History Characters / MCUCompaniesStarkIndustries

!!Stark Family

-->''" I grew up on the lower East Side. My father sold fruit. My mother sewed shirtwaists for a factory. Let me tell you, you don't get to climb the American ladder without picking up some bad habits on the way. There's a ceiling for certain types of people based on how much money your parents have, your social class, your religion, your sex. And the only way to break through that ceiling sometimes is to lie, so that's my natural instinct to lie. I shouldn't have lied to you. For that, trust me, I am truly sorry."''

After the war, he became a founding member of S.H.I.E.L.D.

->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/IronMan1 | Film/IronMan2 | Film/{{The Avengers|2012}} | Film/IronMan3''

-->'''Pepper:''' (''after [[spoiler:killing Killian]]'') ...Oh my god...that was really violent!

-->'''Happy''': ''I tell people I'm Iron Man's bodyguard and they laugh in my face.''

->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/IronMan1 | Film/IronMan2 | Film/{{The Avengers|2012}} | Film/IronMan3 | Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron''

!!Present Day Members

[[folder:Tony Stark / Iron Man]]
-->See the [[Characters/MCUAvengersInitiative Avengers Initiative page]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pepper Potts]]
!!''[[ComicBook/PepperPotts Virginia "Pepper" Potts]]''
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pepper_pots_im2_7362.png]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/GwynethPaltrow
->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/IronMan1 | Film/IronMan2 | Film/{{The Avengers|2012}} | Film/IronMan3''

-->''"You know, there's only 8,011 things that I really need to talk to you about."''

Tony Stark's faithful personal assistant, later CEO of Stark Industries, and eventually his LoveInterest.

[[folder:Howard Stark]]
!!''Howard Stark''
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stark_howard.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"What is and always will be my greatest creation... is you."'']]
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/howard_stark_ca_780.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Technically, we're not even sure it works, but-- well, let's face it, I invented it, so it works."'']]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Gerard Sanders, John Slattery, Creator/DominicCooper
->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/IronMan1'' | ''Film/IronMan2'' | ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' | ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' | ''Film/MarvelOneShots'': ''Film/AgentCarter'' | ''Series/AgentCarter'' | ''Film/AntMan'' | ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''

-->''" I grew up on the lower East Side. My father sold fruit. My mother sewed shirtwaists for a factory. Let me tell you, you don't get to climb the American ladder without picking up some bad habits on the way. There's a ceiling for certain types of people based on how much money your parents have, your social class, your religion, your sex. And the only way to break through that ceiling sometimes is to lie, so that's my natural instinct to lie. I shouldn't have lied to you. For that, trust me, I am truly sorry."''

The founder and CEO of Stark Industries, and Tony Stark's father. During World War II, he was America's biggest military contractor, and one of the leading scientists behind the SuperSoldier project. He occasionally assisted Rogers in several missions during his tenure before returning to Stark Industries.

After the war, he became a founding member of S.H.I.E.L.D.

