History Main / InstantArmor

* The Bio-Booster Armour from ''Manga/{{Guyver}}''. The live-action movies had them erupt from bumps on the TheProtagonist neck from some form of {{Hammerspace}}. The anime and manga just directly summons it from {{Hammerspace}} with a mini SphereOfDestruction that vaporizes any enemy foolish enough to get close to you while transforming.

* Comicbook/BlackPanther's suit eventually gained this ability in TheNineties. A memorable scene from the first issue of Creator/{{Christopher Priest|Comics}}'s first issue had T'Challa change from a business suit into his Panther gear in the time it took from him to cross from underneath one streetlight to another.

** In ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'', Shuri makes T'Challa a new Panther suit that uses nano-technology to keep it stored inside a necklace and will instantaneously suit him up when needed. She lampshades the notion of heroes fumbling around trying to put on an outfit as the reasoning for the upgrade.

* In ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' and subsequently in ''Smash Brothers'', the metal cap/green block turns Mario/any smasher into a heavy armored version of themselves.

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' furnishes a partial example with Guts's cursed and magical Berserker Armor. The part of it that Guts normally wears behaves like regular armor which he needs to carry around by wearing it, but the helmet and arm defenses materialize out of his cape and snap shut to enclose him whenever he enters a berserker frenzy. As soon as he's back to normal, the helmet and arms withdraw back into {{hammerspace}}.

* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', [[spoiler:Titan shifting]] is essentially a particularly bizarre and extreme version of this, [[spoiler:conjuring a colossal organic 'suit' around yourself out of thin air]].

[[caption-width-right:300:Good thing too, cause that armor would have been a bitch to put on.]]

** in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsDreamDropDistance'', [[spoiler:Ventus's armor protects Sora from the darkness when Sora's heart falls asleep. Unfortunately, the armor itself is corrupted (although Sora is fine)]].

* In ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'', Tony remarks in the sequel that he's working towards this, after seeing [[spoiler: Clark's suit]] automatically assemble from crystal based nanotech. He technically already has, with the [[ChromeChampion Project Galahad suit]] he designed for Harry (designed for speed, agility, and endurance - [[PersonOfMassDestruction Harry]] provides the [[FlyingFirepower firepower]]), which is already assembled and can be summoned from a pocket dimension.

* Noelle from ''Manga/BlackClover'' gains the Valkyrie Armor spell, compressing her mana to form an armor made of water that gives her a dramatic boost in offense and speed. After training for six months, she learns a variant called [[ChainmailBikini Mermaid Form]] meant for underwater combat.

* Sensui from ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' can use his Holy Light Energy to create two special sets of armor.
* In ''[[Anime/SCryed s-CRY-ed]]'',
** Kazuma's Alter power [[EvolvingWeapon develops like this]], initially converting [[note]] the arm is actually transformed. (When he undergoes the whole body conversion, his legs are actually thinner than when untransformed, and in the original TransformationSequence we see his arm splitting into three segments.)[[/note]] just his arm, but later progressing to the right half of his torso, then full body armor.
** [[spoiler: Ryuhou, Straight Cougar, and Martin Zigmarl]] - any Alloy-type Alter user does this to some extent, and it is implied by [[spoiler: Ryuhou when he reaches his fullest level of power]] that all Alter powers must become Alloy-type to unlock their maximum potential.
*** The implications of this type of armor are explored later on in this show. You notice how he's always wearing a glove and long sleeves? On the few instances when he's not, you can see lines across his hand and arm. As the armor grows across him on varying levels, those lines appear where he's transformed. Turns out it's not just stylistic, [[FridgeHorror those are scars]] left from where [[BodyHorror his own body was torn apart by his Altar power and reconstructed into armor.]] It's to the point that, after unlocking his second level, his one eye only opens when manifesting the armor... [[EyeScream It was heavily damaged right before the first manifestation,]] and now it appears to potentially be ''part'' of the manifestation.
* The Barrier Jackets from ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' are conjured out of thin air and can take more beating than a main battle tank. Sure, they [[{{Stripperiffic}} don't look that way]] in [[DarkMagicalGirl some cases]] but [[LadyOfWar Signum]]'s, for example, both looks and functions just right. Presumably as a result of being able to be ready for battle in an instant, Bureau mages tend to wear their "dress" uniform virtually all the time outside combat when they're on duty.

* Saber and Gilgamesh/Archer in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' and ''LightNovel/FateZero'' are both capable of this. Saber's is essentially made entirely of her magic energy. Gilgamesh presumably either does the same or simply pulls it through Gate of Babylon.
* The Mimetic Beasts of ''[[Anime/ShinkonGattaiGodannar Godannar]]'', who are small, alien organisms who create huge bodies for themselves out of available materials - whether that is rocks, people, or a space-shuttle…
* Referred to as Requipping in ''Manga/FairyTail.'' Instant Armor is Erza's specialty, and she sure has [[UnlimitedWardrobe a hell of a lot of armors]]. Lucy later develops a similar ability, allowing her to instantly change into clothing based on the Celestial Spirits that she summons and gain powers related to those spirits.

