ARMOR WARS: 8 Armored Heroes And Villains We Need To See In The Upcoming MCU Movie

Marvel Studios is gearing up to begin work on its long-delayed Armor Wars movie, but which heroes and villains should suit up alongside War Machine and Ironheart? Here, we pick some exciting contenders...

By JoshWilding - Jan 02, 2024 12:01 PM EST

Filed Under: Armor Wars

Marvel Studios originally announced Armor Wars as a Disney+ TV series, but if She-Hulk: Attorney at Law proved anything, it's that certain visual effects work best on the big screen and with a theatrical title's budget.

Now, Armor Wars will be a movie and, if recent rumours are to be believed, we expect characters such as War Machine, Ironheart, Justin Hammer, and Ezekiel Stane to take centre stage. In a project with that title, though, fans can anticipate seeing more than a few armoured heroes and villains.

In this feature, we're taking a look at the characters we think should somehow factor into Armor Wars. Whether their roles are big or small, each of them has the potential to bring something exciting to the table when Tony Stark's Iron Man technology ends up in the wrong hands.

You can find out who we've singled out by clicking on the "Next" button below...

8. Arno Stark

First introduced in Iron Man #118 in 1979, Arno Stark was revealed as Tony's adoptive brother. Despite being part of the Stark family, Arno's genius-level intellect has made him more than a match for his brother and he's since become a recurring antagonist.

His story has been retconned and changed on several occasions over the years, whether it's in the "Iron Man 2020" storyline from the 1980s - which revealed he was the son of Howard Stark and Maria Stark in a possible future - or as Tony's biological brother. The latest version has been depicted as wanting to take Tony's place as Iron Man and Stark Industries CEO.

Introducing Tony's long-lost brothers in the MCU could raise some eyebrows, but Arno being an imposter with a claim to his "brother's" fortune does have some intriguing storytelling potential.

7. Guardsman

Several people have held this mantle over the years, but we're going to keep the focus on Kevin O'Brien and his successor, Michael O'Brien (who, oddly, was no relation to the original Guardsman).

Kevin was a Stark Industries employee who, driven by a desire for wealth and power, accepted an offer from Justin Hammer to become a test subject for the Guardsman suit. The armour was meant to counteract Iron Man's technology, but O'Brien's mental instability made him more dangerous than expected. Michael, meanwhile, was a firefighter who used the suit to do good.

Either character could make for an interesting addition to Armor Wars, but we'd suggest Kevin's Guardman as being one of many new "superheroes" created by Hammer as he takes advantage of the Department of Damage Control's access to Stark Industries technology.

6. Beetle

There have also been several versions of Beetle, but it's Abner "Abe" Jenkins who we'd expect to see take centre stage in this movie.

An ex-mechanic and an expert in electronics and engineering, he became dissatisfied with his mundane life and turned to a life of crime. Designing a suit of powered battle armour equipped with various technological enhancements, he took on the name "Beetle" and donned a suit which granted him superhuman strength, flight capabilities, and an array of offensive weaponry.

Many of you will know him best for eventually becoming a hero and joining the Thunderbolts, of course, and we'd love to see Abner start as an ally of one of Armor Wars' villains, only to then create his own suit and eventually decide to do the right thing. Alternatively, he could be used as cannon fodder for War Machine...

5. Jocasta

Rumours continue to swirl that Ultron will make his grand return in Armor Wars, and that surely opens the door for another android to make its presence felt in the MCU. Heck, this would be a perfect tie-in to that long-delayed Vision Quest TV series.

In the comics, Jocasta was created by Ultron as a robotic bride, but she rebelled against her creator. The Avengers discovered her, and she eventually joined their ranks. Jocasta possesses superhuman strength, speed, and durability, along with advanced sensors and energy projection capabilities.

Whether this movie marks Jocasta's debut or continues her story, it would be pretty easy to put her centre stage in this story, even if it's as a new iteration of Ultron. Avengers: Age of Ultron teased the debut of "J.O.C.A.S.T.A." by revealing she was one of the A.I. helpers created by Iron Man.