* AbusiveParents: Subverted. Tony said that his dad never told him he loved him and that he though that the happiest day of his life was when he shipped Tony off to boarding school, however, with the reveal that [[spoiler: HYDRA had infiltrated and taken over S.H.I.E.L.D. in ''The Winter Soldier'', and that Howard and his wife were assassinated by HYDRA in ''Captain America: Civil War'', it's implied that Howard knew he was in danger and that shipping off Tony was in order to [[ShooTheDog get him away to safety]].]] That makes his actions much more tragic and sympathetic.
* AcePilot: The best civilian pilot in the USA during WWII, skills he uses to fly Steve Rogers 30 miles behind enemy lines.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: In the second film, it seems Tony thinks his father was this to him. Quite aside from Howard Stark's apparent lack of parenting skills, he's been "dead for almost twenty years...still takin' [Tony] to school".
* AmbiguouslyJewish: In the fourth episode of ''Series/AgentCarter'', Howard relates several details of his background that hint at this. He also uses Yiddish in the second season.
* ArbitrarilyLargeBankAccount: He definitely shows shades of this in ''Agent Carter'', especially season 2, much like his son in the present day. However, it's arguably more impressive in Howard's case, given that he's a relatively young man in the series and ''founded'' Stark Industries (as opposed to Tony, who's also a brilliant engineer but inherited the prosperous company from his father on top of that).
* TheAtoner: Eventually he got fed up with all the destruction his more dangerous inventions caused, and sought to have them destroyed. It's implied he founded S.H.I.E.L.D. as way to make amends.
* BiggerStick: Working on a SuperSoldier project either led to this kind of thinking or is his reason for being there in the first place. In any case, he eventually said, "peace means having a bigger stick than the other guy".
* BrainyBrunette: He built Stark Industries on technology and arranging military contracts.
* BreakTheCutie:
** Strongly implied - in CA, Howard's cheerful, optimistic, and outgoing, as opposed to the bitter, emotionally-distant drunk he's shown to be in other films. Steve's "death" was likely a CynicismCatalyst - Tony claims Howard couldn't stop talking about him decades later.
** Having to confront all the destruction his inventions caused also helped him along the way
** The reveal in ''Winter Soldier'' that [[spoiler:S.H.I.E.L.D. had been taken over from within by HYDRA]], and Howard knew about it, may have also had a lot do with his emotional turn later in life.
* ButForMeItWasTuesday: An odd example. Even he can't remember every woman he's gone out with. {{Exaggerated}} in ''Agent Carter'' Season 2: He doesn't even remember Dottie Underwood as the woman who held him hostage in the previous season's finale. Apparently, a woman kidnapping him by gunpoint isn't a very significant incident for him.
* ButtMonkey: To some degree, inventions wise. His hover car appears to work until it falls down to the ground, and when he's studying the Cube, he's BlownAcrossTheRoom.
** He's this InUniverse as well, as Peggy [[ServileSnarker and even Jarvis]] will often take jabs at his various vices (with or without him actually being around), though all in jest.
* TheCasanova: during TheForties at least.
** In ''CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' he kisses one of the showgirls helping him demonstrate the early repulsor car at the fair, and later suggestively invites Peggy for fondue in Switzerland when flying Steve behind enemy lines to rescue the 107th.
** In ''Film/AgentCarter'' he explains bikinis to Dum-Dum at the end.
** In ''Series/AgentCarter'' his tomcatting is expanded upon and has several women hanging around his Los Angeles mansion's pool.
* CasualKink: In ''Agent Carter'', Peggy finds a closet of female fetish clothes Stark uses to add a "theatrical element" to his private life in his... personal penthouse.
* CursedWithAwesome: His technical genius becomes this when he sees the destruction his inventions can cause, especially the ones that weren't even supposed to ''be'' weapons.
* ChivalrousPervert: He's genuinely trying to do some good in the world with his inventions and can be all-business when the situation calls for it, but ''Agent Carter'' shows that he'll also bed anyone in a skirt, with very few exceptions like Peggy.
* DeadpanSnarker: Not quite as snarky as his son, but he's no slouch.
* DudeWheresMyRespect:
** In ''Agent Carter'', it appears Peggy is the ''only'' SSR agent who doesn't jump to believing the frame job on him.
** During WWII, he had to contend with officers who thought they knew how to use his inventions better than he did. [[spoiler:Many innocent people died because of it.]]
* {{Expy}}:
** Of Creator/HowardHughes, specifically Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio in ''Film/TheAviator'', especially apparent in the ''Agent Carter'' short.
*** This is set to become even more apparent in season 2 of ''Agent Carter'', where he's poised to set up his own movie studio.
** Of his son, [[Film/IronMan Tony]] (he has a mustache but no beard, like how Tony was drawn for many years until the ''ComicBook/HeroesReborn'' introduced the bearded look)...and Creator/WaltDisney. Check out the plan for his expo!
* FamousLastWords: [[spoiler:"Sergeant Barnes?"]]
* ForScience: His main reason for creating his inventions. He's not pleased when his partner Anton Vanko is OnlyInItForTheMoney. This is probably why he looks and sounds very hurt when Peggy suggests that he's OnlyInItForTheMoney where [[spoiler:Steve's blood]] and all the cures that it could lead to are concerned. He even outright asks her, "What kind of man do you think I am?"
* InsufferableGenius: Like father, like son, though with a strange sense of modesty.
--> '''Howard Stark:''' Speaking modestly, I'm the best mechanical engineer in this country, but I do not know what's inside this [HYDRA submarine] or how it works.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: [[ParentalNeglect Tony may not know about this]] until after he's dead, but he's very loyal and benevolent to Steve Rogers, not that it helps [[TheUnfavorite Tony's case]].
* KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade: Hinted at in ''Winter Soldier''. When Natasha questions why S.H.I.E.L.D. never caught on [[spoiler:to HYDRA's infiltration, Zola]] smugly remarks "Accidents will happen." News clippings of the Starks' deaths then appear onscreen. [[spoiler: His death is finally shown in ''Civil War'', where it turns out he was killed to acquire the Super Soldier Serum he'd synthesised.]]
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Technological genius and playboy with a streak of showmanship who [[WaistcoatOfStyle dresses very well]] and becomes involved with superheroes. Additionally, both Tony and Howard eventually become disillusioned with the weapons business after seeing all the chaos it causes and wish to make amends by doing something good (Tony became Iron Man, Howard founded SHIELD) while still having to deal with politicians and GeneralRipper characters who keep wanting them to make weapons.