** Noteably, only the [[AceCustom 'personalized' IS-units]] have this function. The mass-produced RedShirt models are just run-off-the-mill PoweredArmor.
* The Mushi of ''LightNovel/MushiUta'' are mostly {{Mon}}s, but the one belonging to the main character Kakkouisa "fusion" type. In the beginning, it just merges with his arm and HandCannon to form an ArmCannon, but with time, it grows bigger and covers more - at the end, it's basically a suit of Chitinous armor that he can call up at any time. (Unfortunately, it sort of looks - and acts - like ''TabletopGame/CthulhuTech''...)
* The Robes from ''Anime/MaiOtome''. Once their receive authorization from their Masters an Otome can summon their Robe within the space of a few seconds. The Five Columns don't even have to worry about authorisation.
* The Bio-Booster Armour from ''Manga/{{Guyver}}''. The live-action movies had them erupt from bumps on the protagonists neck from some form of {{Hammerspace}}. The anime and manga just directly summons it from {{Hammerspace}} with a mini SphereOfDestruction that vaporizes any enemy foolish enough to get close to you while transforming.
* One of the contractors in the second season of ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'' can instantly assemble improvised mecha around himself out of whatever materials happen to be nearby.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Sado's right arm can instantaneously transform into the "Right arm of the Giant", a supernatural arm that includes a vast shield-like form at the shoulder. Although it can attack with tremendous strength and power, it's actually a defensive ability, the shield acting to protect against attacks directed at him.
* Lots of characters can do this in ''Manga/ZatchBell''. The strongest armor spell seen in the manga can even [[AdaptiveArmor shapeshift]] and grants ''[[JetPack jets]]''.
* In ''Anime/HeroicAge'', the Silver Tribe can assemble their Full Hedron spaceships out of apparently nothing in under a minute. Couple this with their ability to survive at least a few minutes in vacuum and their ability to teleport, it means that blowing up a Hedron is a minor setback at most unless you manage to kill the Silver Tribesman himself (and considering the power of their personal Hedron Shields, this is easier said than done). All of this is accomplished through [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien extremely advanced technology]] and PsychicPowers rather than anything explicitly supernatural, though.

* One of the Black Phantom villains in ''Manga/ZettaiKarenChildren'' has the ability to spontaneously create HumongousMecha suits for himself, by using a combination of telekinesis and illusions. The suits are ACTUALLY just a number of handy vehicles and random bits of scenery suspended in the air and moved with TK, but his illusion-projection abilities makes it look -- and act -- like a classic mecha.
* Coco from ''Manga/{{Toriko}}'' has been shown to do this in a recent chapter. He can make an armor that looks similar to what the {{samurai}} wore with the poison in his body.
* Believe it or not this trope is invoked a few times in the ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' manga. That's right, Samus actually could hide her PoweredArmor in a very small place and summon it whenever she wanted.
* The mysterious HenshinHero, Brave, of ''LightNovel/DemonKingDaimao'', is empowered by a rather sleek suit of MagiTek PoweredArmor, which he can summon from another dimension with his TransformationTrinket wristband.

* Jinchuriki gain this via their Chakra Cloaks in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', with Naruto taking it a step further with his [[GoldenSuperMode Biju Mode]] using Kurama's own tails as giant shields, all nine together are [[spoiler: strong enough to take a direct beam Bijudama from the fricken ''[[EldritchAbomination Ten-Tails]]'' without any damage]]. Uchiha such as Sasuke Uchiha, Madara Uchiha, and Itachi Uchiha gain instant armor with their [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique Mangekyo Sharingan]], called Susano'o. Finally the Hyuga can make a instant armor dome called Kaiten by charging chakra from every pour from their body and spinning at high speed.
* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', [[spoiler:Titan transformation]] is essentially a particularly bizarre and extreme version of this, [[spoiler:conjuring a colossal organic 'suit' around yourself out of thin air]].
* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', both [[NiceGuy Eijiro Kirishima]] and [[ExtraOreDinary Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu]] have this power.
* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': There's a [[FightingSpirit Stand]] form type called 'Armor'. However, the category applies to any Stand that manifests a form that can be worn; as such, only two - [[AnIcePerson White Album]] and [[SandIsWater Oasis]] - actually apply to this trope; the third, [[MakingASplash Catch The Rainbow]], manifests as a mask that only covers the user's face.

