- "We just gotta load up Tony's old Hulkbuster armor."
- ―Happy Hogan[src]
The Mark XLIV Armor, better known as the Hulkbuster, was Tony Stark's forty-fourth Iron Man suit, made with the help of Bruce Banner. Created solely for the purpose of restraining Hulk, it is a modular suit that Stark donned while already in another armor, such as the Mark XLIII. It was launched from an orbital tracking platform known as Veronica. It was used by Stark to fight Hulk during the Duel of Johannesburg.
History
Duel of Johannesburg

Iron Man dons the Hulkbuster Armor
After Scarlet Witch manipulated Doctor Bruce Banner into turning into Hulk, Tony Stark had no other choice but to deploy the system as all of the other Avengers with the exception of Hawkeye were incapacitated. The armor was deployed from Veronica and came split into two separate parts. The first part was a metal containment shell which helped to confine Hulk for a brief period of time.

The enraged Hulk had soon managed to break himself free. Ordering the South African police to stand down from the fight, Iron Man tried to get through to Bruce Banner by telling him that Wanda Maximoff was had disrupted his mind with utter rage, telling him that Banner was stronger and smarter than her. However, the mention of Banner's name only seemed to enrage Hulk even further. When all of Iron Man's attempts to calm Hulk had failed, the two began to fight. Hulk launched a car at Iron Man, knocking him back, so Iron Man responded by flying to Hulk and dragging him face first through the concrete. When Hulk damaged the armor, Stark called for extra parts and used its many capabilities to try to knock Hulk down. With Hulk charging at him, Iron Man kept him at bay with his gauntlet beam while his arm was repaired.

Hulk charged forward and the pair smashed their fists into each other, causing a shockwave through Johannesburg. Pinning Hulk to the ground, Iron Man began repeatedly punching him in the face and begging him to go to sleep and finish their fight; however, Hulk's rage only continued to build. Iron Man attempted to trap his arm with the armor and fly him out of the city in order to protect the people, with Hulk still fighting back.

As Iron Man attempted to fly Hulk out of the city, he continued to fight back and forced Iron Man to crash land on the side of a large building. As Hulk furiously tried to rip him apart, Iron Man pushed him against a wall and tried spraying gas in his face, although this tactic had almost no effect. As they continued fighting, Iron Man was aware that behind him an elevator filled with people were standing just a few feet away from the battle as they attempted to escape.

Iron Man saves a group of innocent civilians
When he was kicked back with incredible force, Iron Man crashed into the elevator filled with innocent people, forcing him to catch it before it hit the ground as he ordered everyone to get out while they still could. Iron Man then proceeded to use the elevator as a weapon as he slammed it down onto Hulk's head. Once Hulk was stunned, Iron Man hit him across the face, knocking out one of his teeth, an action which Iron Man then soon regretted.

The enraged Hulk then proceeded to smash Iron Man across the city, attempting to rip out the Arc Reactors powering the armor. Despite trying to get assistance from Veronica, Hulk proved to be too strong as he tore the armor apart. Eventually, Iron Man resorted to dropping Hulk through a building still going through construction; this massive impact seemingly calmed Hulk enough that Stark could knock him out with a final massive punch to the head.[1]
Moving Day
The armor was kept at Avengers Tower until one day in 2016, it was loaded onto a cargo plane headed to the Avengers Compound. However, the plane was hijacked by Vulture and subsequently crashed on Coney Island.[2]
Capabilities
Deployable automatic assembled parts are launched from Veronica for real-time customization of the Hulkbuster armor and versatile combat capability.
- Superhuman Strength:
- Superhuman Durability: The armor was built to be much stronger than any previous suits, to take more extreme damage, such as Hulk's brutal attacks.
- Superhuman Speed: To be added
- Superhuman Stamina: To be added
- Superhuman Reflexes: To be added
- Flight: Like all other armors, the Mark XLIV has flight capabilities, although given its size, its speed and mobility are reduced.
- Heads Up Display (HUD):
The Mark XLIV Heads-Up Display
- Self-Contained Life-Support System and Environmental Protection: To be added
- Armor Summoning: To be added
- Veronica Replacement Parts:
Iron Man with a new left arm
- Veronica Replacement Parts:
- Repulsors: The armor has the ability to shoot repulsor beams strong enough to hold down Hulk, if only for a while.
- Missiles: The XLIV is able to launch small missiles which Stark used to increase damage to Hulk after dropping him into the building under construction.
- Autonomic Prehensile Propulsion Technology:
Iron Man suits up in the Hulkbuster Armor
- Grappling Hook: It is used to hold Hulk down long enough to use the Repulsor Beams on Hulk.
- Hydraulic Rams: An addition to both arms of the armor, make them capable of delivering powerful blows, and use the fists as a jackhammer.
- Sleeping Gas: The suit had a set of sleeping gas canisters outfitted in its arm which Stark tried to use on Hulk.
Appearances
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- WHiH Newsfront
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (mentioned)
- What If...?
- Season One
- What If... The Watcher Broke His Oath? (alternate timeline)
- Season One
- Avengers: Infinity War (mentioned)
- WandaVision
- Season One
- The Series Finale (memory)
- Season One
Trivia
- Though the suit's full grappling hook was not seen in the movie, part of it can be seen during the fight between Iron Man and Hulk.
- Veronica's name is a reference to a character from the Archie Comics named Veronica Lodge who is the rival of Betty Cooper, a character who shares her name with Betty Ross, the former love interest of Bruce Banner. Director Joss Whedon said: "I just decided to call [the armor] Veronica because [Banner] used to be in love with a girl named Betty and Veronica is the opposite of that." [3]
References
External Links
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