History ComicBook / ArmorWars

[[caption-width-right:350: Original armor, do not steal.]]

''Armor Wars'' (originally referred to as "Stark Wars") was a seven-issue ComicBook/IronMan storyline running in Iron Man #225 to #232 (December 1987 to July 1988), detailing the exploits of the Golden Avenger in trying to rescue his technology.

!! Armor Wars contains examples of:

* TrojanPrisoner: James Rhodes pretends to be the supervillain Electro to be imprisoned by the Guardsmen and get imprisoned in the Vault. It's so that Tony can destroy the Guardsmen, not trusting his technology in the hands of anyone.
* TurnInYourBadge: After Iron Man's actions cause one two many international incidents, Hawkeye revokes Tony's membership in the West Coast Avengers.

* CrazyPrepared: When SHIELD come to ask for Stark's help arresting the apparently rogue Iron Man, Stark is able to provide them with a complete dossier on "Randall Pierce", a fake identity he created when he started his current campaign, including false birth and tax records.

* GoodVersusGood: Iron Man and the Captain. Iron Man wants to destroy the S.H.I.E.L.D Mandroids using Stark technology, not trusting anyone, including the government with his super-technology. While Cap does sympathize with this view, he finds Tony’s methods reckless, and this sours their relationship.

** The Captain gives this to Iron Man on finding out his plan to destroy the Mandroids owned by the US government.

%% * PlotTechnology

* TitleConfusion: This story is actually called "Stark Wars" inside the comics. (It was intended as a ''Franchise/StarWars'' pun.) However, Marvel promoted it as the "Armor War" (singular) in their splash ad for the first issue of the arc, and the trade paperback was released as "Armor Wars", even though the individual chapters retained the original "Stark Wars" name in their titles. In any case, by the time "Armor Wars II" appeared in the comic, the "Armor Wars" name had stuck.
* TrojanPrisoner: James Rhodes pretends to be the supervillain Electro to be imprisoned by the Guardsmen and get imprisoned in the Vault. It’s so that Tony can destroy the Mandroids, not trusting his technology in the hands of Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.

* NoSell: Tony Stark’s ‘negator pack’ can destroy Stark circuitry, and he uses it on the super-villains using his technology, starting with Stilt-Man in Iron Man #225.

The arc was adapted into a two-parter in the second season of ''WesternAnimation/IronManTheAnimatedSeries'' with [[AdaptationDistillation various changes made]]. A live-action Creator/DisneyPlus series based on this storyline was announced for the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse in December 2020, with Creator/DonCheadle set to reprise his role as ComicBook/WarMachine, taking Tony's place as the main character. In September 2022, it was revealed that Marvel were redeveloping the planned series into a feature film.

Tony Stark, analyzing Force's own armor, realizes that it is based off his own Iron Man technology, which had been kept secret. Compiling a list of possible suspects, he draws up a list comprising of Beetle, Shockwave, ComicBook/{{Doctor Doom}}, Stilt-Man, the Crimson Dynamo, Controller, Mauler, Professor Power, Titanium Man, the Raiders, and many more. Now all he has to do is to find out just how many villains have been using Stark technology, and get it back by force if necessary.

* TheGeneral: General Meade in Iron Man #255.

* WhatTheHellHero: S.H.I.E.L.D., the West Coast Avengers, and the Captain all take issue with how Tony behaves in this story with S.H.I.E.L.D. hiring Tony to hunt his alter ego, the West Coast Avengers giving Tony the boot, and his relationship with Steve is ruined (Steve even returns a shield Tony gave him, coming to believe it'd been a bribe).

The arc was adapted into a two-parter in the second season of ''WesternAnimation/IronManTheAnimatedSeries'' with [[AdaptationDistillation various changes made]]. A live-action Creator/DisneyPlus series based on this storyline was announced for the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse in December 2020, with Creator/DonCheadle set to reprise his role as ComicBook/WarMachine, taking Tony's place as the main character.

** {{ZigZagged}} with Gremlin. Gremlin uses the name and the armor of the Titanium Man, an Iron Man foe who goes way back, but Gremlin himself is primarily a ComicBook/{{Hulk}} villain, first appearing in Incredible Hulk #163.

The arc was adapted into a two-parter in the second season of the 1994 ''WesternAnimation/IronMan'' show with [[AdaptationDistillation various changes made]]. A live-action Creator/DisneyPlus series based on this storyline was announced for the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse in December 2020, with Creator/DonCheadle set to reprise his role as ComicBook/WarMachine, taking Tony's place as the main character.

* SkewedPriorities: Bordering on being outright TooDumbToLive. A Guardsman refuses to take off his armor's helmet even though it's been disabled, making him unable to breath. The Captain has to tear off the helmet to save him.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Tony starts to realize that his little rampage is going off the rails when he realizes the hero Stingray ''[=doesn't=]'' have Stark tech.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The Captain gives this to Iron Man on finding out his plan to destroy the Mandroids owned by the US government.

''Armor Wars'' (Originally referred to as "Stark Wars") was a seven-issue ComicBook/IronMan storyline running in Iron Man #225 to #232 (December 1987 to July 1988), detailing the exploits of the Golden Avenger in trying to rescue his technology.