* MadScientist: He's got the tendencies, even if he doesn't have the attitude.
--> '''Howard:''' Seems harmless enough. Hard to see what all the fuss is about.\\
''(touches energy bit, massive explosion blows him back)''\\
'''Howard:''' ''(dazed, yet unconcerned)'' ...Write that down.
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: In ''The Winter Soldier,'' it's revealed that the car accident that killed him and his wife [[spoiler:was in fact an assassination arranged by HYDRA]]. ''Civil War'' elaborates on this by showing that [[spoiler:they were killed by Bucky for the Super Soldier Serum that Howard was taking away from HYDRA]].
* MyGreatestFailure: Not finding Steve after he crashed the Valkyrie into the Arctic. [[spoiler:It was how Ivchenko was able to put him under hypnosis.]]
* MrAltDisney: Richard Sherman (who with his brother Robert composed and wrote songs for Walt Disney) wrote the Stark Expo Jingle in ''Iron Man 2''. Compare the video footage of Slattery's Howard in ''Film/IronMan2'' with episodes of ''Disneyland'', ''Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color'', and ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', particularly ones about "The Florida Project" and "Epcot." The resemblance is deliberate and eerie.
* NiceGuy: Before devolving into JerkWithAHeartOfGold, he's genuinely nice to about anyone he meets. He gets along with Peggy enough to ask her if she'd like some Fondue and when Steve misinterprets it for them having an affair, he takes the time to explain him what fondue is. He even takes Steve's contributions to the uniform to heart when showing him his new Shield. [[spoiler: When Captain America sinks the plane and is missing, Howard is hell bent on finding him, to the point where S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents loyal to his cause make finding Captain America their first priority.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In ''Agent Carter'', [[spoiler:his inventions end up causing mass death and destruction once Leviathan finally gets their hands on them. In many cases, his inventions were actually ''not'' weapons and were intended to be used as defensive equipment for soldiers, but [[GoneHorriblyWrong severely flawed prototypes]] meant that they could end up accidentally causing a great deal of death. Much more vile characters then make use of these "weapons". Even Jarvis called his inventions "Mr. Stark's bloody inventions" while losing most of his usual ServileSnarker tone in his voice, indicating even he's horrified with his boss' work.]]
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Doing your patriotic duty to help your home country defeat the Nazis by becoming a military contractor? All well and good until a [[spoiler:GeneralRipper steals one of your untested dangerous prototypes and it causes nothing but innocent deaths when it turns out it induces a HatePlague]].
* NonActionGuy: He's an excellent pilot and a genius weapon's designer, but no fighter.
* ParentalFavoritism: The fact that Howard, always a distant and hard-to-please dad, "never shut up" about Steve Rogers is a thorny point with Tony by the time ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' rolls around, fuelling his initial dislike of Steve.
* ParentalNeglect: Howard was proud of Tony and left him the map to creating a new element, but it sounds like he was as bad at communicating his feelings as Tony.
--> '''Tony:''' He was cold, he was calculating, he never told me he loved me, he didn't even tell me that he liked me, so it's a bit hard for me to digest that he said the whole "future is riding on me" thing. You're talking about a man whose happiest day of his life was shipping me off to boarding school.
* PlatonicLifePartners: {{Deconstructed}} with Peggy. Howard genuinely respects her skills (unlike most men in the time period) and Peggy is one of the few women he doesn't flirt with (aside from friendly teasing). However, because of his history as a notorious playboy, many people (including Peggy's co-workers) assume that they have a romantic relationship or Peggy is attracted by the playboy's sex appeal.
* ThePornomancer: Much like his son, ''Agent Carter'' shows this is a running trait; especially in the episode "A Sin to Err", where his list of his paramours in the last six months is at least three pages long and Jarvis still comments that it seems rather short. He's even had [[UpToEleven more of his escapades shown than Tony has]], though that might have to do with Tony being in a stable relationship in most of his films while Howard hasn't met his future wife yet.
* PosthumousCharacter: Averted in ''The First Avenger'', ''Agent Carter'', and the one-shot he appears in, due to their taking place in the 1940's, but in the modern-day setting of most of the films, Howard has been deceased since December of 1991.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Stark shows shades of believing this in ''Agent Carter'', believing that setting himself up as bait in a trap is the best way to make up for the damage done by his weapons. "This is the only way to redeem myself!"
* ReedRichardsIsUseless: He invented a lot of stuff that far outpaces even today's technology that never made it past the prototype stage. Justified in some cases, as he intentionally kept them that way for fear of them being used as weapons.
* RichInDollarsPoorInSense: While on the run in ''Agent Carter'', he calls his butler Jarvis for assistance in preparing his favorite drink.
* ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder: When he gets an idea for an invention, no matter how dangerous, he can't ''not'' make it. That's why he has a vault for his "bad babies".
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: Howard develops weapons for the military which is why he wasn't punished for helping Steve with his ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight.
* SelfMadeMan: Howard claims his parents were working class people from Manhattan's Lower East Side, so he had to fight his way to the top and his millions.
* TheSmartGuy: In-charge of improving Cap's shield and costume as well as other high tech devices for the Allies.
* StepfordSmiler: Underneath his cocky showy persona he harbors deep feelings of guilt for [[spoiler:his failure to to find Steve and all the death and destruction his inventions bring.]]
* TimeShiftedActor: Played by a total of three actors corresponding to the different ages at which the character appears: by Dominic Cooper in the 1940s, by John Slattery in the 1960s, 1970s, 1989 [[spoiler: and 1991]], and by Gerard Sanders in various flashback photos in ''Iron Man''.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Over the years he's becoming this, especially when he started to become a father for Tony. He didn't exhibit any real Jerkass tendencies during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII; only a very mild dig at Rogers not noticing the radioactivity of a cube fragment.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Maria Stark]]
!!''Maria Stark''
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maria_stark.png]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/HopeDavis
->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''

