, including his team-up with James Rhodes, who wears the Iron Patriot suit. While at the Stark Expo,Justin Hammer appears in order to showcase his new military drones, which were secretly designed by Ivan Vanko. Despite Vanko telling Justin Hammer that the drones could only salute in the presentation, Vanko managed to control them remotely, and turn them into fully-functional, armed weapons.
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Vanko sent the army of drones to attack Iron Man, andtogether with Iron Patriot, the pair begin to fight backand rescue the civilians attending the expo. This is a major superhero moment, as Stark does an incredible job saving people and taking down Vanko’s drones. Meanwhile, Rhodes' Iron Patriot suit attempts to keep up, but with the Justin Hammer upgrades, things don’t always work as expected. It’s a great scene, with comedy, and awesome action.
6Iron Man & The Avengers Versus The Chitauri Invasion
The Avengers (2012)
One of the most harrowing moments for Tony Stark comes in the first major crossover movie,The Avengers. When Loki comes to Earth in an effort to conquer the Midgard planet, he employs the aid of aviolent alien race known as the Chitauri.The Chitauri arrive with a variety of war machines, vehicles, and weapons, ready to take over New York, and from there, the rest of the world. However, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes stand together ready to defend and repel the alien invasion.
Tony Stark gets to work along with the rest of his team, andhe has some great moments during this fight. His dialogue with Loki in Stark Tower, his team-up with Hulk, and steering the attacking aliens away from where people could get hurt. However, Tony’s ultimate contribution in this fight was the moment he takes a missile headed for New York, and flies it into a portal in the sky, transporting himself to the home of the invaders. Tony was ready to sacrifice himself, even at this early stage, but we are thankful it didn’t play out like that.
5The Hulkbuster Versus Hulk
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
In the followingAvengersmovie,Age of Ultron, Stark finds himself the responsible party behind the powerful sentient AI, Ultron. As the team struggles to overcome their differences, there are plenty of clashes. But the most interesting and entertaining by far for Iron Man was his battle with a fully rage-fuelled Hulk.
Stark and Bruce Banner formed a good relationship, but when Bruce transformed into the big guy, it was a lot more challenging to get through to him. Fortunately,Stark built a suit to deal with the occasion, the Hulkbuster. Hulk is a ridiculously powerful radioactive behemoth, butthanks to Stark’s genius innovation and design, he built a suit that could contend with the Green Giant. The battle is tense, and there are laugh-out-loud moments as Stark begs the monster to go to sleep while attempting to knock him out.
4Iron Man & The Iron Army Take Down Aldrich Killian & Extremis
Iron Man 3 (2013)
InIron Man 3, Stark is seen to be a lot more paranoid and haunted by the experiences in New York and it leads to him building dozens of new suits. Many of these have unique quirks that make them exceptional in a couple of different ways, but one upgrade across the board was the addition of self-piloting for Stark’s surplus suits. It’s this functionality that lets him call in an Iron Army when facing off against Aldrich Killian.
Killian has enhanced his own physiology through the Extremis agent. This makes him extremely strong, capable of healing from major injuries including loss of limbs, and it causes him to overheat to the point that he could become a bomb. Stark struggles to fight against him, especially since Killian kidnapped his beloved Pepper Potts, butthanks to his enormous collection of suits, he manages to gain an advantage. The suit swapping, and the surroundings make this fight stand out as one of the best.
3Iron Man & Doctor Strange Versus Ebony Maw & Cull Obsidian
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Much later, and in possession of more confidence, rather than bravado, Tony Stark becomes an iconic superhero of the highest order. So, when Thanos sends his Black Order to Earth to retrieve the Time Stone from Doctor Strange,Tony Stark immediately steps up and takes control of the situation. Yes,Ebony Maw’s mind powersgive him a major advantage, and Cull Obsidian is a brutal powerhouse, but the this fight showcases how far Stark has come.
Not only is it the first time that the audience gets to see Stark don the nanotech suit, butit also reveals his incredible range of weaponsthat appear to be limited only by his imagination. And fortunately for Tony, he has quite the imagination. This fight is also amped up when Spider-Man joins the fray, and the three Avengers push back on these powerful alien rivals.
2Iron Man Versus Captain America & Bucky Barnes
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
I would be remiss to not put the fight fromCaptain America: Civil Warnear the top spot of this list. As much as this is not an Iron Man movie,Civil War’splot allows for both Iron Man and Cap to share the spotlight a decent amount of the time. But by far, the most intense and powerful moments in the film come from the times when they actually come face to face.
While they get the upper hand, and Tony lays defeated with the shield inches from his face, it remains one of the most pivotal and important moments in his arc.
Yes,Tony and Steve Rogers had their differences, but over the course of the previous movies, they also became friends. But when Steve learned his friend, Bucky Barnes, was still alive, and he was faced with the difficult choice of falling in line with the Sokovia Accords, the pair had a major falling out. On opposite sides of the Accords, the pair were forced to fight.
But things didn’t get really heated untilTony learned that Bucky was responsible for killing his parents. In this fragile moment, Iron Man goes head-to-head with two super soldiers, Captain America and the Winter Soldier. And while they get the upper hand, and Tony lays defeated with the shield inches from his face, it remains one of the most pivotal and important moments in his arc.
1Iron Man Faces Off Against Thanos
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Finally, the last and best fight whereTony Stark appears as Iron Manin the MCU has to be inAvengers: Endgame. Despite their differences, Tony and Steve come together, along with Thor, and numerous other heroes, to put Thanos and his army down. Yes,the fight is brutal, fragmented, and Tony is just a piece of it, but judging by how the fight ends, this has to take the top spot.
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Tony, a man with no superpowers, is the one who ultimately manages to take the Infinity Stones, wield them in his homemade infinity gauntlet, and snap his fingers to end the fight. In a reversal from Infinity War, Thanos and his army begin to disappear to dust, while the heroes stand victorious.
However, as a mortal man,Tony’s body is irreparably damaged by this act, as his life fades away, and he says goodbye to his loved ones. This moment proves whyIron Manis the beating heart of theMCU, and the Infinity Saga in particular, with his best and most noble performance in a fight.
