Mark XXIII - Shades

The Mark XXIII (Mark 23), also known by its name as "Shades", is an Extreme Heat 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.

The suit 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 all the other suits to aid Tony in his battle against Aldrich Killian.

The suit earned its name "Shades" for its ability to withstand extreme temperatures in the heat, because of its multiple-layered and anti-heat armor plating, which was built within the suit by Tony to prevent the suit from melting and eventually burning the user inside of it.

Armor Design
The Mark XXIII is a dark streamlined suit, that has multiple layered armored plating to protect against intense heat. The streamlined design for this suit was later refined into the Hyper Velocity Suit, Mark XL "Shotgun".

It has a Desert Military Design on its armor plating, used to camouflage itself in the heat. It is the first and only armor to have this design, making it fairly unique.

Special

 * Thrusters: The Mark XXIII has Thrusters equipped to its back.

Systems

 * JARVIS OS: JARVIS is integrated into the armor.
 * Donning System: The Mark XXIII, 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 mechanics. 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 42 's technology and the other newly built Mark suits'.

Armor Composition
The armor is composed of a reinforced carbon and gold-titanium alloy.

Armor Capabilities

 * Flight: The Mark XXIII like all other new generation Iron Man Armors has the ability of flight because of it's propulsion systems.

Special

 * Extreme Heat Resistance: The Mark XXIII was built to withstand extreme heat in the hottest places in the world. With its Desert Camouflage Design, the armor's heat resistance is just more than enough to withstand the heat of a desert, and possibly the molten lava in a Volcano.

Weapons

 * Repulsors: The Mark XXIII has the standard based Repulsor technology.


 * Unibeam: The Mark XXIII has a rectangular shaped Unibeam, that is located in-between the two plates in its chest piece.

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 and became obsessed with security.

Because of this, Stark began working on the Iron Legion, and through its development, created several Iron Man Armors, which were the Mark's VIII-XXII all with various designs and purposes. After the Mark XXII / Hotrod's initial completion, Stark proceeded to working on his next armor, the all-new Mark XXIII.

It was presumed that the armor was tested a number of times before it was fully functional and ready for combat.

Completion and Storage
After completing the armor, Stark stored it in the Hall of Armors Chamber beneath his Malibu House, where all the other previous Iron Man Armors he completed were stored in as well.

With Shades's completion, Stark proceeded to work on the next armor, the Mark XXIV / Tank.

Malibu Raid
When Tony's Malibu Mansion was raided, and later destroyed, the Mark XXIII 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"
When Tony summons the Iron Legion to aid in the battle against Aldrich Killian and his Extremis Soldiers, the Mark XXIII is one of the suits that shows up.

The Mark XXIII was activated by J.A.R.V.I.S. along with all the other armors in the basement of Tony Stark's Malibu Mansion, under the order of the House Party Protocol given out by Tony. It then flew out of the Hall of Armors and lead the way as it went towards the Roxxon Oil Rig together with all the other 34 armors.

Arrival with the Iron Legion
When the Iron Legion arrived, it surrounded the area with the other armors and waited for Tony's commands. It can be seen hovering with it's back thruster on to hold in place the other armors in the background, as the Extremis Soldiers stand surprised with the arrival of the Iron Legion. It was hovering next to the Mark XXIV.

When Tony orders J.A.R.V.I.S. to "Target Extremis heat signatures. Disable with extreme prejudice.", J.A.R.V.I.S. responds by saying "Yes sir!", which echoes out through all of the suits, including the Mark XXIII.

The armor then starts targeting and attacking the Extremis Soldiers. It fights them off during the ongoing battle with help of the other armors. The armor never makes an appearance fighting the Extremis Soldiers on-screen but it is on the screen when the Mark XXXVIII goes to attack.

The armor was presumed to have fought and killed several extremis soldiers during the fight, as it was one of the last 21 armors left standing and succeeded in eliminating the remaining extremis forces with the help of the other Iron Legion armors. The Mark XXIII then resumes to flying around the oil rig in the aftermath of the battle.

"Clean Slate Protocol"
The Mark XXIII was then detonated by J.A.R.V.I.S. for fireworks along with the other 20 armors, under the Tony's order of the "Clean Slate Protocol". This was to show Tony's devotion to his girlfriend, Pepper Potts. It was the 7th suit to detonate.

Trivia

 * The Mark XXIII is the first suit to feature a streamlined armor design, with protective-layer covering. The design was later used and perfected on the more advanced armor, which was the Mark XL.


 * This is the first armor to feature a Desert Military design in its appearance. Having a brown and yellow military design on its leg platings, it was based on the same design used by soldiers in the Real World, when they go to locations with extreme heat during their missions. The design was mainly used for camouflage when in an extremely hot environment making people wonder why he did not don this armor during his skirmish with Aldrich Killian.


 * The Mark XXIII is the third armor to use a customized design in its armor plating. The second being the Mark XXII, and the first being the Mark XV.