| “ | The truth is...I am Iron Man. | „ |
| ~ Tony Stark revealing himself as Iron Man in a press conference at the end of the first film |
| “ | My armor was never a distraction or a hobby. It was a cocoon, and now I'm a changed man. You can take away my house, all my tricks, and toys. One thing you can't take away – I am Iron Man. | „ |
| ~ Tony at the end of Iron Man 3. |
| “ | I shouldn't be alive, unless it was for a reason. I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do... and I know in my heart, that it's right. | „ |
| ~ Tony to Pepper regarding his survival after being kidnapped by terrorists |
| “ | And I……am……Iron Man. | „ |
| ~ Tony’s second-to-last words before stopping Thanos. |
Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark, better known as the Iron Man, is one of the main protagonists of the Infinity Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
He's the billionaire, playboy, philanthrope, inventor and CEO of the USA's main weapon contractor, Stark Industries, which Tony inherited from his father, genius inventor Howard Stark. After a freak incident in Afghanistan, Tony was severely wounded, but saved himself using mini version of his father's Arc Reactor. By returning to the USA, Tony ended his company's weapon production, he used the Reactor to arm himself with a special armor and became the superhero Iron Man, repeatedly saving world from terrorists or even supervillains.
Later, Nick Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director, chose to Tony into becoming member of the Avengers - group of Earth-protecting superheroes, becoming one of the greatest superheroes in the world. While overcoming some difficulties with his teammates and his mental traumas, Tony became the real protector, ultimately giving his life to save not only the Earth, but the entire universe from Thanos' genocidal plans.
He was portrayed by Robert Downey Jr., who also portrayed Sherlock Holmes in the 2009 film of the same name.
His Good Ranking[]
What Makes Him Admirable?[]
In General[]
- Most of Tony's actions are done out of fear from losing everyone he cares about. This fact is further proven on multiple occasions:
- He deeply cares for his secretary-turned-girlfriend, Pepper Potts, as he apologized for his reckless actions during his palladium poisoning and the Mandarin attack. As an act of true feelings to her, he destroyed all of his suits to temporarily retire as a superhero. He even acknowledges his constant activities as Iron Man were why they were "taking a break." After marrying, he built her a secret suit in case of emergency.
- He deeply cares for the rest of his family, and although he was cold to his father, this was because Howard hadn't been emotionally close with Tony. Though Tony seemed to only wish to avenge his mother's murder more than his father's at Bucky's hand, he showed he at least cared for his father's legacy, demanding Steve relinquish his shield. He also was very warm to his daughter, Morgan, being a much better father to her than his own father (and, as Howard implied, his grandfather).
- He was extremely saddened by deaths of his butler Jarvis and his computer assistant J.A.R.V.I.S. (whom Stark ironically named after the former). despite the latter being machine.
- Although he sometimes acts as a jerk to his teammates, Tony has good friendships and cares about them, being close friends with Bruce, Natasha, and even Steve (with latter being his contrast in heroism).
- During the time he was trapped in space with Nebula, recorded a message to his loved ones about apologizing for his errors and spending good time with Nebula.
- While he once acted as a typical jerkish and reckless playboy, spending time by drinking and being childish, and even abused his technology for fame, he has since naturally matured with age and subverted it entirely.
Iron Man (2008)[]
- Even before the incident in Afghanistan, he continued his father's work by providing USA with weapons and protecting its interests and peace in the entire world. He even was shown to be extremely affable to others.
- He helps let Yinsen live after the Ten Rings threaten to melt him. Although he could’ve let him die, he stops them from melting him.
- After being captured by the Ten Rings, instead of building them a missile, he and Ho Yinsen build a special armor to escape. Also, he was unwilling to risk Yinsen’s life to escape, and after the latter sacrificed himself to help Tony (because Yinsen's family was killed), the latter mourned him with great remorse. He also honored his selfless act, by destroying the Ten Rings' weapons and saving Yinsen's home village - Gulmira.