Howard Stark's wife and Tony Stark's mother.
----
* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler:Implied, given when the Winter Soldier moves to kill her, she doesn't even try fighting back, or even screaming.]]
* ElegantClassicalMusician: The first time she's seen, she's playing and singing on the piano.
* GoodParents: By all indications (and the fact Tony never complains about her the same as he does his father), she was this for Tony.
* LastGirlWins
* {{Muggle}}: She was just an ordinary person, with no particular scientific expertise or genius. She still seems capable of dealing with both Howard and Tony though.
* OutOfFocus: She appears and is mentioned ''much'' less than her husband.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Edwin Jarvis]]
!!''Edwin Jarvis''
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jarvis_edwin.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"An ideal butler provides service without being asked."'']]
->'''Portrayed By:''' James D'Arcy
->'''Appearances:''' ''Series/AgentCarter''

->'''Peggy:''' You're new to espionage, aren't you?\\
'''Jarvis:''' Far from it. Last summer, I caught the cook pocketing the good spoons.

Howard Stark's butler, lent to Peggy in order to aid her in clearing Stark's name. Posthumously ended up becoming the basis for [[Film/IronMan Tony Stark]]'s A.I., [[Characters/IronManFilms J.A.R.V.I.S.]].
----

* KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade: Hinted at in ''Winter Soldier''. When Natasha questions why S.H.I.E.L.D. never caught on [[spoiler:to HYDRA's infiltration, Zola]] smugly remarks "Accidents will happen." News clippings of the Starks' deaths then appear onscreen. [[spoiler: His death is finally shown in ''Civil War''.]]

--> '''Tony:''' He was cold, calculating, never told me he loved me, didn't even tell me that he liked me, so it's a bit hard for me to digest that he said the whole "future is riding on me" thing. You're talking about a man whose happiest day of his life was shipping me off to boarding school.

!!''Maria Collins Carbonell Stark''

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jarvis_edwin.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"An ideal butler provides service without being asked."'']]

* ReplacementScrappy: He's more abrasive to her than he ever was to Pepper or J.A.R.V.I.S.

[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click here]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/howard_stark_icon.png[[/labelnote]] to see Howard's look from the '70s onwards]]

->'''Portrayed by:''' Gerard Sanders, John Slattery, Creator/DominicCooper (pictured)

-->''"Technically, we're not even sure it works, but-- well, let's face it, I invented it, so it works."''

->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/IronMan1 | Film/IronMan2 | Film/IronMan3'' | Film/SpiderManHomecoming''

->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/IronMan1 | Film/IronMan2 | Film/IronMan3''

* AffablyEvil: He's a double-dealing arms trader who initiates a coup against Tony with the board of directors to lock him out of the company. On the other hand, he's a jovial wise-cracker who brings Tony pizza from New York (Tony lives in Malibu), rides around on a Segway, and [[NiceToTheWaiter treats his employees well]] (unless he's in a bad mood). In the film's climax, he talks softly friendly with Tony and compliments the arc reactor design even as [[spoiler:he casually mentions ordering a hit on Tony, and takes the arc reactor from his chest and leaves him for dead.]]

* BlackMarket: His source of income is [[ArmsDealer selling weapons to anyone with the money for them]]. [[spoiler:His plot to have Tony killed is so he can engage in his dealings without someone watching over his shoulder]].

* CarFu: Tries to crush Tony under an SUV. When that fails, he grabs a motorcycle and bats him away with it.
* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler: Orchestrated the hit on Tony in Afganistan and later locks him out of the company to continue his EvilPlan]].

* CigarChomper: Goes nicely with the corrupt business man thing he has going.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: [[spoiler:Handed over Stark weaponry to the Ten Rings in exchange for using them on Tony's convoy.]] Tony is aghast when he finds out, as it means his uber-patriotic company has been "double-dealing" to terrorists and U.S. armed forces alike.

* ManipulativeBastard: Manipulates Tony out of the company and [[spoiler: uses and discards the Ten Rings when they are no longer useful]].

