Far more than a way station on the path to Iron Man's Classic Armor, The Post-Protoclassic Armor, Model III, Mark I, is deceptively lightweight, made from the strongest armor known to man. By incorporating the hardest alloy known to man into an ingenious design that puts a high tech spin on the chain-mail armor of the knights of old, Stark has built an armor that gives maximum protection with minimum weight. Thin, flexible and light, the armor is tempered to the highest degree of resilency ever attempted by a metal. A new 3-D knitting pattern gives the armor itself more strength, while allowing for the most comfortable suit interior to date.

Design-wise, the Model III armor brings Iron Man one step closer to the classic look that has dominated his career by featuring the first all red chestpiece with epaulets. Other stylistic changes include a new helmet and the introduction of the hip pods to Iron Man's wardrobe.

The helmet itself is once again lighter. While it was modified to have a liftable faceplate once again, the rivet look continues. The helmet also includes built-in SCUBA equipment with 15 minutes of oxygen included. Filters also keep out poison gas.

Model III also continues the modular "armor up" process. Collapsbale sections, arm and leg units, slide on and expand, locking into place with magnetic force. The portable armor is carried in an attache case and after practice Stark could don the armor in just seconds. (In addition to keeping the armor close to him, it is interesting that around this time Stark begins hiding duplicate copies of the armor in various locations around his factories for emergencies.)

Click here for a look inside Tony Stark's design files for this armor.

The new gloves also sport improved repulsors that utilize an electron beam that required a laser-ionized path of air to travel through the atmosphere. (The prototype's design produced an early challenge to overcome: "Beam firehosing." Stark fixed the problem by using a pulsing beam and an early form of adaptive optics.)

The new chestbeam on the Model III includes a Variable Power Spotlight and an improved Monobeam, which thanks to the latest repulsor technology, can shoot up to 275 ft.

The special feature on this suit: A built-in radar-detector, a Proximity Alarm that gives Iron Man a kind of "spider sense." A sensitized alarm sets the armor tingling steadily whenever someone sneaks up on Shellhead.

Armaments:Chest-mounted Monobeam, 40 mm Palm Repulsor Rays

After tangling with Iron Man himself (the armor being in the thieving hands of small-time crook Weasel Wills at the time), combat savvy Tony Stark must have noticed some weaknesses, because before he even had a chance to break in the Mark II variant, he reworked the Model III again.

Model III, Mark III, debuted in TOS #66, sporting a new mask and small variations that take us just steps away from the classic Iron Man armor. Upgrades to the suit's abilities are mainly in the area of add-ons--Cramming even more of Stark's brilliant inventions into one armor (but there are not enough changes to constitute an actual model change).

The new helmet, sans rivets, may have been a necessity after Wills' Iron Man crime spree, but a few changes were made on the inside as well. The internal oxygen supply received a makeover. In Mark III, oxygen is provided by O2 cylinders, each lasting 30 minutes. For more air, Shellhead simply inserts a new cylinder.

The new chestbeam has a photo sensor that pops it on automatically in the dark. It can also be turned on with a touch. The Ultra Beacon setting is as bright as the sun. And by adjusting the prisms of the Ultra Beacon, Iron Man can produce an invisible shield.

A retractable radio antenna in the left shoulder augments an emergency communications system. A communicator pops out from under the shoulder and can be used even when armor is almost dead because it has its own shielded transistor power.

A new attache case has a sleep gas booby trap installed. Hidden Electro-Cells on the handle examine the fingerprints of whoever is holding the case--If the prints aren't Stark's, sleep gas is shot out.

Like previous suits, this armor can magnetize its outer shell, allowing Iron Man to stick to steel objects like airplanes.

Again and again, Tony pushes his system to the limit, not recharging--even when not IM--until the last moment. Although if he rests his transistors they will eventually recharge themselves, his ever-failing chestpiece became quite problematic once again. Once he even had to stick his emergency charging wire into a car cigarette lighter just to stay alive. Eventually Tony developed yet another reinforcement for the chest device which would aid him for a brief time.

The special feature on this suit: A Chemical Kit. Located in the lower back of the chest plate is a chemical kit. By drawing a tube from the back and mixing different chemicals stored in the armor, Iron Man can spray various chemical baths, including a fiery liquid mix.

