History Characters / MCUIronMan

* RetiredBadass: Implied by the producer of ''Multiverse of Madness'', referencing how Tony had inteded for Ultron to make it possible for the Avengers to retire. So it's possible that like Wanda he retired from the Avengers instead of continuing as Iron Man.

* RetiredBadass: Implied by the produce of ''Multiverse of Madness'', referencing how Tony had inteded for Ultron to make it possible for the Avengers to retire. So it's possible that like Wanda he retired from the Avengers instead of continuing as Iron Man.

!!!'''Voiced By:''' N/A

* AlternateUniverseReedRichardsIsAwesome: Notably subverted despite many other characters getting this treatment in ''What If...?'', with three of the variants being killed while the fourth only helped Gamora kill Thanos. The Sacred Timeline version is the only one to sacrifice his life to stop Thanos and become one of the greatest heroes in his universe.

* RichIdiotWithNoDayJob: In his case it's more of Rich Idiot ''with'' a day job, but he still flaunts and abuses his rich boy status to have as much fun as he can. By the end of his first film he reveals his secret identity to the world, and his "real" day job becomes clear.

* RudeHeroNiceSidekick: Has this dynamic with Peter Parker/Spider-Man in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''. While Tony is snarky and blunt towards the other heroes they need to team up with, Peter's a lot more approachable and easygoing to them.

** ''Iron Man'': While he owns Stark Industries, and is involved in the design and technical side of their cutting edge projects as well as in their most important deals, he leaves the actual running of the company to Obadiah Stane. Instead, he prefers to spend his time partying, drinking and having one night stands with random women. He even skips out on a award ceremony in his honour to spend the night at a casino and has his private plane include paid dancers. He grows out of it following his experiences. Deconstructed in that it was him acting this way that allowed Stane to manipulate him and misuse the company to sell arms to terrorists. Stark is horrified to discover the sheer amount of corruption and death his negligence has let occur.
** ''Iron Man 2'': He briefly relapses into his former bad habits and takes them to self destructive levels. It's a consequence of knowing that he's slowly dying and being unable to find a cure to the metal poisoning from the tech that's allowing him to be Iron Man and keeping him alive.

* {{Expy}}: Outside of the MCU and Marvel in general, in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', that bared [[WholePlotReference plot similarities with]] ''Film/FirstBlood'' (both film and [[Literature/FirstBlood the book the it is based on]]), his role [[DecompositeCharacter along with]] T'Challa's are akin to that of the book's sympathetic version of police chief (instead of sheriff in the film version) Will Teasle for their plot-specific establishment HeroAntagonist roles they play in those respective aforementioned works (including their personal motivations to avenge the deaths of their fathers/father figures in their lives against the fugitive WarHero vets whom they believed are responsible with Tony wanting to avenge his father Howard's death against Bucky to that of Teasle in the novel wanting to avenge his ParentalSubstitute Orval Kellerman's death against Rambo, in addition both of them were estranged from their female partners at the time of the premise at the beginning of the story with Pepper Potts having broke up with Tony at the time to that of Teasle being separated from his wife Anna in the original book as revealed in the first act, both of them have one RedHeadedHero on their team with Black Widow for Tony to Deputy Mitch, at least in the film version, for Teasle and both characters found themselves conflicted if they're performing their committed duties the right way or not, however, his calling out to Steve that the vibranium shield no longer belongs to him while lying on the floor after being defeated by the latter mirrors of that of the film's Teasle's DefiantToTheEnd GetItOverWith egging as he lies on the floor too after being defeated by Rambo in the final confrontation).

** Creating Vision in ''Age of Ultron'' is a move of desperation that almost everyone thinks is a terrible idea, but Stark is ultimately proven correct that the Avengers aren't beating Ultron by themselves and Vision is critical to victory and that his hopes about an A.I. Superhero protector were ultimately vindicated.