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/obadiah_stane_im1_3786.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click here]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/iron_monger_im1_4559.png[[/labelnote]] to see the Iron Monger suit]]

-->''"We're iron mongers; we make weapons."''

[[folder:Virginia "Pepper" Potts]]

->''"You know, there's only 8,011 things that I really need to talk to you about."''

->'''Portrayed By''': Creator/JeffBridges
->'''Appearances''': ''Film/IronMan1''

->''"We're iron mongers; we make weapons."''

[[folder:Harold "Happy" Hogan]]

->'''Portrayed By''': Creator/JonFavreau
->'''Appearances''': ''Film/IronMan1 | Film/IronMan2 | Film/IronMan3''

->''"Let me tell you something, you know what happened when I told people I was Iron Man's bodyguard? They would laugh in my face. I had to leave while I still had a shred of dignity."''

->''"As you wish, sir. I've also prepared a safety briefing for you to entirely ignore."''

->''"Technically, we're not even sure it works, but-- well, let's face it, I invented it, so it works."''

->'''Peggy''': You're new to espionage, aren't you?\\
'''Jarvis''': Far from it. Last summer, I caught the cook pocketing the good spoons.

->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/IronMan2'' (portrayed by Lazarev), ''Series/AgentCarter'' (portrayed by Ronin)

->'''Portrayed By''': Creator/GwynethPaltrow
->'''Appearances''': ''Film/IronMan1 | Film/IronMan2 | Film/{{The Avengers|2012}} | Film/IronMan3''

!Stark Industries & Household

!!Howard Stark

[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click here]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/howard_stark_icon.png[[/labelnote]] to see to see Howard in ''Iron Man 2'']]

* AbusiveParents:
** The prequel comics indicate that Howard's treatment of Tony sometimes verged on this. Tony believes his dad hated him.
---> '''Tony:''' My dad never told me he loved me. He never even told me he liked me. You're talking about a guy whose happiest day was when he shipped me off to boarding school.
** Zig-zagged with the reveal in ''The Winter Soldier'' that [[spoiler: HYDRA had infiltrated and taken over S.H.I.E.L.D., and that Howard had discovered it. It's implied that Howard knew he was in danger and that shipping off Tony was in order to [[ShooTheDog get him away to safety]].]] That makes his actions much more tragic and sympathetic.

* RedheadedHeroine: She helps take down Stane, gets Hammer arrested, [[spoiler: and kills Killian]].

!![[ComicBook/PepperPotts ''Virginia "Pepper" Potts]]''

!!''Virginia [[ComicBook/PepperPotts "Pepper" Potts]]''

[[folder:Anthony "Tony" Stark / Iron Man]]

!!'''Virginia [[ComicBook/PepperPotts "Pepper" Potts]]'''

!!Obadiah Stane / Iron Monger

!!'''Harold "Happy" Hogan'''

!!'''J.A.R.V.I.S.'''

->'''Voice By:''' Creator/PaulBettany

->'''Portrayed By''': Creator/PaulBettany (voice in MCU)
->'''Appearances''': ''Film/IronMan1 | Film/IronMan2 | Film/{{The Avengers|2012}} | Film/IronMan3 | Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron''

* TheAtoner: Eventually he got fed up with all the destruction his more dangerous inventions caused, and sought to have them destroyed. It's implied he founded S.H.I.E.L.D. as way to make amends.

* MeaningfulName: Tony often refers to his mentor/father figure as "Obie". Obie = Obi = [[Franchise/StarWars Obi-Wan]].

* GirlFriday: She's literally called FRIDAY, and in the comics, she's named after this very term.

** ReplacementScrappy: He's more abrasive to her than he ever was to Pepper or J.A.R.V.I.S.
* TheVoice: Though [[MythologyGag Tony mentions]] [[http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Friday_%28Earth-616%29 he pictures her as a redhead.]]

** Zig-zagged with the reveal in ''The Winter Soldier'' that [[spoiler: Hydra had infiltrated and taken over S.H.I.E.L.D., and that Howard had discovered it. It's implied that Howard knew he was in danger and that shipping off Tony was in order to [[ShooTheDog get him away to safety]].]] That makes his actions much more tragic and sympathetic.

* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: In ''The Winter Soldier,'' it's revealed that the car accident that killed him and his wife [[spoiler:was in fact an assassination arranged by HYDRA]]. ''Civil War'' elaborates on this by showing that [[spoiler:they were killed by Bucky for the Super Soldier Serum that Howard was taking away from Hydra]].

[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click here]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5423194c03b96ab01f07bb55fa2668db.png[[/labelnote]] to see Anton in present day]]

->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/IronMan2'' (portrayed by Lazarev), ''Agent Carter'' (portrayed by Ronin)

* CallForward: To ''Film/IronMan2'' in which his death drives his son Ivan to seek revenge on Tony Stark.