- Once he returned to the USA, he ended his company's weapon production, finally realizing the consequences of this. He then cleaned his name by stopping Obadiah Stane, the Ten Rings' ally and his former friend, from taking control over Stark Industries and attempting to sell Iron Man technology to terrorists.
- While being targeted by two fighter jets, he tries to flee from them without shooting them down, and when one of the jets is damaged and the pilot's parachute fails, Tony gets the parachute opened, saving the pilot's life.
- He saved Pepper from being killed by Obadiah.
Iron Man 2[]
- He was completely against the idea of handing his Iron Man technology over to the U.S. government, knowing that this would cause more damage than protection. This would prove to be the right thing, as Senator Stern was a member of HYDRA and would've undoubtedly used the Iron Man technology to help HYDRA conquer the world.
- He saved a young Peter Parker from being blown up by a Hammer Drone.
- Stopped Whiplash's rampage and Justin Hammer from attempting to steal his ideas for their own profile.
- He saves Pepper just before Whiplash's drones self-destructed.
The Avengers[]
- He built an ecological reactor in New York City, improving its ecological situation and creating self-sustaining energy which would last for an entire year.
- Though he joked around with Bruce Banner, it was only playful teasing, not treating him as a ticking time bomb like everyone else and instead treating him like a regular person. He then tries to comfort Bruce, telling him that the Hulk saved his life and to learn to control it.
- He prevents the Helicarrier from crashing after Loki's agents damage one of the wings.
- Though he mocked him for going against Loki, Tony was saddened by Phil Coulson's death and became determined to defeat Loki to avenge his demise.
- Joined the Avengers and with them stopped Loki and the Chitauri from invading Earth. His most heroic acts were reactivating S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier, saving numerous agents, and saving New York City by sending the missile fired by the U.S. government into the Chitauri's flagship, ending the invasion and nearly dying in the process. He later founded the Department of Damage Control to make up for failing to stop Invasion from the beginning.
Iron Man 3[]
- He saves Pepper when their house is attacked by the Mandarin, and after landing in Tennessee, he calls her to sincerely apologize for putting her in harm's way and nearly getting them killed.
- While imprisoned by Aldrich Killian, he offered his men the chance to escape peacefully if they surrendered, and then allowed the only man who surrendered to go free.
- He saves thirteen passengers who fell out of the Air Force One plane.
- He stopped Aldrich Killian's rampage, during which he finally healed himself from fragments of shrapnel in his heart and ridding himself of his PTSD.
- After a young boy Harley helped him, Stark thanked him by modernizing his garage.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier[]
- Helped S.H.I.E.L.D. construct Insight Helicarriers to help them protect the world from incoming threats.
Avengers: Age of Ultron[]
- With the other Avengers, he stopped HYDRA from weaponizing Loki's staff and Chitauri technology.
- Although he created Ultron, a fanatical misanthropic program, this was out of genuine good intentions to protect humanity from incoming threats, due to being scared by Wanda Maximoff's vision and the future threat by extraterrestrials (which would sadly came to pass and somewhat proved his point of the necessity of a suit of armor around the world). He also expressed great remorse for this and signed the Sokovia Accords to protect humanity legally.
- He stops Hulk's rampage, doing his best to avoid any civilian casualties and to snap him out of his rage-induced state.
- He creates Vision, a new hero who would prove to be vital in stopping Ultron and who would come to save many lives through his actions.
Captain America: Civil War[]
- He entrusted Peter Parker with a new suit and to be a part of the team to take down Captain America's faction.
- Tony repeatedly tries to reason with Steve, doing his best to keep the Avengers together through compromise and negotiation.
- Upon learning that Bucky was being framed, he goes to Siberia to help Steve and Bucky take down Zemo, only turning against them when he learns Bucky killed his parents. It's possible if Steve had told him sooner HYDRA was involved in his parents' death, Tony would have been reasonable enough to at least apprehend Zemo.
