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.
The Arc Reactor was a power core made out of palladium, and was the initial power source of the first Iron Man Mark suits, and was later modified to an advanced level by Tony to power his suits, as it kept on improving. The second arc reactor is made of an element that Tony Stark created in the second movie.
Stark Industries was once powered by an Arc Reactor, but it was destroyed when Pepper overloaded it. It is unknown what happened to the reactor after this event.
The Arc Reactor is also the power source of Stark Tower and a mini arc reactor was created to power the Iron Man suit.
Types
Original Arc Reactor
Created by Howard Stark, the Large Arc Reactor powered Stark Industries for years before Tony created the original arc reactor.
Palladium Mini-Arc Reactor Mark II
Created by Tony Stark after returning home, the Palladium Mini-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 to power it as he is unable to replicate the technology. Tony faces him using the Mark III but is inadequate to power his suit properly. Finally, Tony has Pepper Potts overload the Large Arc Reactor powering Stark Industries and Stane, his suit and this reactor are incinerated in the explosion.
Palladium Arc Reactor Mark III
The Palladium Arc Reactor Mark III was the reactor used by Tony to power his armors and electromagnet in the movie, Iron Man 2. Presumably created to replace the one stolen from him by Stane and eventually replaced by an improved reactor as the palladium was slowly poisoning Tony to death. Each of his armors had one of these powering it rather than relying on the one powering his electromagnet to do both, allowing James Rhodes to steal the Mark II suit.
The New Element Arc Reactor Mark I
The new element Arc Reactor Mark I was the Arc Reactor created by Tony after he re-discovered an element, and tried to synthesize it, resulting in the new and more powerful clean energy.
The New Element Arc Reactor Mark II
Tony eventually replaced the Mark I reactor with the Mark II to power his Iron Legion and electromagnet. 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 Iron Legion's destruction Tony perfected Mark XLII design resulting in Mark XLIII and its Modular extension Mark XLIV (Hulkbuster). Powered by multipe new Reactors Mark XLIV managed to take down the Incredible Hulk in South Africa. The Mark XLV also utilized new gen Reactor in conjunction with 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 with high power level remaining) and removal of said charge when on ground as well as higher intensity of said blasts (capable of destroying Ultron bots in one blast).
The New Element Arc Reactor Mark IV
Utilized by Mark XLVI and XLVII this new reactor burrowed idea from Mark XLIV's Multiple RT design. Allowing some 100kg suit to operate even with main RT damaged or destroyed and providing great power distribution which results equally fast weapons grade Repulsor blasts both while in flight and on ground. Main RTs blast was powerful enough to vaporize Winter Soldier's Bionic Arm.
The New Element Arc Reactor Mark V
This is the Most advanced Reactor designed by Stark. This heart shaped reactor 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 forming of not only the Iron Man Mark L armor but all the modules needed depending on situation. Reactor like its previous itteration also works in conjunction to bigger more efficent Micro-RTs to provide better power distribution and powering new formed modules. With this increased power Iron Man sent Cull Obsidian flying with his brand new Energy Displacer cannons.
History
Iron Man (film)
Tony uses the new arc reactor to power his Mark II and Mark III suits, but has it stolen by Obadiah Stane to power his own Iron Monger suit. Tony reclaims his Mark I reactor and uses it to power the Mark III suit in the battle against Iron Monger.
The reactor isn't powerful enough to power the suit for long so Tony has Pepper overload the Large Arc Reactor, creating an energy surge and kick that kills Stane and destroys the Mark II reactor while the Mark I runs out of power. Tony later creates the Mark III reactor to replace his destroyed Mark II.
Iron Man 2
The palladium in the reactor is slowly poisoning Tony to death. He has created arc reactors to power all of his suits, allowing James Rhodes to steal the Mark II suit and turn it into War Machine. He later creates a new reactor made of a new element that no longer poisons him and greatly increases the power he has access to. To match this, he creates the Mark VI suit which takes advantage of the greater power for increased capability. Ivan Vanko also creates his own arc reactors to power his whips and armor which he knows how to do as his father was Howard Stark's partner in creating the first arc reactor.
The Avengers
Tony uses a new massive Arc Reactor to power Stark Tower. Loki later uses this to power his wormhole device before J.A.R.V.I.S. turns it off.
Iron Man 3
During the final battle, Pepper takes down the Mark IX suit by punching through its arc reactor. The arc reactors powering the Iron Legion are destroyed when J.A.R.V.I.S. self-destructs the suits. Tony later has surgery to have the shrapnel removed from his chest with an arc reactor powered electromagnet catching the pieces once they are removed. Afterward, as the arc reactor is no longer needed to power the electromagnet, Tony pitches it into the sea.
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, the element in the new arc reactor has yet to be named.
- The physical reaction experienced by Tony when he inserts the New Element Arc Reactor into his body does not correspond to how normal heavy metal poisoning works. 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 Iron Man also had a circular hole in his chest since the 1968 Iron Man comics, there was no glowing orb on Iron Man's chest until the 2000s.
Raymond Bolando
Gallery
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External Links & References
Bishwarup Sinha Roy