** Unsurprisingly, given that he appeals to almost all demographics. [[CelebrityPower His billionaire playboy status]] made him something of a celebrity to men and women alike, [[GadgeteerGenius his genius and business success]] made him renowned around the world for being the lead in technology, and [[UnclePennybags his philanthropist tendencies]] made him popular with the public in general. It's exaggerated once he dons the Iron Man armor; Tony can't go anywhere in public without drawing a crowd or Happy having to chase off the paparazzi.
** In ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'', [[spoiler:his heroic sacrifice has made him a martyr in the eyes of the public. There is a proliferation of art in tribute to Iron Man and people are constantly comparing other heroes to Tony]].

** In ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', despite only just meeting Peter, Tony showed real concern for him after he was knocked out by Giant-Man, and he cared enough to personally see Peter back to Queens in the beginning of ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming''. However, he struggles to establish a solid bond with Peter for the majority of the film due to his own DaddyIssues and the obligation he feels to make Peter into a more responsible hero than Tony himself is. This continues in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' when he tried keeping Peter from leaving the planet, is very irritated when he disobeys and is ''devastated'' when Peter turns to dust in the Snap. Five years later in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', he keeps a framed-photo of him and Peter as a reminder of [[MyGreatestFailure his Greatest Failure]], this being the primary motivator to help the rest of his old teammates when they have a new plan to fix everything. By the time he and Peter reunite after they reverse Thanos' snap, Tony responds by giving Peter that hug he had previously denied.

** At some point within the five-year gap between ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' and ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', he and Pepper had married, are living in a quaint little house by a lake and have a five-year-old daughter named Morgan. [[DaddysGirl It is made fairly obvious from the get-go that she takes after a lot from her father and he in-turn has a close relationship with her]].

** ''Iron Man'': When he was testing the flight suit he pushed the altitude beyond its tested limits with no back-ups. He could have died.

*** Instead of sealing off Loki's scepter, he screwed around with the unknown highly unpredictable alien technology, leading to the creation of Ultron. Thor, a SufficientlyAdvancedAlien, told him how dangerous it was and was mad at him when he found out.

** His "Binarily Augmented Retro Framing" device (or [[FunWithAcronyms "B.A.R.F."]]) cost him over six-hundred million to bring to life, something he admits could only be self-funded since no research firm would ever throw that kind of green at him on flight-of-fancy tech. He then says that everyone in attendance of the demonstration (which he is conducting at MIT) will have their research projects fully funded by his grant.

** To Steve Rogers, playing the seemingly selfish cynic to Steve's old-fashioned idealist. For example, when both are shown to be darlings of the public (featured at big show events complete with dancing girls), Steve is made visibly uncomfortable with the spotlight while Tony relishes in it.
** To Doctor Stephen Strange: they both start out as being [[ItsAllAboutMe self-centered]], reckless men who care about pleasure and success until a life-changing accident [[BreakTheHaughty brings them down a few pegs]]. The difference is Tony (as Iron Man) uses [[ScienceHero technology]] while Strange uses {{Magic}}. Additionally, Stark gets the chance to stroke his own ego for good by becoming a beloved superhero, while Strange learns humility by fighting battles kept away from the public eye. [[YouAreWhatYouHate It is in these similarities that lead to them butting-heads so often]].
* ForgivenButNotForgotten: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]]. After the TimeSkip in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', he finally forgives Steve for his part in their falling out, represented by giving back Captain America's shield. However, judging by how he refuses to mention [[TheScottishTrope his parents death by name]] and is uncomfortable referring to it even obliquely, he's not fully forgotten it.

* TheFriendNobodyLikes: He's not very popular among the superhero community due to three reasons: his status as a BunnyEarsLawyer and a reputation for hedonism; his past as a {{Jerkass}} weapons manufacturer and a son of Howard Stark (especially important to the Maximoff Twins, Hank Pym and Scott Lang to whom Hank passed the prejudice); his role in the creation of Ultron and the Sokovia Accords. Zig-zagged: most of the original team in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' and his new allies in ''Infinity War'' get an initial impression of him being selfish, arrogant and annoying. But after fighting alongside him and seeing how he is willing to sacrifice himself to save others, they are more open and relaxed toward him. And then his own actions or past truths (such as Bucky's involvement in the deaths of Howard and Maria Stark) create a rift between him and some heroes, while the others still like him or are indifferent towards him.
* FriendToAllChildren: Tony has an affinity for kids, and is a lot more patient and understanding (yet no less snarky) when talking to them. Three of the closest bonds he shares are with kids, in fact: Harley, Spider-Man and his own daughter Morgan hold their own with regards to witty banter and adore the man greatly.
* FunWithAcronyms: Tony likes giving his tech and AI acronyms. J.A.R.V.I.S. is Just a Very Intelligent System, B.A.R.F. is Binary Augmented Retroframing etc.

