The Definitive "Donning an Iron Man Mask" Power Rankings

The original Iron Man arrived in 2008: kickstarting a Marvel Cinematic Universe, saving Marvel Studios, and launching RDJ to international stardom. Personally, Iron Man 1 blew my poor teenage mind (I think I saw it five times in theater), and it practically enslaved me to years of continuing Marvel fandom. However, an aspect that I never really see discussed when talking about the many strengths of the greater MCU is just how sweet it looks when someone puts on an Iron Man mask.

It's pretty fucking sweet.

Iron Man set the standard with the full on, straight up, facing the camera clink. Iron Man 2 perfected the quip-and-clink, and introduced War Machine for the tasteful double event. The Avengers saw the addition of alternate helmet acquisition methods, and Iron Man 3 took those past their reasonable, logical extremes. The most recent movies are somewhat lacking in traditional face-mask closing due to Stark not being directly in the spotlight, but still sprinkle some good moments in.

I went through all six movies where Iron Man appears, and cut out every moment that someone puts a mask on (or gets a mask put on them). The only question is, which one is the best? Here's the rundown of the definitive power rankings.

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26. Eject (Iron Man 3)

Starting us off in last place is a moment from the last fight of Iron Man 3. This one loses points for not being a traditional mask-down closing, his head kinda being off screen at the moment the eyes light up, and the fact that there are a bunch of cooler "getting a suit while falling through the air" moments. Overall, a weak effort.

25. Sneaky Slide (Iron Man 3)

Similar, but this one has the head on screen, with its eyes turned away. Also, the slightly more angular mask adds a bit of spice.

24. Panic Attack (Iron Man 3)

One of the better full body suit acquisitions. Sweet view from behind stepping in, and a quick swivel to see the eyes light up. Still, not very traditional.

23. Punch Clink (Captain America: Civil War)

You barely get to see the actual mask flip up and around Stark's head. This one is mostly carried by the moment, as Tony begins his assault after learning the true circumstances of his parents' death.

22. Drop on Out (Captain America: Civil War)

It's a full body, but you get a glimpse of a clink. Again, carried by the moment in the movie, with the mask being the last piece to fit into place. It's a fine bit, and probably the most typical of these we can expect to see going forward in new movies.

21. Stop Stopping (Iron Man 3)

The first real clink! Pretty average, but pales in comparison to other moments where the character wearing the suit gets to speak the line. You also don't get a great angle on the actual mask coming down, as Pepper turns away.

20. Bird Guy (Iron Man 2)

Mickey Rourke cracks the top 20. You get a good view of the mask and it's in a combat situation. However, the movement of the mask doesn't feel as weighty, and loses points due to the fact that Whiplash is at his most compelling when he doesn't have an Arc Reactor strapped to his chest.

19. I Got You Covered (Iron Man 3)

Now we're getting somewhere. Full view of the clink, and an acceptable quip. It's the standard to judge against.

18. Protect Pepper (Iron Man 3)

This is a cool moment, as it's the first time Tony uses the gimmick of Iron Man 3 (moving in and out of suits crazy fast) in a life or death situation. It's touching that he puts the armor on Pepper, and more importantly, you get a good view of the mask snapping into place. The slow mo detracts from it a bit, but I think it's alright.

17. Blow Mk 42 (Iron Man 3)

This is pretty cool, as it's the only time on the list Stark weaponized the suit itself. You even get a little joke as Killian's scream is cut off by the mask popping on. Good stuff.

16. Wasn’t a Question (Iron Man 2)

They had to sneak one more quip-clink in at the end of Iron Man 2. This one establishes War Machine as a character that will return in later films, and that he really has this whole "talking then lowering his mask" thing down.

15. Enter Thor (The Avengers)

Not a traditional mask down approach, but it's the first time in any of the movies that it's shown that we can be a little flexible with how the helmet goes on. A completely focused shot that has a really satisfying squeeze to it, and includes the moment of eye light ignition.