[[folder:Howard Stark]]
!!Howard Stark
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/howard_stark_ca_780.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click here]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/howard_stark_icon.png[[/labelnote]] to see to see Howard in ''Iron Man 2'']]

->'''Portrayed by:''' Gerard Sanders, John Slattery, Creator/DominicCooper (pictured)
->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/IronMan1'' | ''Film/IronMan2'' | ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' | ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' | ''Film/MarvelOneShots'': ''Film/AgentCarter'' | ''Series/AgentCarter'' | ''Film/AntMan'' | ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''

->''"Technically, we're not even sure it works, but-- well, let's face it, I invented it, so it works."''

The founder and CEO of Stark Industries, and Tony Stark's father. During World War II, he was America's biggest military contractor, and one of the leading scientists behind the SuperSoldier project. He occasionally assisted Rogers in several missions during his tenure before returning to Stark Industries.

After the war, he became a founding member of S.H.I.E.L.D.

* AbusiveParents:
** The prequel comics indicate that Howard's treatment of Tony sometimes verged on this. Tony believes his dad hated him.
---> '''Tony:''' My dad never told me he loved me. He never even told me he liked me. You're talking about a guy whose happiest day was when he shipped me off to boarding school.
** Zig-zagged with the reveal in ''The Winter Soldier'' that [[spoiler: Hydra had infiltrated and taken over S.H.I.E.L.D., and that Howard had discovered it. It's implied that Howard knew he was in danger and that shipping off Tony was in order to [[ShooTheDog get him away to safety]].]] That makes his actions much more tragic and sympathetic.
* AcePilot: The best civilian pilot in the USA during WWII, skills he uses to fly Steve Rogers 30 miles behind enemy lines.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: In the second film, it seems Tony thinks his father was this to him. Quite aside from Howard Stark's apparent lack of parenting skills, he's been "dead for almost twenty years...still takin' [Tony] to school".
* TheAtoner: Eventually he got fed up with all the destruction his more dangerous inventions caused, and sought to have them destroyed. It's implied he founded S.H.I.E.L.D. as way to make amends.
* AmbiguouslyJewish: In the fourth episode of ''Series/AgentCarter'', Howard relates several details of his background that hint at this. He also uses Yiddish in the second season.
* ArbitrarilyLargeBankAccount: He definitely shows shades of this in ''Agent Carter'', especially season 2, much like his son in the present day. However, it's arguably more impressive in Howard's case, given that he's a relatively young man in the series and ''founded'' Stark Industries (as opposed to Tony, who's also a brilliant engineer but inherited the prosperous company from his father on top of that).
* BiggerStick: Working on a SuperSoldier project either led to this kind of thinking or is his reason for being there in the first place. In any case, he eventually said, "peace means having a bigger stick than the other guy".
* BrainyBrunette: He built Stark Industries on technology and arranging military contracts.
* BreakTheCutie:
** Strongly implied - in CA, Howard's cheerful, optimistic, and outgoing, as opposed to the bitter, emotionally-distant drunk he's shown to be in other films. Steve's "death" was likely a CynicismCatalyst - Tony claims Howard couldn't stop talking about him decades later.
** Having to confront all the destruction his inventions caused also helped him along the way
** The reveal in ''Winter Soldier'' that [[spoiler:S.H.I.E.L.D. had been taken over from within by HYDRA]], and Howard knew about it, may have also had a lot do with his emotional turn later in life.
* ButForMeItWasTuesday: An odd example. Even he can't remember every woman he's gone out with. {{Exaggerated}} in ''Agent Carter'' Season 2: He doesn't even remember Dottie Underwood as the woman who held him hostage in the previous season's finale. Apparently, a woman kidnapping him by gunpoint isn't a very significant incident for him.
* ButtMonkey: To some degree, inventions wise. His hover car appears to work until it falls down to the ground, and when he's studying the Cube, he's BlownAcrossTheRoom.
** He's this InUniverse as well, as Peggy [[ServileSnarker and even Jarvis]] will often take jabs at his various vices (with or without him actually being around), though all in jest.
* TheCasanova: during TheForties at least.
** In ''CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' he kisses one of the showgirls helping him demonstrate the early repulsor car at the fair, and later suggestively invites Peggy for fondue in Switzerland when flying Steve behind enemy lines to rescue the 107th.
** In ''Film/AgentCarter'' he explains bikinis to Dum-Dum at the end.
** In ''Series/AgentCarter'' his tomcatting is expanded upon and has several women hanging around his Los Angeles mansion's pool.
* CasualKink: In ''Agent Carter'', Peggy finds a closet of female fetish clothes Stark uses to add a "theatrical element" to his private life in his... personal penthouse.
* CursedWithAwesome: His technical genius becomes this when he sees the destruction his inventions can cause, especially the ones that weren't even supposed to ''be'' weapons.