** In ''Civil War'' he teases Peter Parker over his initial improvised costume and gadgets.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] and is a case of[[invoked]] FlipFlopOfGod. [[WordOfGod Producer Nate Moore]] claims that Black Panther's younger sister Shuri has the highest I.Q. in the MCU, which would put Tony in a tie for second place with Bruce Banner. Russo brothers [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU7iBkl3anQ&t=594s also said]] she is the smartest person in the MCU. However, both [[WordOfGod director Ryan Coogler]] and [[WordOfSaintPaul Shuri's actor, Letitia Wright]], have stated on two separate occasions that Tony and Shuri are equals in terms of natural I.Q. As shown in the films, both are gifted engineers, but Shuri is more concerned with neuroscience and medical science as secondary practices, while Tony is more invested in physics, chemistry, and computer science.

*** Earlier in the film he dives into the Stark Expo playing "Shoot to Thrill" by AC/DC, which will be repeated in...

-->'''Tony:''' Apparently, I'm volatile, self-obsessed, and don't play well with others.\\

* TheAlcoholic: Downplayed. Since this is a universe where the Demon in a Bottle comic arc never happened, many scenes in Tony's first few appearances involve alcohol, although it's less because he has an addiction and more because he was a carefree MillionairePlayboy. In ''Film/IronMan2'', he gets plastered while wearing the suit, though it's because more he knows he's dying and [[DrowningMySorrows isn't handling it well]]. From ''Film/IronMan3'' onwards, Tony isn't shown drinking much, if at all, due to Creator/RobertDowneyJr's [[RealLifeWritesThePlot reluctance to revisit an old mindset that resulted in his self-destructive behavior]].

* AdaptationPersonalityChange: Tony Stark differs greatly from his [[ComicBook/IronMan comic counterpart]]. He's still an egotistical InsufferableGenius DeadpanSnarker with a reckless approach to saving the world, but he ''isn't'' the self-hating BrokenAce who imprisons his friends in a Hell-adjacent PocketDimension and repeatedly throws the world into chaos from the comics. In general, [=MCU=] Tony -- due to being the first hero to be introduced in the franchise and overall one of the main characters of the Infinity Saga -- is even considered the BigGood and savior of the world, whereas in the comics this tends to primarily be Captain America's role while Tony is only TheLancer at best (at least when he isn't directly opposing Cap). Also, comic Tony continued being a ArmsDealer even ''after'' escaping his imprisonment, while [=MCU=] Tony ends his company's weapons program almost immediately after he sees the destruction it's caused (instead re-orienting it as more of a "generic" tech conglomerate and clean energy producer) and the only weapons he makes (apart from his PoweredArmour) are solely for his friends and loved ones to use while saving the world. On top, while the movies introduce Tony as the same MillionairePlayboy he is in the comics, MCU-Tony finally [[HappilyMarried settles down with Pepper to start a family]] while comic book Tony never left his [[TheCasanova Casanova]]-days behind.

** His early Mark VI Armor in ''Film/TheAvengers2012'' he's able knock Thor around (who was probably holding back but it's impressive regardless) and even outright beat Loki.

** In ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' the Mark XLIV aka Hulkbuster armor gets this treatment as it actually lives up to its name and busts the Hulk.
** With the Mark L, Tony ''[[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sFFwvr6l2mM fought Thanos]]'' when he first met him in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', while in the comics [[https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OTdKAGXP8S0/VssAJF_ZaoI/AAAAAAAANXM/aT5-o-ImR04/s1600-Ic42/RCO014.jpg Tony was beaten easily]] by the Mad Titan when they first met.
** In ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', [[spoiler:Tony (unarmored) walks off getting smashed by The Hulk and, by the climax, is the one who kills Thanos and his army, neither of which comic Tony has ever done.]]

