Iron Man Wiki
Register
Advertisement
MarvelCinematicUniverse

This Article is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Earth-199999) - the universe that takes place within the MCU franchise. It is therefore regarded as Official and Canon Content, and is connected to all other MCU related subjects.

"That thing in your chest is based on unfinished technology.
No, it was finished. It has never been particularly effective until I miniaturized it and put it in my—No. Howard said the Arc Reactor was the stepping stone to something greater.
"
―Nick Fury and Tony Stark

The Arc Reactor was a fusion type power source featuring a palladium core, and was the initial power source of the first Iron Man suits, and was later modified to an advanced level by Tony Stark to power his more advanced suits, as it kept on improving. During the events of Iron Man 2, Tony re-discovered and synthesized a new element theorized by Howard Stark, as a clean and safe core alternative to palladium core. This not only stopped palladium poisoning of Tony's body but also reversed its effects, saving his life.

The Stark Industries HQ in Los Angeles was once powered by an Arc Reactor, but it was destroyed when Pepper Potts overloaded it and Obadiah Stane with his Iron Monger Armor fell into the reactor. It is unknown what happened to the reactor after this event.

The Arc Reactor is also the power source of Stark Tower (later moved underground and the tower was renamed Avengers Tower) and a miniaturized arc reactor was created to power the Iron Man suit.

Types[]

Large Arc Reactor[]

Created by Howard Stark and Anton Vanko, the Large Arc Reactor powered Stark Industries for years before Tony created the original miniature Arc Reactor.

Palladium Arc Reactor Mark I[]

The Original Miniaturized Arc Reactor was created by Tony Stark and Ho Yinsen while being held captive by the Ten Rings in Afghanistan. Captured to build the Jericho missile, Stark, with the help of Yinsen, instead used the Ten Rings' spare parts and old Stark-Tech missiles to create a miniaturized palladium-cored Arc reactor to power Tony's electromagnet that keeps the shrapnel of one of Stark's own missiles from reaching his heart. Capable of generating 3 GJ/s, it can keep Stark's heart running for 50 lifetimes, as mentioned by Yinsen. To which Stark responded to that with "Yeah, or something big for 15 minutes". The reactor was later replaced by the Mark II model when Tony returned to the US with the help of Pepper Potts. Tony was forced to don the reactor again after his Mark II model was stolen. Following Tony's death, the original arc reactor was floated in a lake with the inscription "Proof That Tony Stark Has A Heart" around it as a form of memorial.

Palladium Arc Reactor Mark II[]

Created by Tony Stark after returning home, the Palladium Arc Reactor Mark II is used to power his electromagnet and his Mark II and Mark III suits. After finding the Mark I suit and rebuilding it into the Iron Monger, Obadiah Stane steals this reactor out of Tony's chest to power Monger armor as he is unable to replicate the technology. Tony faces him using the Mark III powered by the original reactor, but it is inadequate to power his suit properly. Finally, Tony has Pepper Potts overload the Large Arc Reactor powering Stark Industries HQ, resulting in overload inside of Stane's suit, which electrocutes him and knocks him out. Stane, with his suit, fell into the reactor resulting in an explosion destroying the suit, the reactor, and killing Stane.

Palladium Arc Reactor Mark III[]

Arc reactor-0

Palladium causing poisoning

The Palladium Arc Reactor Mark III was the reactor used by Tony for six months (the time jump from Iron Man 1 to Iron Man 2) to power his armors and electromagnet in the movie Iron Man 2. It was created to replace the one which was stolen by Stane and later destroyed. It is eventually replaced by an improved reactor as the palladium was slowly poisoning Tony to death. Mark II was a testbed for an Integrated reactor, allowing James Rhodes to steal the Mark II suit.

The New Element Arc Reactor Mark I[]

Arc reactor

Up-close view of New element cored reactor

The new element Arc Reactor Mark I was the Arc Reactor created by Tony after he rediscovered the element originally discovered by Howard Stark and synthesized it, resulting in the new and more powerful clean energy source. Mark VI was the first suit to be designed with the new model reactor in mind. Sometime later, an enlarged version of the reactor was installed into newly built Stark Tower, capable of providing self-sustaining power for a whole year, as well as an integrated reactor, powering the Mark VII armor.

The New Element Arc Reactor Mark II[]

Tony eventually replaced the Mark I reactor with the Mark II to power his Iron Legion and electro-magnet. The ones powering the Iron Legion were destroyed when Tony had J.A.R.V.I.S. self-destruct the suits and after having the shrapnel removed from his chest, Tony pitches the one powering the electromagnet into the sea.

