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In Avengers vs. X-Men #2, Magneto clashes with Iron Man. According to the comic, "if you think this is no contest, you've never met Tony Stark.". I freely admit never meeting Tony Stark, so why isn't this no contest?

Gallifreyan
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dlanod
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    What happens in the comic? I'm sure the answer has to do with Tony's genius. If there's a way to create technology to accomplish a task, he can probably figure it out. There have been plenty of technologies in different earths that have nullified mutant powers. I wouldn't put it past Tony to create one, or else figure out how to use the repulsor rays to cancel out the magnetic forces. – David Stratton Apr 20 '12 at 23:44
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    Or even just make a suit out of non-magnetic material. – Izkata Apr 20 '12 at 23:51
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    Nothing else happens. That's the last panel to show them fighting. – dlanod Apr 20 '12 at 23:51
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    So, it is likely that whatever Tony has in store is going to be revealed in the next issue ;) Most of his suits have been shown to control electromagnetic fields somehow. Being the control freak he is, I would think he always had a plan to deal with Magneto. – Wilerson Apr 21 '12 at 00:05
  • Looks like Wilerson nailed it: AVX:VS #1 - Magneto vs Iron Man (and Thing vs Namor). So I guess someone gets the chance to post a conclusive answer in the next few days! :) – dlanod Apr 25 '12 at 21:49

3 Answers3

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Tony has a carbon fiber suit and, I think, Stark manipulated some Kree or Shi'ar tech to make a useful suit for a fight against Magneto.

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dlanod
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Marius Balaban
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    This would be the most obvious answer, that the Iron Man suit be made of some non-magnetic material. – eidylon Apr 22 '12 at 01:04
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    And it's spot on, according to AVX: VS. I attached the relevant panels. – dlanod Apr 29 '12 at 02:54
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    For the record, carbon nanotubes may be less magnetic than metal but it has been proven that if ferrous materials are directed toward carbon nanotube materials they CAN be magnetized. If only Magneto kept up on his scholarly reading: http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2004/mar/08/carbon-nanotubes-go-magnetic. – Thaddeus Howze Apr 29 '12 at 03:15
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    By "directed" you mean placed in contact with. So Magneto would have to get Stark to place his armor in contact with (or very close to) magnetic materials. At the least, it's not a simple application anymore of Magneto's powers; Magneto could try to surround Stark somehow with metal and then magnetize it, but it's not like Stark is going to sit idly by while this is happening. – Chan-Ho Suh Aug 23 '12 at 01:02
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    Considering that Magneto has the power to create aneurysms in a human body using only the iron in their blood, I fail to see how carbon nanotubes changes the outcome. – GetSet Aug 23 '12 at 14:21
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    I'll also add that anything powered by electricity can be interfered with or stopped with a sufficiently strong magnetic field – GetSet Aug 23 '12 at 14:23
  • Name's Tony Stark, you may know me from using my intellect to routinely save the world. :Magneto: Well F – King of NES Jun 06 '19 at 13:22
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I have one word for you, to quote Jarvis from AvX Round 2 (11 pages in): Anti-magnetism Safeguards

Ok, that's two words, or three depending on how you slice it. Regardless carbon nanotubes alone won't help Tony. The 'extreme magnetic fields' Jarvis detects would fry the electronics in the suit as eddy currents, and other currents were induced in the magnetic field.

With my knowledge of physics I don't know how Stark could enact 'anti-magnetism safeguards' that wouldn't let Magneto abuse the Meissner effect (the thing that allows magnetic levitation of superconductors) or something similar.

AncientSwordRage
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    Good point. It seems it comes down to who has the most advanced knowledge. Magneto might "get" a lot of things intuitively (being the master of magnetism and all), but Stark has the benefit of research experience and I doubt Magneto sits around researching physics literature like the way Stark (or his computers, assistants, etc) does. – Chan-Ho Suh Aug 23 '12 at 01:07
  • I don't think stark studies anything...he's just that awesome. – AncientSwordRage Aug 23 '12 at 01:15
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Magnetic metals include iron, nickel, cobalt and most of their alloys. Some forms of steel are magnetic, while others are not. Non magnetic metals include aluminium, copper, lead, tin, titanium and zinc, and alloys such as brass and bronze. Precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum are also not magnetic.
Identifying Common Materials in Antiques: A Pocket Guide (page 61)

These metals can be used by Iron Man to make his non-magnetic suite.

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jastere
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