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I realize this is probably going to come off as a bit silly, but in Iron Man II how could James Rhodes easily don the Mark II armor that was designed to fit Tony Stark? As you can see in this image (which isn't an "in universe" shot) Tony and Rhodey are roughly the same height, but it appears that Rhodey has a smaller frame than Tony, which would seem to make for an ill fit of the armor, especially for flight.Tony and Rhodey

This issue could of course have been addressed by the Air Force during the retrofit with Justin Hammer.

Monty129
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    I'm not a comic fanboy or anything, but I think they'll agree with me if I speculate that the armor can adjust itself a few percent in some dimensions. The way it's depicted onscreen, with multiple overlapping pieces screwing together and "dialing" in a correct fit, it doesn't seem far-fetched that someone as similar in overall weight and size as Rhodey would be able to fit into it. – John O Mar 13 '13 at 17:02
  • I'm not at home to check my copies, but out-of-universe heights shouldn't really be considered. Through various methods (camera trickery or just using apple boxes), actors heights are often changed in movies. It's entirely possible that they are the same height in the film. – phantom42 Mar 13 '13 at 17:02
  • @JohnO Those overlapping pieces are the control surfaces for flight, they could be adjusted to accomodate greater or less mass but the interior of the suit wouldn't fit right, and would need to maintane a ridgid structure for support and protection. – Monty129 Mar 13 '13 at 17:06
  • @phantom42 I agree they could be made to look the same height, but even something as small as a 1 inch difference in waist size, or one shoe size would make for an ill fit to the suit and create difficulty. – Monty129 Mar 13 '13 at 17:08
  • Not all of them, we clearly see surfaces that are internal overlap just before an external surface slides into place to cover. I'll try to find a video clip later this evening. – John O Mar 13 '13 at 17:20
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    I can't imagine that Tony would be foolish enough to build the suit without some sort of wiggle room even for himself. If I eat a particularly heavy meal, my jeans may fit tight - or may not fit at all. Less of an issue for me, more of an issue if for some reason he built the suit to be strictly tailor-fitted for only himself with exact measurements. – phantom42 Mar 13 '13 at 17:24
  • @phantom42 I would think in order to provide maximum protection from G forces he would need it to fit as snuggly as possible. If there was any wiggle room when he banked hard to one side or the outher he would end up with some pretty bad bruises or more serious injuries. – Monty129 Mar 13 '13 at 18:52
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    @Monty129 - as discussed earlier, the physics and safety of the Iron Man suits make no sense (unless you start throwing in unsupported theories) – phantom42 Mar 13 '13 at 20:40
  • @phantom42 true, but even basic locomotion would be difficult if there was room to slide around inside – Monty129 Mar 13 '13 at 20:59

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All the scenes of Tony donning armor involve considerable mechanical adjustment to fit Tony's frame. From a control systems perspective, the best way to do that is via feedback (e.g. tighten boots until they exert a certain amount of pressure).

Thus, as long as Rhodey was vaguely close to Tony's size, the suit should have just fit--maybe not as well as it fit Tony, but still quite well (unless Tony built it with truly tiny tolerances, which is probably inadvisable if he ever wanted to wear it after e.g. eating a large meal). A smart suit would also notice that its auto-fitting was out of its normal parameters and--if it hadn't already--would presumably perform additional identity checks, so this answer doesn't contradict the "Rhodey was supposed to take it" answers.

Rex Kerr
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    It should be also added that Tony Stark PLANNED on Rhody taking that suit. He surely would make sure it could fit him. – Petersaber Nov 24 '17 at 18:05
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When Nick Fury confronts Stark later on about Rhodey taking his suit, Natasha points out that there were a number of countermeasures against just anybody putting the armor on and being able to use it. The implication is that Tony intended for Rhodes to take it and as such probably recalibrated it to work for and fit him.

T.J.L.
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Michael Brown
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  • The countermeasures she was referring to where to gain access to the Iron Works not don the suit. But since Rhodey already had access that was a moot point. – Monty129 Mar 14 '13 at 01:45
  • And it was Natasha, Maria Hill doesn't appear until the Avengers. – Monty129 Mar 14 '13 at 01:56
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Tony Stark plays way ahead of the curve. I believe the armor was specifically built and intended for Rhodes, his trusted friend, from the beginning. It was obviously not for himself and it's unlikely, given his protective attitude about the armor technology, that he intended it for mass production.

Morgan
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    So, the Mark 2 Armor which Tony built as a first test for the new design of the armor was actually intended for Rhodey to wear? That seems rather unlikely. – phantom42 Mar 13 '13 at 18:14
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    @phantom42 - Tony could've modified it later. Rhodey did seem to be extremely comfortable inside the armor for someone whose supposedly donning it for the first time. – System Down Mar 13 '13 at 18:43
  • The Mark II was built directly onto Tony's body alone, I could see this being an argument for the Mark III and up but the silver armor was basically a proof of concept for all the ideas he had wanted to incorporate when he came up with the original suit in the "CAVE WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS!!" – Monty129 Mar 13 '13 at 18:54
  • @SystemDown, sure, but that's not really the same as saying it was built for him from the beginning and that it wasn't for himself. – phantom42 Mar 13 '13 at 18:54
  • Here's some supporting data for my contention that the armor was intended for Rhodes: – Morgan Mar 13 '13 at 19:17
  • I don't know if I'm responding correctly in this venue, but here's some supporting data for my contention that the armor was intended for Rhodes: War Machine Armor (Variable Threat Response Battle Suit, Mark I)

    Main article: War Machine First Appearance: Iron Man (vol. 1) #281 Officially known as the Variable Threat Response Battle Suit. A later version, Mark II Model JRXL-1000, was designed and built for James Rhodes, which became a full-fledged superhero identity for him as War Machine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Man's_armor

     – Morgan Mar 13 '13 at 19:36
  • That's from the comics continuity, which is separate from the movie universe. – Monty129 Mar 13 '13 at 20:04
  • In the comics the War Machine platform was never built on top of any pre-existing suits in the way it is in the films. – Monty129 Mar 13 '13 at 20:13
  • We know that the armor was built for Rhodes (per the comic reference) and we know that the movie, both through inference and because it's loosly based on the comic, was going to place Rhodes in the War Machine armor. We can conclude that even in the movie Stark intended to put Rhodes in armor as a backup or 'wingman' if the situation demanded. Note he interrupts Rhodes who's giving a flight brief in the hanger after the press conference. He tells Rhodes, "I'm working on something big, Rhodey, I want you to be a part of it". That's the first 'tell' that he's planning armor for Rhodes. – Morgan Mar 13 '13 at 21:51
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    Or he wanted to tell Rhodey what he was working on because he was a trusted friend. He also told Pepper but there is no evidence so far that he tailored a suit for her too. – phantom42 Mar 13 '13 at 22:27
  • Even if Tony had intended for Rhodey to be the wearer of the final product, he built the Mark II around his own body, and therefor it shouldn't have fit. – Monty129 Mar 14 '13 at 01:47
  • In the first Ironmam movie, Stark even kept the Ironman secret from Obadiah Stain his lifelong friend and surrogate father figure. In the movie there are a couple of references to Stark upgrading his armor but it was always the armor he wore, not a seporate suit hanging back in the shop. – Morgan Mar 14 '13 at 06:16