The New Element Arc Reactor Mark III[]

Some time after the Iron Legion's destruction, Tony perfected the Mark XLII's design resulting in the Mark XLIII and its Modular extension, Mark XLIV. Powered by multiple New Element Reactors, the Mark XLIV managed to take down the Hulk during his rampage in South Africa. The Mark XLV also utilized this new generation reactor in conjunction with a new repulsor design to give it better power distribution, resulting in faster and more stable flight, quicker charge times of repulsor blasts in flight (higher charging tone, when power levels inside the suit is high) and instant charge when on ground as well as higher intensity of said blasts (capable of destroying Ultron Sentries in one blast).

The New Element Arc Reactor Mark IV[]

Utilized by the Mark XLVI and XLVII, this new reactor borrowed ideas from the Mark XLIV's Multiple RT design, allowing for an around-100kg suit to operate even with the main RT damaged or destroyed, and providing greater power distribution which results in equally fast weapons grade repulsor blasts, both while in flight and on ground (despite being fast charging, it does not support instant-blast capability). The main RT's blast (Unibeam) was powerful enough to vaporize the Winter Soldier's Bionic Arm.

The New Element Arc Reactor Mark V[]

Arc reactor-1

New Element Arc Reactor Mark V

This is the second most advanced reactor designed by Tony Stark. This heart shaped reactor is capable of not only working as power source of newest generation of Iron Man armors, but also being capable of storing the nano-particles necessary in the forming of not only the Mark L armor, but all the modules needed depending on situation. This reactor, like its previous iteration also works in conjunction to form bigger, more efficient Micro-RTs to provide better power distribution and powering new formed modules. With this increased power, Iron Man was able to send Cull Obsidian flying in New York with his brand new energy displacer cannons.

The New Element Arc Reactor Mark VI[]

The most advanced and final model of arc reactor designed by Tony Stark. This latest reactor combines features from both the Mark V reactor and the Mark III used on the Mark XLV (while retaining Mark Vs visual design), as well as allowing the reactor be supercharged without being damaged in the process. This reactor housed the Mark LXXXV and it's modules. This power source allowed Iron Man to kill Outriders in one blast each. Smaller variant of this reactor model also powers the Mark XLIX (Rescue Mark I) armor, a modified version of this reactor with a different shape also powers the Iron Patriot Mark II armor, but neither of the suits feature nano-particle storage or module formation/augmentation features. This Reactor variant is slightly larger than the Mark V.

History[]

Early Design and Creation[]

"Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs."
Nick Fury to Steve Rogers[src]

In the aftermath of World War II, Howard Stark studied the Tesseract and wished to harness its energy, having developed the idea of providing a limitless power source that could provide clean, renewable energy for the future of mankind.[1] By 1947, Howard Stark made blueprints for a Palladium core that he could use for his reactor. When Whitney Frost ambushed Jason Wilkes at Stark Estate she saw Stark's Palladium core blueprints and was impressed by the idea, calling Stark a certifiable genius.[2]

Unable to harness its power, Howard used his research on the Tesseract to create the first Arc Reactor, which Howard began to develop alongside Anton Vanko and Obadiah Stane.[3] However, Howard considered the reactor to be simply "a first step" to a much bigger project.

While Howard saw the Arc Reactor as a way to create a new, cleaner method to replace nuclear power, Anton only saw it as an idea he could sell to get rich. Due to this, Howard accused him of espionage and had him deported back to Russia, an event that later motivated Whiplash, to use the Arc Reactor technology to seek revenge on Tony Stark for ruining their lives.

Eventually, a large Arc Reactor for industrial energy production was created to power Stark Industries Headquarters in California. Howard developed a theoretical new element which would be the key to completing the perfect Arc Reactor based on the Tesseract. However, he was unable to synthesize it due to being limited by the technology available at the time, and the Arc Reactor project soon hit a standstill.[1] Knowing he wouldn't be able to truly harness the power of the Tesseract or create the perfect Arc Reactor in his lifespan, Howard left a blueprint of his theoretical new element hidden within a model of the 1974 Stark Expo along with a recorded message to his son with clues about the Stark Expo model's true nature hoping he would rediscover it and finish his work. The message along with his original research were left at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custody so they could one day give them to Tony while the Stark Expo model was left at Stark Industries.

