Maybe the suit Tony was wearing just wasn't made for outer-space travel? I know Tony joked "skip the spinning rims" to Jarvis when told the suit wasn't fully ready, but there was probably something to Jarvis' warning. What were the metal things that came off the suit's shoulders when he let go of the nuke?
About the Chitauri falling dead when their mothership was blown up.... Isn't it possible that they have a hive mind? All their tech seemed fairly organic; I mean, their version of invasion ships were giant beasts that the soldiers rode in on. So maybe they were just tied to the ship because they were a PART of the ship? And they figured they would just win by sheer numbers.
Maybe they're like the Formic in Ender's Game--when a queen dies, her drones "lose their intelligence and ability to function immediately" (Wikipedia).
About the Chitauri falling dead when their mothership was blown up.... Isn't it possible that they have a hive mind? All their tech seemed fairly organic; I mean, their version of invasion ships were giant beasts that the soldiers rode in on. So maybe they were just tied to the ship because they were a PART of the ship? And they figured they would just win by sheer numbers.
Maybe they're like the Formic in Ender's Game--when a queen dies, her drones "lose their intelligence and ability to function immediately" (Wikipedia).