* ChivalrousPervert: He's genuinely trying to do some good in the world with his inventions and can be all-business when the situation calls for it, but ''Agent Carter'' shows that he'll also bed anyone in a skirt, with very few exceptions like Peggy.
* DeadpanSnarker: Not quite as snarky as his son, but he's no slouch.
* DudeWheresMyRespect:
** In ''Agent Carter'', it appears Peggy is the ''only'' SSR agent who doesn't jump to believing the frame job on him.
** During WWII, he had to contend with officers who thought they knew how to use his inventions better than he did. [[spoiler:Many innocent people died because of it.]]
* {{Expy}}:
** Of Creator/HowardHughes, specifically Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio in ''Film/TheAviator'', especially apparent in the ''Agent Carter'' short.
*** This is set to become even more apparent in season 2 of ''Agent Carter'', where he's poised to set up his own movie studio.
** Of his son, [[Film/IronMan Tony]] (he has a mustache but no beard, like how Tony was drawn for many years until the ''ComicBook/HeroesReborn'' introduced the bearded look)...and Creator/WaltDisney. Check out the plan for his expo!
* ForScience: His main reason for creating his inventions. He's not pleased when his partner Anton Vanko is OnlyInItForTheMoney. This is probably why he looks and sounds very hurt when Peggy suggests that he's OnlyInItForTheMoney where [[spoiler:Steve's blood]] and all the cures that it could lead to are concerned. He even outright asks her, "What kind of man do you think I am?"
* InsufferableGenius: Like father, like son, though with a strange sense of modesty.
--> '''Howard Stark:''' Speaking modestly, I'm the best mechanical engineer in this country, but I do not know what's inside this [HYDRA submarine] or how it works.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: [[ParentalNeglect Tony may not know about this]] until after he's dead, but he's very loyal and benevolent to Steve Rogers, not that it helps [[TheUnfavorite Tony's case]].
* KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade: Hinted at in ''Winter Soldier''. When Natasha questions why S.H.I.E.L.D. never caught on [[spoiler:to HYDRA's infiltration, Zola]] smugly remarks "Accidents will happen." News clippings of the Starks' deaths then appear onscreen. [[spoiler: His death is finally shown in ''Civil War''.]]
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Technological genius and playboy with a streak of showmanship who [[WaistcoatOfStyle dresses very well]] and becomes involved with superheroes. Additionally, both Tony and Howard eventually become disillusioned with the weapons business after seeing all the chaos it causes and wish to make amends by doing something good (Tony became Iron Man, Howard founded SHIELD) while still having to deal with politicians and GeneralRipper characters who keep wanting them to make weapons.
* MadScientist: He's got the tendencies, even if he doesn't have the attitude.
--> '''Howard:''' Seems harmless enough. Hard to see what all the fuss is about.\\
''(touches energy bit, massive explosion blows him back)''\\
'''Howard:''' ''(dazed, yet unconcerned)'' ...Write that down.
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: In ''The Winter Soldier,'' it's revealed that the car accident that killed him and his wife [[spoiler:was in fact an assassination arranged by HYDRA]]. ''Civil War'' elaborates on this by showing that [[spoiler:they were killed by Bucky for the Super Soldier Serum that Howard was taking away from Hydra]].
* MyGreatestFailure: Not finding Steve after he crashed the Valkyrie into the Arctic. [[spoiler:It was how Ivchenko was able to put him under hypnosis.]]
* MrAltDisney: Richard Sherman (who with his brother Robert composed and wrote songs for Walt Disney) wrote the Stark Expo Jingle in ''Iron Man 2''. Compare the video footage of Slattery's Howard in ''Film/IronMan2'' with episodes of ''Disneyland'', ''Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color'', and ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', particularly ones about "The Florida Project" and "Epcot." The resemblance is deliberate and eerie.
* NiceGuy: Before devolving into JerkWithAHeartOfGold, he's genuinely nice to about anyone he meets. He gets along with Peggy enough to ask her if she'd like some Fondue and when Steve misinterprets it for them having an affair, he takes the time to explain him what fondue is. He even takes Steve's contributions to the uniform to heart when showing him his new Shield. [[spoiler: When Captain America sinks the plane and is missing, Howard is hell bent on finding him, to the point where S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents loyal to his cause make finding Captain America their first priority.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In ''Agent Carter'', [[spoiler:his inventions end up causing mass death and destruction once Leviathan finally gets their hands on them. In many cases, his inventions were actually ''not'' weapons and were intended to be used as defensive equipment for soldiers, but [[GoneHorriblyWrong severely flawed prototypes]] meant that they could end up accidentally causing a great deal of death. Much more vile characters then make use of these "weapons". Even Jarvis called his inventions "Mr. Stark's bloody inventions" while losing most of his usual ServileSnarker tone in his voice, indicating even he's horrified with his boss' work.]]
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Doing your patriotic duty to help your home country defeat the Nazis by becoming a military contractor? All well and good until a [[spoiler:GeneralRipper steals one of your untested dangerous prototypes and it causes nothing but innocent deaths when it turns out it induces a HatePlague]].