In the years after Howard's death, the Arc Reactor project became a non-priority to the company as it was steered towards mainly producing weapons, with the then acting CEO, Obadiah Stane, dismissing the clean energy project as a "publicity stunt".[4]

Iron Man (film)[]

Miniaturization[]

"It is a miniaturized Arc Reactor. We got a big one powering my factory at home. It should keep the shrapnel out of my heart."
But what could it generate?
If my math is right, and it always is... three gigajoules per second.
"
Tony Stark and Ho Yinsen[src]

During the Ten Rings attack and capture of Tony Stark, a bomb exploded near Stark, causing shrapnel to enter his body near his heart, threatening his life. Dr. Ho Yinsen removed most of the shrapnel but some were too close to his heart so he created a way to stop the shrapnel by using a powerful electromagnet and a car battery. However, Stark knew that the weak car battery wouldn't keep him alive for long. Thus, he adapted the design of the large Arc Reactor that powered his factory and created a miniaturized version that could fit in his hand and fit into his chest.

Through the miniaturized Arc Reactor, Stark decided to create a suit of armor with his chest piece as its power source in order to escape from the Ten Rings captivity with Yinsen's help. After creating the suit, Stark escaped but Yinsen was killed by the Ten Rings. Despite the loss of a good friend, Stark was able to escape from the Ten Rings and was rescued by the United States military, which was led by his best friend James Rhodes.[4]

Perfecting the Reactor[]

Once Stark got back to America, he suggested that Stark Industries should focus on the Arc Reactor once again, which Obadiah Stane remained skeptical about until he saw the miniature reactor. Stark used his A.I. system, J.A.R.V.I.S., to create a much more powerful version of the miniaturized Arc Reactor to keep him alive.

After creating his second Arc Reactor, Stark had his closest friend Pepper Potts help him remove his first one then put the new one into his chest, which she did successfully. Stark then gave his first Arc Reactor to Potts. Meanwhile, Stane continuously pressured Stark to let him patent the miniature Arc Reactor so he could pitch it to investors in order to keep the company afloat, but Tony refused to.

Stark decided to make a new suit of armor, which he would later dub them as Iron Man suit, as he used his modified Arc Reactor to independently power it. Once the suit was made, Stark decided to take it out for a test flight around the Los Angeles area. Stark was successful in his test flight until he arrived back home as he had J.A.R.V.I.S. powered his suit down, which caused him to crash all the way down to his workshop at his house.

While recovering from his test flight, Stark opened the present Potts left for him while he was building his second suit as she box framed his first Arc Reactor, which touched him. Stark then decided to make a third suit as he had J.A.R.V.I.S. paint it red and gold. After it was finished and saw the Ten Rings on the news, Stark used his Arc Reactor to make a blast of energy as he shot around his workshop.[4]

Battle of Gulmira[]

Once he put his armor on, Stark with his Arc Reactor flew all the way to Gulmira to battle the Ten Rings. Stark was able to stop the Ten Rings and left Gulmira but not before the United State Military attempted to kill him. However, Stark was able to talk to Rhodes and convinced him to help him get the United States Miltary to stand down.[4]

Obadiah Stane's Project[]

After seeing Stark on the news of battling the Ten Rings, Stane commissioned William Ginter Riva and other Stark Industries scientists to duplicate the miniature version of the Arc Reactor so he could power his own suit. Also, Stane stole the first suit of armor that Stark made from the Ten Rings, after they recovered it after his escape, as part of his project. Unfortunately, Potts found out what Stane was up to and discovered that he was the one who organized Stark's kidnapping at Afghanistan.


However, the Stark Industries scientists could not replicate the Arc Reactor, believing the technology was not yet possible. Stane admonished that Stark was able to do it himself in a cave using even less resources. Realizing that none of scientists at Stark Industries was not Tony, Stane stole the Arc Reactor from Stark's chest to power his Iron Monger Armor. Stark was able to get to his first Arc Reactor before he died of a heart attack and put his third armor on to confront Stane and save Potts from getting killed.[4]

Duel of Los Angeles[]

During the fight against Iron Monger, Stark and Pepper Potts destroyed Stane's suit, which killed him in the process, after overloading the Arc Reactor powering the Stark Industries facility, discharging a massive amount of electricity through the suit and electrocuting Stane, who then fell into the exploding reactor. Sometime after the battle, Stark saw on the paper that people were calling him Iron Man because of his Arc Reactor and suits.[4]

Iron Man 2[]

Meanwhile, Ivan Vanko and his father, Anton Vanko, a former business partner of Stark's father, saw Tony's confession on TV that he's Iron man. Vanko used his father's schematics to produce a replicated version of the miniaturized Arc Reactor, although the replica was lower in energy output.[1]

