More than most superheroes, Spider-Man has gone through plenty of different looks over the years. From the old school look to the highest of high tech, he’s worn it all. One of the most popular Spider-Man costumes has to be the Iron-Spider Armor.
The Iron-Spider was designed by Tony Stark during the comic book events of Civil War. The suit was hinted at in Spider-Man: Homecoming before being brought to the big screen for real in Avengers: Infinity War. While the film did a great job recreating the look, we only got a small sample of what the suit is capable of compared to the comic book version. Here are all the Iron-Spider abilities that were left out of Infinity War.
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10. Colors
Spider-Man: Homecoming brought back the classic Steve Ditko design of the Spider-Man costume. Many fans were thrilled to see that look honored on the big screen and therefore were happy that Peter chooses to stay with that look by the end of the film.
Perhaps in a nod to that fan-favorite costume, the Iron-Spider armor that Peter eventually dons in Infinity War more closely resembles the classic color scheme than that of the original Iron-Spider design. The comic version of the Iron-Spider is red with yellow while the film version sticks to the red and blue look.
9. Scanner
Unlike some of the more world-saving Avengers, Spider-Man is usually more focused on the smaller everyday threats around New York City. Because of these street-level heroics, the Iron-Spider’s built-in emergency scanner would very much come in handy.
The scanner allows Spidey to listen in on police, fire and ambulance radio frequencies to alert him to the latest emergencies around the city. The scanner doesn’t seem as practical for his Infinity War adventures as he leaves his big city crime-fighting to take on more intergalactic threats.
8. Cloaking
Just about every superhero could use an invisibility component to their costumes. With all the sneaking around and the various dangerous enemies they encounter, being able to disappear or hide from sight at a moment’s notice would be very helpful.
The Iron-Spider suit recognizes that need and allows Spidey to activate a cloaking device as needed. This really would have come in handy during the fight with Thanos as it could have allowed him to sneak up on the Mad Titan. Miles Morales seems to have this ability in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse but the ability doesn’t seem to be linked to a suit.
7. Infrared
Being an excited teenager, Spider-Man is not the stealthiest of heroes. He tends to swing into action instead of sneaking around. However, he occasionally needs a lower profile. The Iron-Spider suit is packed with abilities that can help in such situations.
One such feature is the infrared vision of the suit. This can help Spidey take on his villains in those dark alleys he tends to find himself in. While we didn’t see this as part of his suit in Infinity War, it wouldn’t be surprising if it was included in the Stealth Suit seen in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
6. Breathing Apparatus
Superheroes run into all kinds of threats in their daily crime-fighting. The Iron-Spider suit seeks to identify all those potential threats and provide a deterrent for them. For instance, say Spider-Man is fighting the Green Goblin who deploys a poison gas pumpkin bomb. The Iron-Spider suit has a breathing apparatus that protects against such attacks.
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While Infinity War’s version of the Iron-Spider suit doesn’t necessarily give the poison protection, it does allow Spidey to breathe in outer space. Given the unpredictability of what the Marvel heroes have to deal with, that might be one inclusion the comics overlooked.
5. Bulletproof
In the category of everyday protection against bad guys, a bulletproof suit can be very valuable. We’ve seen heroes like Iron Man and Black Panther show off their bulletproof armor, while heroes like Thor and Hulk are just naturally bulletproof.
The Iron-Spider suit allows Spider-Man to enjoy the same luxuries as his aforementioned colleagues. Again, while helpful for the everyday superhero activities, this isn’t a feature that Peter really needed in Infinity War. It’s not like he was running into a lot of gunfire in space.
4. Leg Cameras
One of the most eye-catching features of the Iron-Spider costume is the spider-legs that spring out of the suit’s back. Thankfully, this is a feature that was kept intact for the Infinity War version. The legs allow Spidey to be more flexible and agile during his showdown with Thanos.
However, there are aspects of the spider-legs that are not included in the film. Aside from their combat use, the legs were yet another stealth ability for Spider-Man as they had small cameras in the legs which allowed Spidey to see around corners and such.
3. Costume Changes
It’s not uncommon for the comics to make a change to a classic character only for fans to revolt and forcing them to change it right back to the original. The comic book creators must have had that on their mind as they added an aspect into the Iron-Spider suit that could allow the return of the classic look if need be.
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The suit has the ability to change color to resemble any of Spidey’s previous looks. Though not a super useful feature for combat, it was likely a helpful way of dealing with unruly fans.
2. Tony’s Failsafe
The relationship between Tony and Peter has been one of the best – and ultimately most heartbreaking – relationships in the MCU. However, in the comics, these two are not always as trusting of each other.
Given that Tony gifts the Iron-Spider suit to Peter during the events of Civil War, it makes sense that there is some distrust. Tony adds in a hidden program that allows him to take control of the suit if Peter ever switches sides. Of course, Peter discovers the program and disables it. While not quite as nefarious, this does somewhat resemble the training wheels protocol seen in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
1. Other Iron-Spiders
The appearance of the Iron-Spider costume at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming is given to Peter as a gift for joining The Avengers. Peter turns down the offer and so the suit waits for him to be ready for it. But as Into the Spider-Verse told us, anyone can wear the mask.
In pure comic book fashion, plenty of other heroes have donned the Iron-Spider suit. One storyline found the Iron-Spider duplicated for three of Peter’s clones who formed the Scarlet Spiders team. Other notable people to become the Iron-Spider include Aaron Davis and Mary Jane herself.