Iron Man's armor is a fictional, powered exoskeleton appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is built and worn by billionaire Tony Stark when he assumes the identity of the superhero Iron Man. The first armor, which was created in the story by Stark and Ho Yinsen, was designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963). In the fictional multiverse, the appearance of Stark's armor has radically changed over the years, either as a result of modifications made by Stark or specialized armors created for specific situations. In real life, it changed as different artists took over the series and decided to change it to what they wanted. Overview Stark's armors are each unique in design and purpose. They are made of incredibly strong, fictional materials bolstered by a force field. Every suit has a self-contained environment, assorted onboard weapons systems, enhanced strength, flight, and various communications arrays and sensors, such as radar and radio. Furthermore, they typically have multiple power sources including a secondary solar energy collection function in the event that conventional recharging methods are unavailable. Earlier versions of the armor could also fold virtually flat, allowing Stark to store them in his bullet-proof briefcase. The defining abilities of Stark's armors are the jets situated in the boots and the repulsors situated in the gauntlets. The repulsors originated as a hand attachment, but have since become the armor's most important standard armament. They have been referred to as a force beam. In the 2008 film, the repulsors are a form of propulsion as well as steering and braking jets. Another defining trait is the chest-mounted "uni-beam", also known as the varibeam, pentabeam, tri-beam, and chest repulsor transmitter. Originally it had a spotlight and "proton beam", but it has grown to accommodate a number of other weapons, primarily light and force-based. 20th century armors Iron Man Armor MK II (Golden Avenger) First appearance: Tales of Suspense #40 (April 1963) In order to make his armor less frightening to the general public, Stark created a gold-colored version with a wide array of improvements over the original. Iron Man Armor MK III This was the first armor to use the red-and-gold color scheme. The 2007 retcon miniseries Iron Man: Hypervelocity hinted that Stark based the new cosmetic improvement on a childhood fantasy, as the red and gold color