Several months later, after revealing that he was Iron Man, Stark made a fourth suit and a third Arc Reactor for it. However, Stark found out that the Palladium cores from the Arc Reactor were poisoning him as they burned through them, which was accelerated by him using his Iron Man armor. Also, Stark had built backup Arc Reactors in his three suits that he already made so they were able to function without his personal one in his chest.[1]

During a race Stark was in, he encounter Ivan Vanko, who goes by Whiplash, and fought with him in equal battle because of their suits and Arc Reactor. Despite this, Stark was able to defeat Whiplash and arrested him for his actions.[1]

For the Hammer Drones, Vanko improved the design, which he also used for his Mark II which he planned to use for his battle against Iron Man.[1]

Tony attempted to fix this completely by finding a possible substitute for Palladium without success. After finding out about this, Nick Fury gave Tony his father's original research regarding the new element which would complete the reactor. With it, and after finding the blueprints within the Stark Expo model, Tony was able to synthesize the element. This created the "perfected" version of the Arc Reactor Howard originally envisioned, and along with saving Tony's life.[1] He has modified Mark II armor as a integrated reactor testbed, allowing James Rhodes to steal the Mark II suit and turn it into War Machine.

Avengers (film)[]

"Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy."
"Well, assuming the arc reactor takes over, and it actually works?"
"I assume. Light her up.
"
Tony Stark and Pepper Potts[src]

Eventually, Tony Stark decided to continue his father's ideals to use the Arc Reactor to provide clean energy for the world. In order to capitalize on this ideal, Tony Stark created a redesigned Industrial Arc Reactor to power the newly built Stark Tower in New York City. The tower was completely removed from the city's power grid and ran entirely from the Arc Reactor in order to make Stark Tower a “beacon of clean energy” and show the world the capability of Arc Reactor technology on a large scale. Even though it was only a prototype, the building was capable of maintaining itself for an entire year.[5]

Loki later uses the reactor's power to create a wormhole using a special device in conjunction with the Tesseract. J.A.R.V.I.S. shuts down the reactor but not before the device became self-sufficient.

Iron Man 3[]

"There are people who say progress is dangerous, but I'll bet none of those idiots ever had to live with a chestful of shrapnel. And now, neither will I."
Tony Stark[src]

Following the battle on the Norco, Tony Stark studied Extremis in order to cure Pepper Potts, and used a variant to survive his shrapnel removing operation. No longer requiring an Arc Reactor in his chest, he later drove to the ruins of his mansion and threw the Arc Reactor to the ocean.[6]

[Avengers: Age of Ultron]][]

Following the Avengers' mobilization in order to partake in the War on HYDRA, Tony Stark created Iron Man armors that had built-in Arc Reactors in them, as he no longer required one in his chest.[6][7]

Avengers Civil War[]

In 2016, during the clash of the Avengers, Iron Man and War Machine pursued Captain America and Winter Soldier. Falcon also flew after the two, so War Machine asked Vision to disable the EXO-7 Falcon suit with his laser beam. Vision, however, missed Falcon and hit War Machine's Arc Reactor, shutting off his armor and causing him to crash, resulting in spinal injuries leading to partial paralysis.[8]

Later, in the HYDRA Siberian Facility, Iron Man fought against Captain America and Winter Soldier. During the fight, Winter Soldier tried to remove Iron Man's Arc Reactor with his prosthetic arm, only for Iron Man to blast out a Unibeam, which disintegrated the arm. Captain America then used his shield to disable Iron Man's suit by destroying the Arc Reactor.[8]

Spider-Man: Homecoming[]

Two months later, a set of Arc Reactors was transported from the Avengers Tower to the Avengers Compound on a plane. During the transition, Vulture hijacked the plane in order to steal the cargo, but Spider-Man prevented him from doing it, causing the plane to crash on Coney Island. On the ground, Vulture tried to fly with the Arc Reactor container, only to cause Vulture's Exo-Suit to explode, with the Arc Reactors as well.[9]

Avengers: Infinity War[]

In 2018, Stark used an improved Arc Reactor at Greenwich Village to battle two members of the Black Order. However, Stark had to go up to space to rescue his closes friend Spider-Man and his new ally Doctor Strange from a Q-Ship. Stark was able to save Spider-Man and tried to send him home then got on board the ship to rescue Strange.[10]