* TheCasanova: Is known as such in ''Film/IronMan'' and ''Film/IronMan2''. By the time of ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' however, he's in a monogamous relationship with Pepper and while, probably from habit, still a little flirtatious in his interactions with women (especially May Parker), he's not one by the later movies.

** In ''Avengers: Endgame'', when he gets back to Earth half-dead, he [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech points out to the others]] just how ProperlyParanoid he was when he made Ultron. A threat from space ''did'' come, they ''were'' completely unprepared for it and now half of the universe is nothing but ash in the wind.

* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: Instead of dying after dusting Thanos's army in ''Endgame'', Tony is infected by the zombie virus, and his zombie is destroyed by beheading during what would have been the first act of ''Infinity War''.

* AdaptationalBadass: His earlier armors are far more powerful than the earlier armors Tony employed in the comics. His most traditional armor tends to only include repulsors and the Uni-beam as weapons, but the film also adds in a lot of hidden missiles and weapons, and draws more from the later armor models than the original versions. Really Tony overall is much more powerful in most of his "normal" armors than he's usually depicted as in comics: with his early Mark VI Armor in ''Film/TheAvengers2012'' he's able knock Thor around (who was probably holding back but it's impressive regardless) and even outright beat Loki. In the Battle of New York with the Mark VII Armor, Tony kills a Chitauri Leviathan (the humongous flying centipede-snake things) from [[KillItThroughItsStomach the inside out]] and then flies at top speed into a portal and destroys the Chitauri Mothership with a nabbed nuclear missile as a HeroicSacrifice. In ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' the Mark XLIV aka Hulkbuster armor gets this treatment as it actually lives up to its name and busts the Hulk. Oh and less we forget with the Mark L Tony ''[[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sFFwvr6l2mM fights Thanos]]'' when he first meets him in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', while in the comics [[https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OTdKAGXP8S0/VssAJF_ZaoI/AAAAAAAANXM/aT5-o-ImR04/s1600-Ic42/RCO014.jpg Tony was beaten easily]] by the Mad Titan when they first met. [[spoiler:In ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' Tony (unarmored) walks off getting smashed by The Hulk and by the climax is the one who kills Thanos and his army, neither of which comic Tony has done.]]

** Unsurprisingly, given that he appeals to almost all demographics. [[CelebrityPower His billionaire playboy status]] made him something of a celebrity to men and women alike, [[GadgeteerGenius his genius and business success]] made him renowned around the world for being the lead in technology, and [[UnclePennybags his philanthropist tendencies]] made him popular with the public in general. It's taken UpToEleven once he dons the Iron Man armor; Tony can't go anywhere in public without drawing a crowd or Happy having to chase off the paparazzi.
** UpToEleven in ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'', [[spoiler:where his heroic sacrifice has made him a martyr in the eyes of the public. There is a proliferation of art in tribute to Iron Man and people are constantly comparing other heroes to Tony]].

* RasputinianDeath: Basically, his entire arc from the first movie onward. Takes shrapnel to the chest from a Stark Industries bomb, gets hit with arc reactor energy in the fight against Stane, suffers from palladium poisoning in most of ''Iron Man 2'', falls from a wormhole in space in the first Avengers movie, survives missile fire in ''Iron Man 3'', [[UpToEleven has a MOON chucked at him]] and gets stabbed through the gut in Infinity War... and finally dies via Infinity Stone snap in ''Endgame''.

* {{Workaholic}}: If it wasn't for Pepper, JARVIS, and Rhodey, Tony would've starved, blown himself up, or overdosed on caffeine down in his workshop years ago. This goes UpToEleven in ''Iron Man 3'', where he spends more and more time in his lab to cope with his [[ShellShockedVeteran PTSD]] and nightmares. He's apparently completed at least 30 different Iron Man weapons in the space of ''six months.''