The secret special feature on this suit: At one time Tony jokes about wearing Beryllium underwear with the armor.

Armaments: Repulsors; Chest Beam with Ultra Beacon (with shield); Smoke Bombs (in belt compartments); Super Deluxe Vapor Ejector (shoots smokescreen); One-Shot Proton Gun (in belt); Negative Ion Pistol (can rob armored foes of armor strength); Reverser Ray (reverses energy output of anything mechanical); Vapor Projector (shoots Reflecting Mist which acts like a mirror, reflecting lasers); Tiny Adhesive Timebombs (little "doohickeys" with 15 second timers); Fingers can shoot Electric Bolts.

Model III, Mark IV-A

In TOS #75, while undoing Happy’s freakish nature, Iron Man’s armor was turned red hot by feedback from the Enervation-Intensifier, necessitating an armor change.

Cosmetically, this suit is the same as a long line of predecessors. It retains the shape of the helmet, the boots, and the gloves—Stark even kept the studded fists. But internally, the Mark IV-A is another leap in micro-circuitry and power generation.

Although by this time Stark’s heart health was good enough that he could remove the chestplate for up to two hours, energy conservation still dominated his armor designs.

Tony added a compliment of automatic rechargers to his suit. If he rested or became relatively inactive, the armor could temporarily recharge itself via small generators. These generators also included a kind of turbo that allowed Iron Man to recharge his suit with the force of a steep dive in flight. Mark IV-A also featured removable energy packs, which IM could swap out as needed. After the switch, the armor was ready for battle, pulsing with the strength of a thousand transistors.

As with prior suits, this armor could be collapsed and slipped into a briefcase. (Stark’s trusty attaché case also contained a temporary charger in it. Although not as powerful as the charger in his lab, it was good in a pinch.) By pressing a hidden button on the left hip pod, IM caused his transistorized magnets to retract his leggings into the boots. A similar system retracted the arm sections into the gloves.

Fabricated with superbly crafted transistors and featuring the most delicately printed circuits to date, the Mark IV-A was one tough customer. The armor absorbed huge blows, and protected Tony from several high falls. Still, there’s always somebody out there with a better mousetrap. Model III, Mark IV-A was retired after a busy day fighting the warlord Krang and the Sub-Mariner.

Weapons-wise, the suit contained everything previous Model III’s had. The repulsor rays were improved. Now, if fired in a concentrated barrage of bolts, they would snuff out flames.

Stark tweaked the design of the mini gyroscope in the left boot assembly, making the armor more nimble.

Note: Stark apparently experimented with a different set of gauntlets—some appearances (circa #79), Iron Man appears without studs on his gloves.

Model III, Mark IV-B

Built from flexible iron, like others, Model IV-B is collapsible without sacrificing strength. Carried in a sleek briefcase with a built-in charger, the armor is kept at optimal power level.

With this suit, we see a lot of the emergency gizmos/weapons Iron Man was famous for in the TOS days. Inside the epaulet of the right shoulder was a small compartment that stored a vial of unstable freon. When broken, the vial’s contents instantly froze solid air and gas vapors rock hard, allowing Iron Man to encase things (even Titanium Man). He had a diamond-edged drill hidden in a secret chest compartment. His right hip pod contained extra wires for tinkering.

Stark added powerful booster jets to Iron Man’s boots. Activated with a dial on the left wrist, they created a thrust much more powerful than regular jets alone. (The effect was temporary and could only be used infrequently.) And although the boots were better than before, the standard jets could still be clogged by dirt or debris.

But the key enhancement on the Mark IV-B was the return of Shellhead’s roller skates. By rotating both ear discs one quarter, IM caused his mechanized roller wheels to pop out. The skates were powered by built-in motors and allowed him to drive circles around opponents.

Internal communications system could monitor radio/television broadcasts, while an early navigational computer could be preset for a destination and fly the armor somewhere while the occupant relaxed.

Special safety feature on this suit: On the left shoulder seam of the epaulet there was a manual control switch, a button, that could reduce the armor’s power, level it off, and bring it under control if needed.

Mark IV-B was all but destroyed in TOS #85 at the hands of the Mandarin, while being worn by Happy Hogan.