Although Tony Stark was nearly one hundred issues from his Tales of Suspense days, he found himself right back at the beginning. The very begining, in fact.

In Iron Man #98, sick and frail, after suffering another setback with his heart, Stark had to go back to his earliest armor designs. His dangerously weak heart forced him to once again continually wear (the chestplate portion of) the armor to stay alive—just like in his early days. His NeoClassic Armor, which didn’t last long, was out. And he needed something better. So Tony spent 49 hours without sleep to build a much needed new armor. The result: the UltraPower Classic Armor, Model VIII, Mark I.

Gone are the thermocouple and his solar collectors—jettisoned to make room for thousands of life-preserving micro-circuits and electronic storage cells. For the first time in years, Iron Man was not solar powered. This was a radical departure from Tony’s design philosophy, but he had no choice. Solar power was a luxury he couldn’t afford. He needed the constant full-tilt kick only a direct current/internal energy supply could provide.

To that end, IM’s new power system was a dual system with extra energy stored in the hip pods. (These electromagnetic pods could be used to induce force fields and tractor beams as well.) A new, more efficient circuit design meant that the new circuits were smaller than any before them, leaving room for Tony to add other innovations to the armor, most notably in the defenses (more below).

While the armor’s refractory coating could ward off most—but not all—electric shocks, it was still vulnerable to ionic energy. The refractory coating also provided IM with protection from radiation.

Shellhead kept an Electro-Magnetic Repellor in his right hip pod. By draining power from repulsors it became an incredibly powerful tractor beam. Other gadgets: diamond-edged drill attachments for each hand (allowed IM to tunnel right through bedrock); also a smaller retractable diamond-edged drill in the pinky (with extra attachments stored in right boot cuff); precision-guided sabre-saw extended from gauntlet (controls in glove units kept blades from cutting any deeper than needed); buzz saw attachment for right hand; magnetic suction discs in the palms; and wrist-mounted smoke emission system. Tony also carried a recharging cable for emergencies.

The UltraPower Classic’s cybernetic computer was located in the helmet along with the bulk of the sensor array. The helmet’s ear caps housed sound amplifiers as well as the radar and sonar units. (The sonar could be used to track opponents or as a weapon by amplifying the signal to a shriek.) A built-in jamming device could nullify the nuclear capacity of missiles. There was also an audio sonic wave amplifier and a tiny tape recorder. The suit also had an all-frequency radio in the ears for communication plus Tony carried mini receivers he could give to others to communicate with them.

A heat-induction knob on the chest let Tony activate the armor’s thermal circuits to melt ice off of this armor. The heat induction/air conditioning systems could be used offensively or defensively as Iron Man saw fit. In the Model VIII, they were located near the main gyroscope, in the “stomach” of the armor.

A release button at the collar/chin allowed IM to flip up his mask. The helmet also had eye shields of plexiglass for added protection as needed plus microscopic, telescopic, infrared, and X-ray lenses for the eyes. An internal air filtration system kept Iron Man with clean, breathable air.

The UltraPower Classic Armor, Mark I, like previous armors, had rocket skates and wrist blades. The boots contained the requisite jets for flying; also stored an automated fire extinguisher.

Left wrist held a power gauge.

Model VIII, Mark II

Not satisfied with his energy supply, Stark slapped on a few more power gizmos, really amping things up, going into action with the UltraPower Classic Armor, Model VIII, Mark II, in Iron Man #108.

First, he restored the electro-thermocouple to enhance the suit’s energy uptake. Then, while he didn’t go totally back to solar power, he did add a solar energy conversion unit to his lower boot cuff to further enhance his power options. The overall power system was now configured around a main power cell (fed by the energy stored in the hip pods, as with previous suits) with back-up power units acting a reserve plus the aforementioned new options.

Tony also added a pacemaker supplement device along with an emergency power pack and energy inducers, just to be sure he’d have the life-saving power he needed. Finally, an added bonus of this whole integrated power system was that it also allowed the UltraPower Classic Armor to absorb energy blasts and dispel the energy into the air harmlessly.

The VIII, Mark II, was one super tough armor. In just one outing, it withstood laser blasts, photon torpedoes, and a fall from space—including re-entry—landing on the earth in shallow water, protecting Tony the whole time.

The armor had a built-in re-breather with a limited internal oxygen supply. A sealing sensor activated by cold, gases, lack of oxygen (including the vacuum of space), or even damage to the occupant would seal the armor tightly for protection as needed.

Tony improved the refractory coating on the Mark II. In addition to improved radiation protection, the coating aided in dissipating heat from the armor’s outer layer. (Thermal units in the suit could thaw it out from a frozen state.)

Sensors were tweaked to provide warning to Iron Man of anything approaching within a half-mile radius. Helmet amplifiers can pick up sub-sonic signals. Gyro-stabilizers, located inside a stomach compartment, were adjustable for the zero gravity of space. A broad sensor scanner let IM identify metals and such. This suit also had radiation sensors.

Along with everything else, the integrated cyber computer was upgraded, too. The Model VIII, Mark II, was fitted with an early forerunner of Stark’s telepresence connectivity as he modified his armor and sub systems so that he could link his armor to other computers. This allowed IM to mentally interface with other systems, even take control of them (he even piloted a ship this way). Unfortunately, as with later versions, feedback to the outside system traveled to IM via this same control connection—this could be deadly. A secondary computer control pad was located on the wrist of the left gauntlet.

Also in the helmet: newly designed visiplates, which dropped down automatically to protect Tony’s eyes when needed. Infrared eye piece filters slid down over the eye sockets to boost the infrared sensors.

Iron Man kept up his magnetic tradition, carrying a special Glove-Unit (resembling brass knuckles) that could produce magnetic fields as needed. This device came in handy when IM wanted to polarize an object. The hip pods could also be used to produce magnetic fields or be adjusted to create a tractor beam.

Rocket skates and boot jets were still a part of the Mark II package, although slightly refined from the I-A.

Foam ducts in the collar and boot/glove cuffs could be used to smother flames.