The actual Iron Owl Armor in use
The Prototype Iron Owl Armor as it appears in the original Watchmen.
The Iron Owl Armor was an exoskeletal suit developed by Dan Dreiberg in the early 1970's. While initially an engineering failure, the suit would resurface in the Blight-Owl arc in a much cleaner, modern design, in addition to the "heavy rad" Owl Suit.
Specifications[]
The suit is made of a special iron-titanium alloy, coated with a clear liquid resin developed by Dr. Manhattan. This allows it to stay off of most radar and tracking equipment, as well as withstand intense heat and cold.
The mechanized exoskeleton grants the wearer strength "equal to that of ten gorillas" - the descriptor never changed in the comic, but the strength level fluctuated strangely, often in the span of a single issue.
The suit has four hydrogen-powered rocket thrusters, two on the feet and two on a small backpack. The rockets can break the sound barrier at less than half power, but they have a tendency to overheat quickly.
The suit is also equipped with twin sub-machine guns, a collapsible minigun, and a grenade launcher modified to launch miniaturized "Manhattan bombs."