4. Detroit Steel

Detroit Steel is typically associated with the military-industrial complex and is better known as Lieutenant Colonel Doug Johnson III. A military officer involved in the development of advanced weapons and technology, the Detroit Steel armour is highly sophisticated and heavily weaponized, making him more than a match for War Machine.

Originally donning the Detroit Steel armour as part of a military initiative, Johnson becomes a rival to Iron Man but is essentially franchised out to the U.S. Government by the villainous children of Justin Hammer.

Showing what happens when Tony Stark's technology is privatised, Detroit Steel's MCU introduction would be a fascinating way to explore what happens when essentially anyone can suit up as "Iron Man."

3. Technovore

Technovore-Earth-616-from-Iron-Man-Vol-1-294-001-copy

Artificial Intelligence is all the rage these days and many of you will remember Technovore as a highly advanced and malevolent AI that poses a significant threat to technology and biological life alike.

Created by Tony Stark as a defence mechanism for his armour, Technovore gained sentience and turned against its creator...just like the MCU's Ultron. It seeks to assimilate and consume all forms of technology, often manifesting as a metallic, tentacled entity and is a relentless and destructive force, capable of infecting and taking control of advanced technological systems.

In the Iron Man: Rise of Technovore animated movie, Ezekiel Stane becomes Technovore's creator and with that villain set to appear in the upcoming Ironheart TV series, we'd say it makes all the sense in the world to throw an evil, out of control J.A.R.V.I.S. into the mix.

2. Crimson Dynamo

We're well aware that Marvel Studios borrowed heavily from this character for Iron Man 2's Whiplash, but that doesn't mean there isn't room to reinvent one of Tony Stark's greatest comic book foes for Armor Wars.

The first version of the villain was indeed a Soviet scientist, Anton Vanko, who set out to make a suit of armour which could rival Iron Man's technology. Since then, Yuri Petrovich, Alex Nevsky, and other Russian or Soviet agents have all held the mantle, and they've all made Tony's life incredibly difficult.

This movie doesn't seem like the right place to explore Cold War tensions, even with Russia's place in the world considered a touchy subject given what's happened in recent years. However, there's still a way to make Crimson Dynamo a relevant and formidable villain, even if it ties into the Red Room, for example.

1. Madame Masque

We're cheating a little here because Madame Masque isn't technically an armoured villain. However, that's nothing a retcon can't fix and despite the character's role in Agent Carter, Whitney Frost deserves to be reinvented for the present-day MCU where she could potentially be this movie's big bad.

The character was introduced as an actress and the daughter of crime boss Byron Frost. Due to a disfiguring injury, she began wearing a golden mask, adopting the alias Madame Masque and, in recent years, she's been closely linked to the criminal organization known as the Maggia.

Skilled in hand-to-hand combat and often adept with advanced technology and weaponry, she had a complicated relationship with Iron Man and could easily receive a few power upgrades which explains the mask. How cool would it be if that's the only weapon she needs to take on the likes of War Machine and Ironheart?

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43 Comments

1 2

MCUKnight11 - 1/2/2024, 12:08 PM

Put all the copycats in this like Dynamo, Titanium man, Detroit steel, Shockwave, etc. Put hot toys into overtime.

Origame - 1/2/2024, 12:10 PM

We basically don't need to see any of these.

Hell, most of them don't make sense post age of ultron or post Tony.

Sabre81 - 1/2/2024, 2:10 PM

@Origame - But...But...Yelena mentioned the name Crimson Dynamo in the Black Widow movie BOOM!!!!!! This clearly means that he will appear in Armour Wars. Feige has this all planned out for a century to come. Isn't it obvious???

DRDOOM4EVER - 1/2/2024, 12:10 PM

Doom is needed for sure

harryba11zack - 1/2/2024, 12:15 PM

We "Need" To See is some real news articles.

MotherFuckerJon - 1/2/2024, 12:16 PM

@harryba11zack - you NEED to find something not written by Wilding, then.

