Mark XLI - Bones

"Gentlemen."

- J.A.R.V.I.S. addressing the Extremis Soldiers through the Mark XLI before attacking them.

The Mark XLI (Mark 41), also known by its name as "Bones", is a Skeleton Suit, and was one of several new Iron Man Armors created by Tony Stark as part of the Iron Legion. The armor was created sometime after the Battle of New York.

It was featured in Iron Man 3, and made its debut when Tony ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to initiate the "House Party Protocol", in which it was activated along with the rest of the Iron Legion to aid Tony in his battle against Aldrich Killian.

The suit earned its name "Bones", because of its external appearance which has a thin plating with the internal contents of the suit being exposed. The suit specializes in speed and maneuverability and is much lighter than the regular Iron Man armor.

Armor Design
The Mark XLI has black and silver plates which cover the internal systems of the armor as well as serve as the strong but thin layer of armor to protect the user operating within the suit. In its overall design it has thin golden lining and also has gold plates across it's streamlined body armor.

These designs are used to increase its maneuverability, which gives it the appearance of a skeleton, hence the name of the suit's type.

Armor Separation
The Mark XLI has the special and unique ability to separate its armor pieces and fly separately.

Speed
With the Mark XLI's lightweight structure, its speed has increased greatly compared to other Iron Man armors. Having been built to be more maneuverable and faster in speed, the Mark XLI can easily dodge obstacles or projectiles thrown at it.

Its speed may not match that of the Mark XL's, but it can swiftly fly around without any difficulty. Because of its light structure, the Mark XLI is the most versatile of Tony's armors.

Flexibility
The Mark XLI's structure gives it several unique abilities. For example, The suit has very smooth joints, which makes movement very easy. Aside from this, the armor itself lacks the regular plating on an Iron Man armor, which would increase the weight and bulk of the suit.

Combining all these factors, the Mark XLI is a very flexible armor and movement made by the user would be very swift and easily done. The armor's flexibility allows it to dodge obstacles easily, as well as projectiles that are thrown at it.

Armor Add-Ons


Built as an exoskeleton suit of an Iron Man Armor, the Mark XLI has little plating covering its entire structure, which makes its defense level weak and vulnerable to powerful attacks. Although plateless, the Mark XLI has a special mechanism that allows other armor parts to attach to the uncovered areas of the armor.

The suit allows any usable Iron Man armor plates to be able to attach to the armor and interlock with the suit, which makes it possible to have armor to cover its internal systems.

Donning System
The Mark XLI, along with all the other newly built Mark suits, uses a more advanced technology that was based off on the Mark VII's technology, which is able to wrap itself around Tony's body, without the aid of robotic arms or any external mechanicals.

It can flexibly open itself to allow Tony to enter into the suit and automatically wrap itself around him, anywhere at anytime, much like the Mark XLII's technology and the other newly built Mark suits'.

Lightweight
Having been built to be lighter than the usual Iron Man suit, to help enhance its speed and maneuverability, the suit is still suitable for combat, despite its limited weapons, but is not as combat ready as the usual Iron Man suit. The suit is limited to light combat.

Repulsors
The Mark XLI has standard Repulsors.

Unibeam
The Unibeam of the Mark XLI is circular in shape and its outer covering is plated with thick golden lining. The suit has twice the power output as the Mark VII's Unibeam due to its new and improved Arc Reactor Mark II, which it uses just like the other suits.

Other Weapons
Since the Mark XLI can replace damaged parts with the parts from previously built armors, it could have some of their weapons. For example, if one of its arms was damaged and it replaced it with the Mark XXXI Piston’s arm, it would then be equipped with a rocket and lasers on that arm.

The Iron Legion and Creation
Sometime after the Battle of New York, Tony Stark, who was haunted by his near death experience from the event, suffered from post traumatic stress disorder, became paranoid and obsessed with security.

Because of this, Stark began working on the Iron Legion, and through its development, created several Iron Man Armors, from the Mark VIII to the Mark XL, all featuring various designs and purposes. After the Mark XL / Shotgun's completion, Stark proceeded to working on his next armor.

Somewhere between November and Christmas 2013, Tony ventured onto creating a new design as well as a new type of technology for the Iron Man Armor. Stark's work resulted in the birth of the "Prehensile Technology" and the all-new Mark XLI.

The Mark XLI was a completely new armor in design and in capabilities, and would also serve as the prototype base armor for future Iron Man Armors. Stark designed the suit as an external skeleton for the Iron Man Armor which gave the armor a plate-less appearance. All of these features gave room for an increase in speed, maneuverability and flexibility for the user. During the time period Tony spent working on the Mark XLI, he gave it the name "Bones" because of its skeletal appearance.



It was presumed that the armor was tested a number of times before it achieved full functionality and was certified combat ready.

Completion and Storage
When the the Mark XLI was completed, Stark stored it in the Hall of Armors Chamber beneath his Malibu House for future use. After Bone's success, Tony began working on its successor. Realizing the capabilities of his new prehensile tech, Stark continued to improve it and combined it into his next armor, resulting into the prototype Mark XLII.

Malibu Raid
When Tony's Malibu Mansion was raided, and later destroyed, the Mark XLI along with the rest of the Iron Legion were still stored safely within the Hall of Armors Chamber, as it was left undamaged during the attack. The chamber was still intact, completely sealed, and concealed from view.

This was part of Stark's plan, in which the Iron Legion was to be used later after he uncovered the truth behind the Mandarin and A.I.M.

Activation of the "House Party Protocol"
The Mark XLI was activated by J.A.R.V.I.S. along with all the other armors in the Hall of Armors under the "House Party Protocol". It then flew out of the Hall of Armors and went towards the Roxxon Oil Rig, together with the other 35 armors.

When Tony gives J.A.R.V.I.S. the order to "Target all Extremis heat signatures. Disable with extreme prejudice." J.A.R.V.I.S. replies with "Yes sir!" which echoes throughout all the armors, including the Mark XLI.

The armor then begin targeting and attacking the Extremis Soldiers in the area, fighting them off in the ensuing battle.

The armour is later seen hovering in front of five Extremis soldiers. Jarvis, who was controlling the armour, remarks, "Gentlemen," as the armour then splits apart. The corresponding pieces fly into the Extremis soldiers and knock them off the platform, presumably killing all five of them. The armour pieces then reassemble. The suit doesn't make an on screen appearance for the rest of the movie.

Because the Mark XLI is plateless, not suited for heavy combat, vulnerable to powerful attacks, and has a weak defense level, it was most likely destroyed in battle by the Extremis Soldiers.

Trivia

 * The Mark XLI was one of the many suits that could be seen in the Iron Man 3 movie theatrical poster, along with the Marks XVI, XVII, XXIV, XXXIII, and XXXIX, with the Mark XLII being worn by Tony.


 * The Mark XLI is the lightest in weight out of all the other suits, the second lightest being the Mark XLII and the third being the Mark V.


 * Since it was built for maneuverability and speed, the Mark XLI takes on a skeleton-like appearance in its design, including its helmet. Because of this, the armor is known as a Skeleton Suit.
 * This armor is the only armor to feature plateless, skeletal designs throughout its body.
 * Though Mark XLI was mentioned to have Plate Add-on Capabilities, it was never seen in the movie Iron Man 3 replacing its exposed internals with other Armor Plates.