A Hero Reborn

New Armor ... for a new origin.

Perhaps the most radical armor design to ever spring from the mind of Anthony Edward Stark, the Prometheum Armor, Model XX, Mark II, was introduced in IRON MAN, Volume II, issue #1. Stark depended on it to save his life--it did, in more ways than one. While his body was held together by the armor, his life was put back together by a renewed sense of purpose. The cut-thraot businessman became a knight in shining armor. (Click here for the backstory of Heroes Reborn. Read about the Prometheum Armor, Mark I.)

Red and gold, wrapped in steel cables, with flared exhaust pipes, the Prometheum Armor is a dramatic departure from the clean lines and sleak modernism of most of Tony's armors. It's a rough and jagged armor for a darker world.

Although the armor was an untested prototype, Tony was forced to take it into action against a just-born Hulk. But he didn't want to push the armor, afraid that what happened to Rebel would happen to him.

Model II is a stunning take on the red and gold armor. The suit's most obvious design point are the two, large exhaust pipes on its back and chestplate. The pipes allow Iron Man to let off steam from internal power sources as well as enabling him to absorb heat from energy blasts and direct them back at attackers as super-hot, vented plasma. The armor can absorb and compensate for a 2 million kilowatt electric blast. (Exhaust portals on hands and knees also help to vent plasma.)

Stark is totally dependent on the armor for total life support. While he can take the rest of the armor off, he must wear the chestplate at all times. Not only does it prevent the shrapnel from reaching his heart, its cardio-pulmonary and respitory systems keep his heart beating and his lungs breathing. To ensure that he doesn't run out of power--a constant worry--the Prometheum Armor can recharge from a variety of sources, including downed power lines and car jumper cables (attached to chest nodes). A reserve power pack is included as a back-up as well.

Like the models before it, Model XX is incredibly powerful. Tony was able to carve an armory out of the New York bedrock beneath his building. (A specially built thermal silo allowed Iron Man to travel from his penthouse to the armory undetected.)

"Armoring-up" is accomplished by pressing a button on the chestpiece, which magnetically attracts the rest of the pieces. As they fly to him, Stark must manually pull them on.

When Stark removes the armor, it automatically turns invisible thanks to an ingeneous auto-cloak system. Not only does this make the armor easier to conceal, but it also allows Iron Man the defensive measure of invisibility. Shellhead can also cloak those he touches, enveloping them in his cloaking field, rendering them invisible as well.

Thought-controlled via its psionic armor control, a mental command paradigm, the armor reacts to Tony's thoughts. This psionic link frequency allows Stark to take control of Rebel's armor also.

The Mark II suit is capable of underwater use--it can even dry itself. The armor also protects the wearer from radiation exposure, but it has its limits.

Communications capabilities include a helmet radio and a holo-projector/comm unit in the chestbeam. Stark can wire into external systems via cables in a left wrist panel.

Sensors in the palms include radiation moduals and medi-scan monitors (capable of scanning friends and foes alike). The internal sensor suite includes other sophisticated biological/life signature sensors for vitals (height, heart rate, blood pressure, weight, etc.), plus laryngeal (voice identification) and retinal scan. A psionic scanner can monitor and detect others' brainwaves. Other known sensor functions: RADAR, sonic, motion detection, and full-spectrum thermal.

The on-board computer system is interfaced via Heads-Up Display (HUD), tied psionically to Stark's brain. The computer has a diagnostic scan and self-repair program. The on-board navigation system provides direction while the gyro system provides stability (often utilizing rear thrusters for attitude control). Boot jets allow for flight. (The green glow and sometimes flame of the jets, along with the obvious need for routine plasma venting, hint at a possible gamma radiation power source. This would fit given Stark's close association with Bruce Banner and their long-rumored secret gamma bomb experiments.)