14. We Have a Hulk (The Avengers)

I'm pretty sure Shane Black saw this scene from the Avengers, thought it was awesome, and then decided to make an entire movie out of it. I like this one, and it's a good moment in a good movie, but just teases you with the mask movement then quickly switches to a first person view. It barely misses out on making the top half.

13. Oh Shit (Iron Man)

As one of two clinks in the original movie, this foreshadows the multitude of times that the mask comes down in the middle of fighting in later films. The shot is quick, but that doesn't stop you from getting a good look at the action.

12. Airport (Captain America: Civil War)

The beginning of one of the more fun scenes in the MCU. The fact that you can't see his face is made up for by how natural and fluid it feels. We've moved from just the face-mask to applying the entire helmet at once, and for some reason this one just feels good.

11. Classic Clink (Captain America: Civil War)

Just some vintage, honest to goodness, wholesome Iron Man mask action. Incorporates the whole head, like previously, but just has the slightest delay on closing. It's an homage to the past that makes the shot all the more satisfying. An instant classic.

10. Gimme My Suit (Iron Man 3)

Coming in at number ten, the the better version of Protect Pepper. No slow mo, and a full frontal shot of the visor snapping into place. In fact, if we hadn't been shown the previous one, this probably could have been even higher, but we saw this exact process happen to Pepper a minute ago.

9. Not Today (Iron Man 3)

The whole Mandarin Compound sequence was one of the highlights of Iron Man 3, and this joke was the feather in its cap. I love the power stance he takes when he catches it, and we still get to see the eyes flicker to life.

8. Iron Man vs Thor (The Avengers)

Another bread and butter quip-clink. As the start of the kerfuffle between Iron Man and Thor, it's pretty awesome, and the quip itself is much better than those previously on the list.

7. Get Out (Iron Man 2)

As the introduction to War Machine, this is just too cool. All the elements of a good clink are there, and Don Cheadle delivers the hell out of his line. Party's over.

6. Bustin (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

What can I say, Hulk-bustin makes me feel good. As the only entry from Ultron on the list it has a lot to cover, but the overall design of the armor is sweet, I love the image of all the armor pieces flying down from Veronica and of course, they save the best for last. Power level arguments aside, it's one of the best parts of the movie.

5. Race Track (Iron Man 2) We've made it to the top five. This was the first time in the series we saw a mobile full armor applicator, and the helmet action does not disappoint. Again, the slight delay between when it flips down and when it squeezes in really makes it, proving that good things come to those who wait. In a period in Tony's life where the world seems to be crashing down around him, it's the one place where he feels in control, and we can tell.

4. Fight Start (Iron Man 2) I love everything about this. There's Queen playing in the background, Stark is wasted (but somehow fights perfectly fine), and the little microphone flip right beforehand...... perfection. At this point, every clink is shown clearly and is very satisfying, it's just the details that push one ahead of the other.

3. I’m the Best (Iron Man 3)

It's over the top, and there's no pressure to get the suit on quickly, but it's just cool as hell. The hero landing is a little gratuitous, but hey: it's clearly the sweetest of the multitude of these from Iron Man 3. Throw enough visors at a mostly clad robot person and one of them attaching to his face is bound to look pretty awesome.

2. First Ever (Iron Man)

C'mon. It's the one that started it all. A rage filled Tony Stark spends an entire minute putting on this damn suit, and it finishes with the original mask clink. What's not to love.

1. Double Trouble This is it. The big kahuna. Out of all of these clips, this was the only one that I knew the ranking of 100% before I started. War Machine is all decked out with his new black and silver color scheme, and the two are completely surrounded. It's go time. I mean, even if you could argue that any of the others deserves to be on top, this is at least as cool, and it has TWO. Mmmmmmmm, thats that shit I like.

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There you have it: the undisputed, definitive "Donning an Iron Man Mask" power rankings. Let me know if you agree (you should), you disagree (you can't), or if you have any comments. Thanks for sticking through the entire thing.

Submitted May 30, 2017 at 05:14AM by petapetri http://ift.tt/2qA2JBF