- Even when attempting to kill the Winter Soldier, he gave Captain America several chances to get out of the way and tried to avoid hurting him as much as possible showing his care for him.
- Although he tried to arrest Captain America's faction and kill the Winter Soldier, Tony later expressed remorse for his wrongdoings. For the former, it was only because Secretary Ross would have sent a squad of authorities who would not refrain from lethal force. When he learned Steve was breaking his faction out of prison, he refused to help Ross. From Vision visiting Wanda in Infinity War and the prequel comic to Black Widow, while not on speaking terms with the fugitive Avengers, he no longer seems to be helping the authorities capture his friends while indirectly aiding and abetting them. From Hawkeye and Ant-Man's house arrests, it's possible he pulled some strings to allow them to be with their families.
Spider-Man: Homecoming[]
- When Peter was nearly drowned by the Vulture, Tony had one of his suits go to rescue Peter.
- He called Peter to commend him for his work in Washington D.C. as his attempt to start being a better mentor to Peter, then saved a ferry from drowning in the bay.
- He was deeply disappointed in Peter for going off on his own to target the Vulture despite having been ordered by Tony not to. He then revealed to Peter that he'd indeed been listening to everything he'd been told, calling the FBI to arrest the Vulture and reminding Peter he was the only one who believed in him when everyone else thought Tony was crazy for recruiting a teenager to be an Avenger. Tony tells Peter that he wanted Peter to be better than he was, showing the level of trust and faith he had in Peter, and he only takes away his suit after Peter had disappointed him and nearly gotten people killed, also revealing he didn't want Peter to be killed since he felt it would be his fault.
- He congratulates Peter for having stopped Vulture from stealing his plane of cargo, even offering him an official position as an Avenger. When Peter rejects the offer in order to remain a local hero, Tony accepts this, believing it was the right choice and expressing pride in Peter again.
- He returns the suit he gave Peter in Civil War when he had learned his lesson.
- He made Spider-Man his protégé to help him become the Avenger he was made to be and even after his death, Tony's actions and example still gave Peter inspiration and more guidance to becoming a great superhero.
Avengers: Infinity War[]
- While he tells Peter not to come with him to space, not wanting him to take such a big risk, he realizes that Peter is too persistent. He and Peter then work together to save Doctor Strange from being tortured by Ebony Maw.
- He teams up with Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and the Guardians of the Galaxy to try and stop Thanos from collecting Infinity Stones to erase half of the universe, even willingly trying to sacrifice himself to prevent Thanos from obtaining the Time Stone, even fighting Thanos singlehandedly to try and stop him. When Stephen offers the Time Stone in exchange for his life, Tony tells him not to, fully ready to die to keep the stone safe, and even asks Stephen why he'd willingly give Thanos the Time Stone.
- He holds Peter in his arms before he dies, and is deeply saddened and guilt-ridden by his demise.
Avengers: Endgame[]
- Though he initially refuses to help Steve and the others in traveling back in time to get the Infinity Stones since he doesn't want to lose his family, he remembers the lives lost by the Snap as well as Peter, and perfects time travel, allowing the Avengers to restore half of all life in the universe.
- Upon meeting his father in the past, Tony hugs him and thanks him for everything he did, accepting his father loved him in his own way.
- He, along with Thor and Steve, fight together to try and take down 2014 Thanos.
- Upon reuniting with Peter after five years, he hugs him in utter joy and relief.
- In his most admirable deed, he stopped 2014 Thanos from destroying the universe and sacrificed himself by using the Infinity Stones to kill Thanos and the Black Order, atoning for his transgressions against friend and foe alike. This caused much of the world to mourn him.
What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]
- He acts quite arrogant and self-centered on many occasions in the MCU. He was very skeptical and arrogant towards Doctor Strange and the Guardians of the Galaxy, although they were equally sassy and rude toward him as the former did not take his logical advice on keeping the Time Stone safe and the latter came off as laid-back and unfocused on dealing with Thanos.