A live-action Creator/DisneyPlus series based on this storyline was announced for the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse in December 2020, with Creator/DonCheadle set to reprise his role as ComicBook/WarMachine, taking Tony's place as the main character.

* CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown: Inverted. To cover his ass from the legal problems his action are causing, Tony, as part of his SecretIdentity at the time, lies about "firing" the old Iron Man and hiring the new one. He even pushes this lie to rejoin the West Coast Avengers after they kick him out for his behavior in this story arc.

** In Iron Man #229: Tony designs a stealth armor, similar to what he had in the way back in Iron Man #152.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Justin Hammer. He buys Stark technology from the supervillain the Spymaster.

* CreateYourOwnVillain: In the wake of Iron Man's rogue actions, the Pentagon commissioned Cord to create Firepower to destroy the renegade Avenger. However, once this was done, Cord refused to turn his new toy over to the Feds (threatening to blackmail them with a press release about Firepower - a heavily-armoured suit with a ''[[NukeEm tactical nuke]]'' - being designed for ''[[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill riot control]]''), and turned Firepower loose on Stark Enterprises' assets instead. Stark, who'd been willing to leave Iron Man "dead", created a "new" Iron Man that promptly [[CurbStompBattle tore Firepower apart]].

* GoodVersusGood: Iron Man and the Captain. Iron Man wants to destroy the S.H.I.E.L.D Mandroids using Stark technology, not trusting anyone, including the government with his super-technology. While Cap does sympathise with this view, he finds Tony’s methods reckless, this sours their relationship.
* HeroWithBadPublicity: Iron Man’s fighting against S.H.I.E.L.D, he’s kicked out of the West Coast Avengers, he nearly causes an international incident in the U.S.S.R and gets into a fight with the Captain.

* KnowWhenToFoldThem: One of the first villains Iron Man goes after is the Mauler. When Tony demands the armor, he gives it up without a fight, saying that he only gets paid to fight and muses later he can just go steal another.

** Firepower is one, being created by the US military and Edwin Cord to finally destroy Iron Man once and for all. The first one, appearing in Iron Man #230 is Jack Taggert, a test pilot. The second one, however, is Edwin Cord, who blackmails the US military so that he can kill Iron Man.

** Firepower launches a freaking nuclear missile at Iron Man during their fight in Iron Man #230
** When a rogue Firepower attacks Iron Man at Stark Enterprises in Iron Man #231, he attempts to detonate a neutron bomb. Edwin Cord is really obsessed with killing Iron Man. (To be fair, Iron Man caused the defeat of Cord Colgomerate way back in Iron Man #145, so there is some precedent).

** Stilt-Man, appearing in Iron Man #225, is a straighter example, starting out as a ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} villain (his first appearance in Daredevil #8), and having fought ComicBook/{{SpiderMan}} before this.

* CharlieBrownFronOuttaTown: Inverted. To cover his ass from the legal problems his action are causing, Tony, as part of his SecretIdentity at the time, lies about "firing" the old Iron Man and hiring the new one. He even pushes this lie to rejoin the West Coast Avengers after they kick him out for his behavior in this story arc.

* {{Commie Land}}: Iron Man goes to Siberia to fight Gremlin and the Crimson Dynamo.
* {{Continuity Nod}}:

* LiteraryAllusionTitle: Iron Man #228: “Part Four: Who Guards the Guardsmen?” is a reference to the Satires from the Roman poet Juvenal, which also happens to be Alan Moore’s inspiration for the name of {{Watchmen}}. Watchmen came out in 1986, and Iron Man #228 came out in 1988.;

A live-action Creator/DisneyPlus series based on this storyline was announced for the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse in December 2020, with Creator/DonCheadle set to reprise his role as ComicBook/WarMachine.

[[caption-width-right:350: Tony Stark is ''angry''.]]

* HarsherInHindsight: There was a throwaway line after Tony Stark "fires' Iron Man that "maybe we should get somebody more friendly for our company spokesperson. Maybe Bill Cosby." This becomes a lot less funny now that Cosby's sexual assault cases have landed him in prison.

* HarserInHindsight: There was a throwaway line after Tony Stark "fires' Iron Man that "maybe we should get somebody more friendly for our company spokesperson. Maybe Bill Cosby." This becomes a lot less funny now that Cosby's sexual assault cases have landed him in prison.

Armor Wars was a seven-issue ComicBook/IronMan storyline running in Iron Man #225 to #232 (December 1987 to July 1988), detailing the exploits of the Golden Avenger in trying to rescue his technology.

Tony Stark, analyzing Force's own armor, realises that it is based off his own Iron Man technology, which had been kept secret. Compiling a list of possible suspects, he draws up a list comprising of Beetle, Shockwave, ComicBook/{{Doctor Doom}}, Stilt-Man, the Crimson Dynamo, Controller, Mauler, Professor Power, Titanium Man, the Raiders, and many more. Now all he has to do is to find out just how many villains have been using Stark technology, and get it back by force if necessary.