* NonActionGuy: He's an excellent pilot and a genius weapon's designer, but no fighter.
* ParentalFavoritism: The fact that Howard, always a distant and hard-to-please dad, "never shut up" about Steve Rogers is a thorny point with Tony by the time ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' rolls around, fuelling his initial dislike of Steve.
* ParentalNeglect: Howard was proud of Tony and left him the map to creating a new element, but it sounds like he was as bad at communicating his feelings as Tony.
--> '''Tony:''' He was cold, calculating, never told me he loved me, didn't even tell me that he liked me, so it's a bit hard for me to digest that he said the whole "future is riding on me" thing. You're talking about a man whose happiest day of his life was shipping me off to boarding school.
* PlatonicLifePartners: {{Deconstructed}} with Peggy. Howard genuinely respects her skills (unlike most men in the time period) and Peggy is one of the few women he doesn't flirt with (aside from friendly teasing). However, because of his history as a notorious playboy, many people (including Peggy's co-workers) assume that they have a romantic relationship or Peggy is attracted by the playboy's sex appeal.
* ThePornomancer: Much like his son, ''Agent Carter'' shows this is a running trait; especially in the episode "A Sin to Err", where his list of his paramours in the last six months is at least three pages long and Jarvis still comments that it seems rather short. He's even had [[UpToEleven more of his escapades shown than Tony has]], though that might have to do with Tony being in a stable relationship in most of his films while Howard hasn't met his future wife yet.
* PosthumousCharacter: Averted in ''The First Avenger'', ''Agent Carter'', and the one-shot he appears in, due to their taking place in the 1940's, but in the modern-day setting of most of the films, Howard has been deceased since December of 1991.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Stark shows shades of believing this in ''Agent Carter'', believing that setting himself up as bait in a trap is the best way to make up for the damage done by his weapons. "This is the only way to redeem myself!"
* ReedRichardsIsUseless: He invented a lot of stuff that far outpaces even today's technology that never made it past the prototype stage. Justified in some cases, as he intentionally kept them that way for fear of them being used as weapons.
* RichInDollarsPoorInSense: While on the run in ''Agent Carter'', he calls his butler Jarvis for assistance in preparing his favorite drink.
* ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder: When he gets an idea for an invention, no matter how dangerous, he can't ''not'' make it. That's why he has a vault for his "bad babies".
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: Howard develops weapons for the military which is why he wasn't punished for helping Steve with his ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight.
* SelfMadeMan: Howard claims his parents were working class people from Manhattan's Lower East Side, so he had to fight his way to the top and his millions.
* TheSmartGuy: In-charge of improving Cap's shield and costume as well as other high tech devices for the Allies.
* StepfordSmiler: Underneath his cocky showy persona he harbors deep feelings of guilt for [[spoiler:his failure to to find Steve and all the death and destruction his inventions bring.]]
* TimeShiftedActor: Played by a total of three actors corresponding to the different ages at which the character appears: by Dominic Cooper in the 1940s, by John Slattery in the 1960s, 1970s, 1989 [[spoiler: and 1991]], and by Gerard Sanders in various flashback photos in ''Iron Man''.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Over the years he's becoming this, especially when he started to become a father for Tony. He didn't exhibit any real Jerkass tendencies during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII; only a very mild dig at Rogers not noticing the radioactivity of a cube fragment.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anthony "Tony" Stark / Iron Man]]
-->See the [[Characters/MCUAvengersInitiative Avengers Initiative page]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Virginia "Pepper" Potts]]
!!'''Virginia [[ComicBook/PepperPotts "Pepper" Potts]]'''
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pepper_pots_im2_7362.png]]

->'''Portrayed By''': Creator/GwynethPaltrow
->'''Appearances''': ''Film/IronMan1 | Film/IronMan2 | Film/{{The Avengers|2012}} | Film/IronMan3''

->''"You know, there's only 8,011 things that I really need to talk to you about."''

Tony Stark's faithful personal assistant, later CEO of Stark Industries, and eventually his LoveInterest.
----

[[folder:Edwin Jarvis]]
!!''Edwin Jarvis''
->'''Portrayed By:''' James D'Arcy
->'''Appearances:''' ''Series/AgentCarter''
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jarvis_edwin.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"An ideal butler provides service without being asked."'']]

->'''Peggy''': You're new to espionage, aren't you?\\
'''Jarvis''': Far from it. Last summer, I caught the cook pocketing the good spoons.

Howard Stark's butler, lent to Peggy in order to aid her in clearing Stark's name. Posthumously ended up becoming the basis for [[Film/IronMan Tony Stark]]'s A.I., [[Characters/IronManFilms J.A.R.V.I.S.]].