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'': There's a [[FightingSpirit Stand]] form type called 'Armor'. However, the category applies to any Stand that manifests a form that can be worn; as such, only two - [[AnIcePerson White Album]] and [[SandIsWater Oasis]] - actually apply to this trope; the third, [[MakingASplash Catch The Rainbow]], manifests as a mask that only covers the user's face.

* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' has self-assembling PowerArmor called "fragsuits" appear in later arcs. It can be called to the operator from light-minutes away and has the ability to fly to the operator and assemble around them using gravitics. Actual assembly time depends on how far the fragsuit is from the operator, but given that most users use its fragmented form as a swarm of {{Attack Drone}}s when the extra protection isn't needed, it's usually counted in seconds if a severe treat shows up.

!!Examples

* The latest Comicbook/BlueBeetle, Jaime Reyes, has this power thanks to the Scarab, an incredibly powerful piece of alien wartech that implanted itself in his body. [[{{Squick}} Just don't ask where the mass of the suit comes from.]] Dan Garrett, the first Blue Beetle, could also use the Scarab to call up a suit of armor (although since the Scarab was damaged at the time, it was nowhere near what it could do for Jaime).
* Comicbook/IronMan

* In ''FanFic/AeonNatumEngel'', The Sword Лu-hvean'tahæn gives the Star Spawn High Priest the ability to manifest it.

* ''Film/AvengersEndgame'': The quantum realm suits that the Avengers don to travel in time are all made from nanotech, allowing them to appear and disappear in a moment.
* In ''Film/Batman1989'' a push of a button on the [[{{Thememobile}} Batmobile]] covers it in armor, which acts to protect it from bullets and acts to keep it from being stolen. This becomes a plot point in ''Film/BatmanReturns'', where as part of a plot to frame him and ruin his reputation, the Penguin has his people disable the armor so that they can plant a beacon into the vehicle that allows Penguin to control it remotely.
* In ''Film/BlackPanther2018'', Shuri makes T'Challa a new Panther suit that uses nano-technology to keep it stored inside a necklace and will instantaneously suit him up when needed. She lampshades the notion of heroes fumbling around trying to put on an outfit as the reasoning for the upgrade.
-->'''Shuri:''' People are shooting at me! Wait, let me put on my helmet!
* ''Film/IronMan''
** In [[Film/IronMan2 the second film]], Tony Stark has a suitcase that turns into a suit of armor, as a nod to the comics. However, it's more of an EmergencyWeapon, as it is significantly less powerful than the regular armor, and apparently only mounts the palm repulsors for weaponry. Still comes in very handy in a pinch.
** As part of Stark's continuing upgrades to his armor, this type shows up in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' -- except that not only can it be stored in a cupboard, it is fully capable of ''flying itself to him'' and assembling itself around him autonomously. How long does this take, you might ask? [[DestinationDefenestration Less time than it takes to hit the ground falling off of Stark Tower]] ([[NotTheFallThatKillsYou barely]]).
** A prequel comic to the second film shows Tony trying different ways of making the armor come to him. One involves a missile that flies to him and buries its nose in the ground. That fails spectacularly, as the impact destroys the armor.
** By [[Film/IronMan3 the third film]], individual armor components now fly to Tony thanks to implants in his arms. Not only that, but he has pre-programmed gestures that can get the armor to assemble on someone he points at. He does this during the Mandarin's attack on his mansion to put the armor on Pepper (unfortunately, he never told her how to use the repulsors) and later to [[spoiler:force the BigBad into one of his armors and blow it up]].
** The Bleeding Edge (or Mark 50) suit in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' represents an even further advancement of the technology, as it is capable of unwrapping itself from a holder on Tony's chest roughly where his Arc Reactor used to be, ensuring that Tony is never without protection. The Iron Spider suit is implied to be likewise instantaneous as it is made using the same nanotechnology that the Mark 50 uses. The far more advanced Mark 85 from ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' also falls into this category. Curiously, however, despite being implied to have been constructed at the same time as the Mark 85, [[spoiler: Pepper's Rescue Armor]], like the War Machine series, is not nanotech, but neither does it seem to be like the above mentioned Mark 42.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''
** One 3.5 supplement has "called armor", allowing you to not only remove the lengthy times for putting it on, but leave it anywhere on the same plane. Psionic's allow you to pull armor (or a weapon) out of somewhere in existence.
** There's also Mage Armor, Shadow Shield, Ghostly Visage, and so on.

* The ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' ''Advanced Player's Guide'' contains a spell for Clerics and Paladins called "Instant Armor". The spell does ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
** There's also the Wizard/Sorcerer and Magus spell "Swift Girding", though its function is to instantly equip the caster and/or willing allies with preexisting suits of armor rather than to create armor out of thin air.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Ponies and Parasprites}}'' has two sets of summoned armor.