- He can be reckless and stubborn, like when he endangered Pepper by publicly challenging the Mandarin and giving him his home address, insisting they stay because it's seemingly safer. In arguably his ultimate display of recklessness, he insisted on challenging Thanos directly without first making amends with Captain America and his faction.
- He has several jerkish moments and/or moments of hypocrisy:
- He betrayed Steve Rogers' respect by signing the Sokovia Accords without first debating the matter with the other Avengers.
- When Falcon attempts to apologize to Tony and show him sympathy after Rhodey fell from of the sky, he bitterly knocked him out.
- He had a wrongfully lethal moment when he tried to kill Bucky to avenge his parents, despite knowing that HYDRA brainwashed him into doing so. As Tony died before they could make amends, this hostility made Bucky all the more haunted by his unconsenting murders, questioning if he could redeem himself in the world’s eyes.
- He called Harley Keener a pussy for missing his dad and straight up left him in the snow while mocking their “connection”. This was also hypocritical of Tony to do so, given how he himself still grieved over his father's death, as stated above when he tried to kill Bucky out of revenge.
- He calls out Captain America in Endgame for not helping him when Tony didn’t even reach out to him. Although Cap did lie about his parents, Cap had already apologized for it, so Tony should have swallowed his grudge instead of holding on to it.
- He was a flawed mentor to Peter Parker, their ties causing much emotional hardship for the latter in the long run. While he realized his mistake in involving Peter in the Avengers’ Civil War, he initially was rather distant with him, not contacting Peter for two months while leaving an unenthused Happy in charge of monitoring him; his interactions with Peter were usually scolding him while giving him barely cogent advice. This caused Peter, believing Tony didn’t think much of him, to endanger lives on the ferry in trying to prove himself. Furthermore, entrusting Peter with E.D.I.T.H. upon his death had detrimental consequences when it's stolen by Quentin Beck, leading to Peter's identity as Spider-Man being exposed and ultimately losing his personal life and loved ones to get his secret identity back.
- It should also be noted that it was hypocritical of Tony to scold and punish Peter for endangering himself and others when he himself had done so in the past to a comparatively worse effect.
- While it does not justify most of them turning evil, and he has done his best to fix what he inadvertently did every single time, he has still become a corrupting influence to several villains across the franchise due to his very jerkish behavior or well-intentioned actions.
- His initial immaturity and hedonism presumably exacerbated the malicious greed of Obadiah Stane, whose weapons dealing with terrorists had caused the death of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff’s parents, and may have started Justin Hammer's turn to villainy as well due to not being willing to support the military with his inventions.
- He lied to Aldrich Killian before blowing him off.
- He was the one who built Ultron in the first place, although of course for good intentions; Ultron's crusade causes the death of Helmut Zemo's family, leading him to develop a grudge against the Avengers and successfully break their fellowship.
- He was quite egotistical and jerkish when he passed off Quentin Beck’s technology as his own, which led to him becoming Mysterio (and ruin Peter’s life by association). While he did have the right to fire him for being unstable, what Tony did was still pretty jerkish.
- He took down Adrian Toomes’ own company by founding the Department of Damage Control to clean up after the Chitauri Invasion, making him become the Vulture.
Trivia[]
- Like many other heroes on this wiki, he used to be Pure Good (and/or Wholly Reformed) for a while. However, when the Pure Good criteria changed so that Heroic Jerks can't qualify, he no longer qualified.
- Most of his alternate counterparts from What If...? do not qualify as Inconsistently Admirable due to having their best heroic acts done off-screen. However, it is unknown whether his Sakaaran Armor counterpart could qualify or not.
External Links[]
- Iron Man on the Heroes Wiki
- Iron Man on the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki
- Iron Man on the Marvel Wiki
- Iron Man on the Marvel Movies Wiki
- Iron Man on the Disney Wiki
- Iron Man on the Love Exalted Wiki
- Iron Man on the Wikipedia
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