Tony gave the armor to Kevin o'Brien, who became a armored hero calling himself simply Guardsman. The armor drove him insane and he was succeeded by his brother Michael. Tony Stark briefly wore the Guardsman armor himself when Michael o'Brien was acting as Iron Man.

When Obidiah Stane took over Tony's company he mass produced the Guardsman Armor for the U.S. government. The armor design was embraced by the Commission on Superhuman Activities and used outfit the security at The Vault and other facilities. While in the employ of the Commission on Superhuman Activities, the new Captain America and Bucky briefly wore Guardsman armor.