AllsGood - 1/2/2024, 1:13 PM

@harryba11zack -

MotherFuckerJon - 1/2/2024, 12:15 PM

I say [frick] all that...give us KORVAC

HashTagSwagg - 1/2/2024, 12:17 PM

Don't bother with Jocasta until you give us a proper Ultron. Instead of this Armor wars without iron man crap I'd have gone with the weapon X programs using some combination of of Ultron mixed with Stark's tech to create characters like machine man and eventually lead into the sentinels by the time the female X-women show up.

TheFinestSmack - 1/2/2024, 12:18 PM

Or, maybe, you know...we don't NEED to see this movie. This is why the superhero genre is so damn inflated with things many people don't care about anymore.

ObserverIO - 1/3/2024, 4:12 AM

@TheFinestSmack - I would rather have an Iron Man reboot than this port mortem of a movie.

AvalonX - 1/2/2024, 12:22 PM

The plan for Armor Wars is to prop up Riri. You have to be blind not to see it. Therefore, it will be terrible. This story makes no sense now without Tony. Its also all shitted up with the Rhodey was a scrull the entire time. Ruins some of his best work. Oh turns out when they finally put him on the A team Avengers, it wasn't him.

Idiots.

TheFinestSmack - 1/2/2024, 12:25 PM

@AvalonX - Oh totally, it's all going to be about Riri. They need to axe Ironheart AND this movie.

Apophis71 - 1/2/2024, 12:35 PM

@TheFinestSmack - It IS a film starring WAR MACHINE, so mostly about Rhodey trying to deal with the aftermath of his BFF's tech getting into the wrong hands following his death. I mean Riri could well be in it but to say ALL about her character would be patently false.

AvalonX - 1/2/2024, 12:42 PM

@Apophis71 - You're crazy. She will be a huge part of this show. Probably he investigates her and then they team up. They have huge plans for her. Her show, this movie, young avengers.

Apophis71 - 1/2/2024, 12:51 PM

@AvalonX - Didn't say she wouldn't be, I was just saying when she is not the stated lead character it won't be ALL about her even if she is in it.

As she has her own series they may decide avoid including her at all in the film or make it a very minor role, unlikely but we simply don't know with certainty.

Again the main focus however will be Rhodey, how much on anyone else is kinda moot but can't say ALL about a supporting character if they are at most a sidekick to the star of it.

I mean it is akin to saying Falcon and the Winter Soldier was all about Zemo, lol.

JobinJ - 1/2/2024, 12:23 PM

Great article Josh. You are a true innovator and provider of quality content and reading material. Bravo.

Vigor - 1/2/2024, 12:35 PM

@JobinJ - at least these articles make you imagine and wonder for what's to come. Instead of all the doom and gloom about the box office in other articles

I really appreciate these!
It's fun to talk comicbook movies with other fans

WhatIfRickJames - 1/2/2024, 12:31 PM

Sad to say that this is not an interesting property and in turn, a less interesting list. Stop Flavor Flaving these shitty properties, Josh. We already got Justin Hammer stealing the tech in Iron Man 2 and a bunch of different armors in Iron Man 3.

No one wants to see Detroit Steel

Waifuslayer - 1/2/2024, 12:36 PM

This is embarrassing. No one knows or cares about any of these D-Listers.

IronMan616 - 1/2/2024, 12:37 PM

I threw up a little in my mouth imagining all these characters appearing on screen before the eventual Iron Man reboot.

WhatIfRickJames - 1/2/2024, 12:40 PM

"We" don't need to see any of this shite. Please don't loop us in your list and don't gaslight us

MrSocko - 1/2/2024, 1:26 PM

This movie is a prime opportunity to inject some excitement back into the MCU. So sure, include War Machine. But then, get Frank Castle into the armor and give us the Punisher War Machine.

JonC - 1/2/2024, 1:34 PM

Here's an idea for these article writers... we don't "need" to see anyone specific... what we "need" is great writing, great acting, great directing and a great final movie.

WEAPONXOXOXO - 1/2/2024, 1:51 PM

It might be called Armor Wars but it won't be.

None of these characters have been introduced and no Tony.

ModHaterSLADE - 1/2/2024, 2:33 PM

I mean Iron Man 2 was bad enough I sure as hell wouldn't mind a reinvention of Crimson Dynamo.

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