After rescuing Strange with help from Spider-Man, who stowed away, and meeting the Guardians of the Galaxy, Stark used his Arc Reactor to battle Thanos. However, during the fight, Stark almost had his Arc Reactor and his armor ripped off of him. Strange then stopped Thanos from killing Stark as he told the Mad Titan to spare him in exchange for the Time Stone.[10]

Avengers: Endgame[]

By 2023, Stark had constructed a new Reactor. During the battle against an alternate Thanos and his army, Stark used the Infinity Stones to wipe them out, sacrificing himself in the process. Following his death, his Reactor turned off.[11]

A week later, Tony Stark’s first Arc Reactor was sent adrift in the lake at the Stark Eco-Compound by Pepper Potts during Stark’s funeral.[11]

Spider-Man: No Way Home[]

"I've never seen him this powerful!
It's the Arc Reactor.
"
Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man[src]

In 2024, following a rift in the Multiverse, five villains from other universes who fought their respective Spider-Man were transported into the main universe. When Peter Parker brought them to Happy Hogan's apartment, he opened a Stark Industries Fabricator with am Arc Reactor inside it, which Max Dillon noticed, becoming amazed by its energy.[12]

However, when Norman Osborn's alter Green Goblin showed up and convinced the uncured villains to turn against Parker, his aunt and Doctor Octopus, Electro seized the Arc Reactor from the Stark Industries Fabricator and took it into in his possession. Dillon then built a new Electro suit and used the Arc Reactor as its core.[12]

Shortly after watching a livestream from Peter Parker, Electro arrived at the Statue of Liberty as he used the Arc Reactor to blast electricity and energy at Amazing Spider-Man and another Spider-Man. Electro continued to use the Arc Reactor to battle the Spider-Men.

However, Doctor Octopus arrived and removed the Arc Reactor from Electro's chest and put his cure in its place. After setting a cured Dillon down with his tentacles, Octavius looked at the Arc Reactor and appreciated that the power of the sun was in the palm of his hand.[12]

Alternate Universe Versions[]

Avengers: Endgame[]

"Stark, you– your chest machine?"
Thor to Tony Stark[src]

In an alternate 2012, Tony Stark helped Scott Lang temporary disable the alternate 2012 Stark's Arc Reactor so that they could steal the Tesseract. The disabling of the Arc Reactor caused the 2012 Stark to go into cardiarc arrhythmia. However, Thor hit the Arc Reactor with Mjølnir and managed to reactivate it, saving the younger Stark's life.[11]

What If...?[]

Assassination of Tony Stark[]

In an alternate 2010, Tony Stark, wearing his Mark IV armor, sat with Nick Fury at Randy's Donuts and discussed the Avengers Initiative. Natasha Romanoff, in the middle of the discussion, injected him with lithium dioxide to abate the palladium blood poisoning caused by his Arc Reactor. However, Hank Pym, who hid himself in the needle, entered Stark's body and ruptured his organs, causing him to die.[13]

Zombie Apocalypse[]

To be added

Notes[]

  • The Arc Reactor is based on the reactor of the same name in the comics, both having almost the same appearance and functionality.
  • In the Iron Man 2 novelization, the element created for the new arc reactor is referred to as vibranium. However, in the movie continuity, vibranium is a metal compound from the region of Wakanda that was used to create Captain America's shield; it was not an element created by Howard Stark and used in the arc reactor. Therefore, while he would not have continued to become sicker once the palladium reactor was removed, a multi-month course of treatment should have been needed to remove the material already in his body.

Trivia[]

  • The Arc Reactor bears a striking resemblance to the Guyver Unit, from the 1980s manga and anime series Bio Booster Armor Guyver. The Arc Reactor debuted in the 2000s, some two decades after Guyver.
  • The way the Arc Reactor appears as a glowing orb on Iron Man's chest also bears a resemblance to the superhero Ultraman, who also had a glowing orb in his chest since the 1966 TV show. While there wasn't a glowing orb on Iron Man's chest until the 2000s.

Gallery[]

External Links & References[]

Template:Reflist

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Iron Man 2
  2. Agent Carter: 2.07: Monsters
  3. Marvel Studios: Character Encyclopedia
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Iron Man
  5. The Avengers
  6. 6.0 6.1 Iron Man 3
  7. Avengers: Age of Ultron
  8. 8.0 8.1 Captain America: Civil War
  9. Spider-Man: Homecoming
  10. 10.0 10.1 Avengers: Infinity War
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 Avengers: Endgame
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Spider-Man: No Way Home
  13. What If...?: 1.03: What If... The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?
Advertisement