Several characters have surprisingly worn Iron Man's armor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) created the Mark I Iron Man suit to escape captivity in Jon Favreau's original Iron Man film, the character has continued to improve his suits until he died in Avengers: Endgame. Over the years, he had worn countless incarnations of the costume as he fought to keep Earth safe from bad guys — be it on his own or with the Avengers. That said, Tony wasn't the only one who donned his suits.

Tony always tinkered on the Avengers' gadgets and weaponry as a means to make sure his fellow heroes were at their full potential out on the field. For a supposed self-centered man, the character did share his creations with other people. While he refused to let the world have the Iron Man technology when he was pressured by the government to sell it in Iron Man 2, he was generous in letting some of his closest allies use his armor - at times, he even created new ones especially for them.

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Not everyone who wore an Iron Man suit was Tony's ally, however. There were some who found their way inside one of the genius, billionaire's creations due to unforeseen circumstances. From Tony's mentee to his one-time adversary, these are all the MCU characters who have worn Iron Man's armor in the franchise.

Tony Stark

The first Iron Man suit was born out of Tony Stark's desperation after the Ten Rings, with Obadiah Stane's (Jeff Bridges) backing, kidnapped him during a business visit in Afghanistan. The Mark I was created with the help of Ho Yinsen (Shaun Toub), who was in captivity with Tony in the cave. After successfully escaping, Tony continued to tinker with the suit, using his technological and financial resources to improve the armor. This allowed him to personally assume a superhero status and eventually become an Avenger. He was wearing the Mark 85, his final Iron Man armor, when he died in Avengers: Endgame.

James "Rhodey" Rhodes

Iron Man and War Machine in Iron Man 2

Tony Stark was insistent on keeping the Iron Man technology from the public and the government, which makes sense considering how his weapons were previously used to kill people instead of protecting them as he intended. Eventually, when he became increasingly indisposed in Iron Man 2, James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Don Cheadle) took it upon himself to don the Mark II with Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) dubbing him War Machine. Despite Tony's initial objection to Rhodey wearing his suit, he eventually came around about it, resulting in the character also getting some major upgrades over the years. In his last outing in Avengers: Endgame, War Machine was wearing the Mark VI - the sixth incarnation of his battle armor.

Pepper Potts

Pepper Potts in Rescue armor Avengers: Endgame

Unlike Tony Stark and Rhodey, Pepper Potts' (Gwyneth Paltrow) first time inside an Iron Man armor was a spur of the moment kind of instance. After Tony publicly goaded the Mandarin in Iron Man 3, revealing his Malibu address, his home was attacked by Aldrich Killian's (Guy Pearce) people, which resulted in his home's destruction. Instead of saving himself, he opted to rescue his girlfriend first, sending his suit to protect her from what was happening. Once Pepper was safely evacuated outside, he called his suit back to himself so he could also escape.

This wasn't the only time Pepper Potts got in an Iron Man suit, though. In the five-year time-jump after Thanos' (Josh Brolin) snap, Tony made his wife her very own suit, as initially revealed in his interaction with their daughter, Morgan (Lexi Rabe), who was playing with its headpiece. As it turns out, it was a birthday gift, but he complained that she never wears it - that's until she arrived at the Avengers HQ during the film's final battle, helping her husband and the heroes' efforts to defeat the Mad Titan and his minions once and for all. Pepper's violet armor mines inspiration from the character's comic book superhero identity as Rescue.

President Matthew Ellis

As part of his nefarious planning on taking over the United States and the War on Terror in Iron Man 3, Aldrich Killian kidnapped President Matthew Ellis (William Sadler) after he previously banned biotechnology research early on in his term, which curtailed the villain's efforts to develop Extremis. After being abducted, the president was forced inside the Iron Patriot suit where he was supposed to be killed by the fake Mandarin. Luckily, Tony and Rhodey arrived in time and battled it out with Killian and his Extremis soldiers, saving both the president and Pepper Potts, who was also taken. After everything was done, Rhodey took Ellis back to Washington D.C.

Aldrich Killian

Iron Man 3 - Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian

Another character who was trapped inside an Iron Man suit in Iron Man 3 was Aldrich Killian. During the film's climactic battle, the villain, who was powered by Extremis, had forced Tony Stark out of his suit. The hero got his hopes up when he spotted the incoming Mark 42 as confirmed by JARVIS (Paul Bettany); unfortunately, before the suit got to him, it hit a railing causing it to disintegrate. Killian thought he could end Tony right then and there, but quick on his feet, Iron Man sent the disassembled Mark 42 parts to hold down his adversary.

Related: MCU Can Save Spider-Man From Iron Man's Shadow (By Replacing Him)

Spider-Man

Spider-Man on top of a train Homecoming

Years after the events of Iron Man 3, another hero wore an Iron Man-created suit in Captain America: Civil War. As his conflict with Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) got more serious about the Sokovia Accords, Tony had to assemble his team to get to Captain America. That resulted in him recruiting young hero Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) into the situation, effectively incorporating Spider-Man into the bigger MCU. Up until this point, Peter had been operating as a street-level hero, wearing his self-made suit. Tony then provided him with an upgraded costume to use in his involvement in Civil War; the web-slinging character was officially given the suit at the beginning of Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Two years later, during Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian's attack on New York, Tony gave Peter a more upgraded armor in the Iron-Spider suit. This allowed the kid to function in space during Avengers: Infinity War. It's what he was wearing when Peter turned into dust on Titan, following Thanos' snap, and the same thing he was sporting when he came back in Avengers: Endgame.

Bruce Banner

Bruce Banner next to the Hulkbuster Gauntlet in Avengers Infinity War

In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) teamed up to create the Hulkbuster - an Iron Man armor specifically designed to be able to hold down the green-rage monster in case Bruce lost control. Tony wore the suit to tame the creature after Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) messed with his head. Marvel Studios repurposed the Hulkbuster in Avengers: Infinity War, ironically, having Banner use it instead. This was after he struggled to bring out his alter-ego following his horrendous defeat to Thanos at the start of the movie. This allowed him to participate in the massive battle in Wakanda where some of the Avengers and their allies battled the Black Order as well as hordes of Outriders.

Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange in Iron Man Armor Concept Art Phil Saunders Social

This final entry is a bit unique as it didn't actually make it on-screen, despite the scene being filmed. In Avengers: Infinity War, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Iron Man were supposed to switch costumes. The latter was going to sport the Cloak of Levitation, which was previously revealed in a BTS video as part of the movie's marketing. However, for the longest time, Stephen Strange wearing an Iron Man suit was only seen through pieces of concept art. That's until a set photo emerged with the character actually sporting the costume. It was a cool sight to see, and while it never happened in Infinity War, the footage of Doctor Strange in an Iron Man suit can still be repurposed for future Marvel Cinematic Universe projects.

Next: Every Upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie

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