* UpToEleven: The armor is powered by a minimum of 15 Miniature Arc Reactors, each repulsor has the strength of a main armor's Unibeam output, and when fully assembled it has a height advantage over ''the Hulk''.

!! Spoilers for all works set prior to ''Avengers: Infinity War'' and ''Avengers: Endgame'' are unmarked.

** Tony assumes that if Banner was around, he'd be on the pro-registration side. Considering that the man in charge of the Accords is ''Secretary Ross'', the man who is responsible for causing Banner to get his powers and ruined his life, Natasha questions Tony's judgment on this.

* AdaptationPersonalityChange: Tony Stark differs greatly from his [[ComicBook/IronMan comic counterpart]]. He's still an egotistical InsufferableGenius DeadpanSnarker with a reckless approach to saving the world, but he ''isn't'' the self-hating BrokenAce who imprisons his friends in a Hell-adjacent PocketDimension and repeatedly throws the world into chaos from the comics. In general, [=MCU=] Tony -- due to being the first hero to be introduced in the franchise and overall one of the main characters of the Infinity Saga -- is even considered the BigGood and savior of the world, whereas in the comics this tends to primarily be Captain America's role while Tony is only TheLancer at best (at least when he isn't directly opposing Cap). Also, comic Tony continued being a ArmsDealer even ''after'' escaping his imprisonment, while [=MCU=] Tony ends his company's weapons program almost immediately after he sees the destruction it's caused (instead re-orienting it as more of a "generic" tech conglomerate and clean energy producer) and the only weapons he makes (apart from his PoweredArmour) are solely for his friends and loved ones to use while saving the world.

* AdaptationalHeroism: ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' portrays him much more sympathetically than the comics do, where he made several morally gray and sometimes outright villainous decisions, alienating much of his fanbase. In the film, he goes along with the Accords out of guilt over the deaths he believes he caused in order [[MustMakeAmends to make amends]]. His conflict with the Anti-Reg side also isn't simply because they won't sign, but because Cap is breaking the law as well as protecting Bucky (a wanted fugitive), and Tony sees himself as the responsible one trying to ease tensions, whereas Cap's actions, however noble, only further inflame them. Ross's threats of lethal force against Cap's team didn't help either, nor did Steve covering the truth about the death of his parents from him.
* AdaptationalIntelligence: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]]. Tony Stark is a genius in all versions of his character, but his original comic rendition has him only specializing in engineering and physics. The MCU version, on the other hand, is a master engineer, physicist, chemist, hacker and computer scientist, a skilled biologist, knowledgeable in neuroscience, and a master businessman. Justified in that MCU Tony Stark is a CompositeCharacter, with Reed Richards's intelligence being a major part of his combined character.

* AmazonChaser: Downplayed, as it's more of their strong personalities than fighting skills. We've seen three women he slept with: Christine Everhart, Maya Hansen, and Pepper Potts. All of them are smart, capable, professional women who are willing to challenge him ([[StatuesqueStunner all three are also taller than him]]). Black Widow used the archetype as her cover identity. Tony also hires Maria Hill to help run the Avengers.

** To the Mandarin, the mysterious being who was [[CreateYourOwnHero responsible for Tony becoming Iron Man to begin with]]. The Ten Rings were responsible for the kidnapping of Tony in his very first film which in turn led to him becoming a superhero. When the Mandarin allegedly made a return in ''Film/IronMan3'', it's quite clear Tony bitterly hates him and challenges the terrorist on public television. While this Mandarin was revealed to be a fraud, the ''real'' Mandarin is still at large and plotting his next move. [[spoiler:Though he wasn't in time to make a move on Iron Man before the hero perished.]]

* BabiesEverAfter: He and Pepper have a daughter, Morgan, during the five year TimeSkip in ''Endgame''.