* In the Three Galaxies setting for ''{{TabletopGame/Rifts}}'', Cosmo Knights can call on their "cosmic armor" in an instant. The appearance of the armor can vary according to individual taste, but it is always sleek, shiny, and able to withstand hits from starship-mounted weapons. Where it exists when not in use is never addressed.

* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}''

* In ''VideoGame/{{Diablo II}}'', 7 out of the 210 skills in the game are an example of this. Only the Druid, Necromancer, Assassin, and Sorceress can use any of them. All of them, except for the sorceress, who has access to 4 of the skills, can only use 1 of them. In ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' the Wizard has three different types to choose from: ice, lightning or [[PureEnergy arcane]]. These are at least as offensive as they are defensive, either damaging or in some way weakening attackers.

* In ''{{VideoGame/SuperSmashBros 4}}'' onwards, Bowser Jr. can launch out of his Clown Car and magically gain another one (Because... [[AWizardDidIt a Magikoopa did it?]])

* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' has self-assembling PowerArmor called 'fragsuits' appear in later arcs. It can be called to the operator from light-minutes away and has the ability to fly to the operator and assemble around them using gravitics. Actual assembly time depends on how far the fragsuit is from the operator, but given that most users use its fragmented form as a swarm of {{Attack Drone}}s when the extra protection isn't needed, it's usually counted in seconds if a severe treat shows up.

* In the Literature/WhateleyUniverse, Loophole and Jericho can both teleport their armor into place as long as they are pretty close to the armor and teleportation system. They both end up armorless when they're attacked in Boston in "Ayla and the Birthday Brawl". Then there's Iron Star, who can manifest a metal carapace armor around himself whenever he wants. Britomart can do the same with a Guyver-like armor, she just has real trouble getting it off: as a side effect she doesn't have a hair left on her body.
* Reginald Black's Ytarran Power Armor in ''WebVideo/TalesFromMyDDCampaign'' can be donned or removed in six seconds.
* ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': Anjren's PoweredArmor appears just by her touching a microchip to her chest.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' episode "Triangulation", Starscream chances upon a small (by Cybertronian standards) disc, which - when attached to his chest - spreads around his body, forming the titanic (and unstoppable) Apex Armor.

* The Amulet of Merlin from ''WesternAnimation/{{Trollhunters}}'' allows the Trollhunter to summon armor made of solid, silvery, metallic daylight - complete with the Sword of Daylight - onto their bodies instantaneously.

* Lightbringers in ''Literature/ShadowOfTheConqueror'' can store objects, including whole suits of armor, to be summoned whenever they need them. Lightbinders can achieve a similar effect if they use [[PoweredArmor Sunforged]] [[ArmorOfInvincibility armor]] made [[BloodMagic with their own blood]], which links it to their body and magic.

* [[PoweredArmor Sunforged]] [[ArmorOfInvincibility armor]] in ''Literature/ShadowOfTheConqueror'' can be stored by Lightbringers and summoned whenever they need it. Lightbinders can achieve a similar effect if they use armor sunforged [[BloodMagic with their own blood]], as the link allows them to store it in a similar way.

Armor is nice, but it takes time to put on and take off, and can be kind of clunky if you have to go through narrow passageways depending on its size, also getting out of it in a hurry if you need to go to the loo can be a real pain. It's not like you can [[TwentyFourHourArmor just wear it all the time]]! Wouldn't it be much nicer if you could just create a suit out of thin air -- or, alternately, out of whatever raw-materials happen to be handy -- whenever you need one? Well, if you've got PsychicPowers, FunctionalMagic, or just some really nifty gadgets, you can!

* Occasionally used by Earthbenders in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', making rock-suits for themselves. During the Final Battle, Toph also demonstrates her mastery of Metalbending by making herself a metal-suit on the spot... Being Toph, she also made it a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}} in the finale. "ShaveAndAHaircut, two '''[=BOOM!=]!'''"

** Before he learned to [[ElementalShapeshifter transform his body into organic ice]], ComicBook/Iceman coated himself in a suit of flexible ice armor for protection.

** The Bleeding Edge (or Mark 50)suit in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' represents even further advancement of the technology, as it is capable of unwrapping itself from a holder on Tony's chest roughly where his Arc Reactor used to be, ensuring that Tony is never without protection. The Iron Spider suit is implied to be likewise instantaneous as it is made using the same nanotechnology that the Mark 50 uses. The far more advanced Mark 85 from ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' also falls into this category. Curiously, however, despite being implied to have been constructed at the same time as the Mark 85, [[spoiler: Pepper's Rescue Armor]], like the War Machine series, is not nanotech, but neither does it seem to be like the above mentioned Mark 42.