| “ | 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 |
| “ | 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, also his most memorable line |
Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark, also known by his superhero alias Iron Man, is one of the main protagonists of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
He is a genius, playboy, billionaire, philanthropist, and the only son of the late Howard Stark, a founding member and lead scientist of S.H.I.E.L.D.
After his parents were assassinated by the Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes), Tony used his father's massive fortune and resources to begin manufacturing weapons of mass destruction for the US military. However, when a trip to the Middle East goes wrong, resulting in Stark being ambushed and held captive by the terrorist group the Ten Rings, his outlook on life changes, and he ultimately decides to put his genius-level intelligence and one-of-a-kind advanced technology to good use, becoming the superhero and Avenger named Iron Man.
He was portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.
His Good Ranking[]
What Makes Him Close to Being Pure Good?[]
In General[]
- Despite the high admirable standards of the MCU, he passes it by sacrificing himself to stop Thanos from destroying the universe as well as his other heroic deeds such as stopping Hulk's rampage, participating in stopping Ultron and Loki.
- Although he's made several reckless decisions of the years, Endgame clearly demonstrates that he has subverted this. He approaches time travel cautiously, insists on proof and planning before acting, and, in the final battle, demonstrates growth by relying on teamwork rather than confronting Thanos alone.
- While Tony is often criticized for being a poor mentor to Peter Parker, this stemmed from a genuine fear of getting Peter seriously hurt and an effort to protect him while still quietly monitoring and supporting him. Even entrusting Peter with E.D.I.T.H. reflects Tony’s trust in Peter’s intelligence and potential, with no clear indication Tony anticipated the risks or intended Peter to inherit that responsibility so early.
- Even though he began the franchise as a playboy, that aspect of his character is slowly subverted over the course of the Infinity Saga. From Iron Man 3 onward, his commitment to Pepper Potts, his long-held engagement ring, and his desire for a family show clear emotional maturity. By Endgame, his marriage and role as a father fully replace the womanizing persona that once defined him.
- While Tony is indirectly responsible for the creation of several villains, the vast majority of them already had the seeds of villainy, or became villains out of sheer pettiness:
- Obadiah Stane was already a power-hungry, opportunistic businessman who only fully turned villainous after Tony’s life-changing experience led him to shut down Stark Industries’ weapons manufacturing. Stane’s betrayal stems from greed and entitlement, not corruption caused by Tony’s growth.
- Aldrich Killian became a pure-evil megalomaniac who experimented on innocent people and caused countless deaths simply to get revenge on Tony for rudely dismissing him decades prior. Regardless of how insensitive Tony may have been, there is no reasonable justification for the leap from professional rejection to terrorism. Killian’s actions are his own, and Tony cannot be held responsible for that descent.
- Ultron was created as a failsafe, what Tony described as “a suit of armor around the world.” After the Chitauri invasion and Tony’s resulting PTSD, he sought a way to protect Earth from future extraterrestrial threats. Although Ultron ultimately went rogue, attempted global extinction, and caused the destruction of Sokovia, leading to the death of Baron Zemo’s family, Tony could not have predicted this outcome. Ultron was designed with safeguards intended to prevent harm to humans, and it is reasonable that Tony would not anticipate an AI concluding that humanity’s extinction was the optimal form of protection.
- Adrian Toomes was a blue-collar businessman whose salvaging company went under after the Department of Damage Control took over cleanup operations. However, the DODC was created because Tony wanted to protect civilians and prevent dangerous extraterrestrial technology from falling into the wrong hands. Ironically, Homecoming itself shows why this concern was valid, as alien weapons still end up on the black market and in the hands of criminals.
- While Tony dismissed Quentin Beck’s illusion technology and attempted to repurpose it, it is not the sole reason for Beck’s turn to villainy. Beck was already mentally unstable, which is stated to be the reason Tony fired him in the first place.
Iron Man[]
- 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.
- He severely injured Aldrich Killian by imprisoning him in his Mark 42 armour and exploding it, leaving him heavily scarred and weakened and allowing Pepper to finish him off, ultimately stopping his evil plans.
- After a young boy named 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 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, the former was well-intentioned and 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.
- Via 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; 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 pleads with him not to, fully ready to die to keep the stone safe, and when Stephen gives up the Time Stone to Thanos anyway, Tony asks Stephen why he did that.
- He holds Peter in his arms before he dies, and is deeply heartbroken and devastated over his demise.
Avengers: Endgame[]
- He allowed Spider-Man as a new member of the Avengers.
- 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.
- Furthermore, on the chance that he were to die on the mission, he records a farewell message for his family, telling them that he loves them.
- 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 Steve and Thor, 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.
Spider-Man: Far From Home[]
- After his death, he entrusts Peter with E.D.I.T.H. knowing he will make the right choice.
What Prevents Him From Being Pure Good?[]
- Although Tony subverts a lot of his arrogance and jerkish behavior by the time of Endgame, he still has moments of being rude, sarcastic, hypocritical and unnecessarily cruel.
- He berates Steve for not being there during the fight against Thanos, even though Tony never attempted to contact him, and Steve was occupied fighting to protect Vision in Wakanda.
- He also mocks his teammates with unnecessary insults, such as calling Rocket “Build-A-Bear” and comparing Thor to Big Lebowski. The latter insult is especially insensitive, considering Thor’s weight gain and alcoholism stem from his depression, though the scene plays it for laughs and Thor himself doesn’t seem bothered. He even calls Peter Underroos (which is an underwear name) when he calls to him to fight Captain America. When he aggressively scolds Peter he tells him he screwed the pooch which was unnecessary to say. It was also SUPER hypocritical of Tony to lecture and punish Peter since he acted even more recklessly in the past with comparatively worse consequences, something he never admitted to Peter.
- He has several earlier moments of being a jerk that are never subverted, such as calling Harley Keener a “pussy” for missing his father and leaving him alone in the snow while mocking their supposed “connection.” This is especially hypocritical given how deeply Tony himself continued to grieve his own father.
- He was wrongfully lethal for trying to kill Bucky during their fight in Civil War even after being told that Bucky was brainwashed into killing his parents, which continued to haunt Bucky for a while even after Tony died since they never interacted again after this movie. While his grief and anger was justified, this quality stayed unsubverted.
Trivia[]
- He and Pepper Potts are the only Near Pure Goods of the Iron Man trilogy and also the first in the MCU by release date.
- He is one of three versions of the character to qualify as Near Pure Good, alongside his LEGO Marvel and Armored Adventures counterparts.
- At one point he was approved as Pure Good, then for the longest time, he was approved as Inconsistently Admirable and was widely considered the poster child for that wiki. However, upon reevaluation, it was decided that Tony had subverted most his preventions by the events of Endgame, and that his corrupting influence on the franchise's major villains was exaggerated.
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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