* BreakoutCharacter: Perhaps the character most helped by the MCU.
** Before the movies came out, Tony Stark was the LesserStar of Marvel comics: not as smart as Reed Richards, not as popular or beloved as Spider-Man, not as socially relevant as X-Men, and boasting the least interesting supporting cast and RoguesGallery of major heroes. Then the movies came out, and suddenly Iron Man is one of the biggest things ever -- to the point that he rivals ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' in popularity as a brand these days, and thanks to the rights issues of Fantastic Four, has taken over Reed Richards' role as the main genius with Dr. Doom and Norman Osborn [[RoguesGalleryTransplant transplanted]] to his storylines and titles.
** ''Iron Man'' wasn't well-known globally among Marvel titles compared to Spider-Man, the X-Men, or the Fantastic Four (the fact that those three titles were first sold to rival studios by Marvel to bail themselves out of bankruptcy, and made into movies is a major clue as to what were their most valuable properties). He didn't benefit from PopCulturalOsmosis, either, and wasn't known to people who don't read Marvel comics or know who the Avengers are. But thanks to the movies, and especially Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man is an A-Lister now.

* CainAndAbel: Although he and Steve Rogers are not directly related, Steve was a close friend of Tony's father, Howard, which essentially makes him a part of the Stark family. Being compared to Cap and stuck in his shadow during his childhood doesn't sit well with Tony, and it's one of the main reasons the two have so much tension in the movies. Their original argument in the first ''Avengers'' film [[FridgeBrilliance comes down to comparing them both to Howard.]] It comes to a head in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', as Zemo revealing Howard's true death causes Tony to attack Steve, dividing the two of them, and the Avengers as a result.

* CharacterDeath: Tony Stark uses the [[spoiler:Infinity Gauntlet to kill Thanos and his entire army, fully aware that being exposed to the Infinity Stones' collective power is fatal for a human.]]

** In ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'', after he finds out Peter lied about having band class and was just trying to save New York.
--->'''Tony:''' Band class, was it?

'''Tony:''' [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist Genius]], [[FictionFiveHundred billionaire]], [[ReallyGetsAround playboy]], [[UnclePennybags philanthropist]].

* BigEgoHiddenDepths: A [[InsufferableGenius brash-but-brilliant engineer]] who shows off his colossal wealth with [[FictionFiveHundred luxury, world-class accommodations and specialized expos]], is the in-universe [[ThePornomancer poster child for playboys]], [[BadassBoast talks a big game]] to everyone he meets, and always [[MenacingStroll has a swagger to his stride]]... also has a two-sided DarkAndTroubledPast, [[ShellshockedVeteran suffers from PTSD]], carries around an InferioritySuperiorityComplex and a [[TheAtoner guilt complex]], cares deeply for his friends and teammates, is a father figure to his protege Spider-Man, would sacrifice himself for the greater good, and [[SurvivorsGuilt is terrified of not doing enough to keep the world safe.]] He's just [[TheyreCalledPersonalIssuesForAReason very good at hiding it.]]

* CrimeFightingWithCash: He combines his [[FictionFiveHundred colossal wealth]] with his [[GadgeteerGenius phenomenal intellect]] to create the most sophisticated PoweredArmor on the planet -- and then puts it to good use by shutting down threats ranging from pirates to aliens.

* FictionFiveHundred:

* YoungAndInCharge: Formerly. At 21 years old, he was the youngest CEO in history to own and run a Fortune 500 company. Turns out it was a good thing for Stark Industries; under Tony's reign, the company's revenue and net worth had never been higher, [[FictionFiveHundred and currently clocks in at a whopping $20.3 billion and $12.4 billion, respectively.]]

'''Tony:''' [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist Genius,]] [[FictionFiveHundred billionaire,]] [[ReallyGetsAround playboy,]] [[UnclePennybags philanthropist.]]

--> '''Thanos:''' All that for a drop of blood...

* SuperToughness: Probably has ''THE'' standout durability feat amongst Tony's armors, getting hit by a massive chunk of moon Thanos hurled at him and getting back up pretty quickly.
--> '''Tony''' : You throw another moon at me, I'm gonna lose it.
** The armor survives a battle with the Black Order, a crash on Titan, a flock of bat-like creatures sent by the Reality Stone, a fireblast powered by the Power Stone, having a moon dropped on it, six direct punches from Thanos, and two direct hits from the Power Stone.