Hello everyone! Did you know that a little film called Avengers: Endgame is coming out soon? Well, before it does, I thought it would be fun to look back at the most iconic characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and to overview their arcs, strengths, weaknesses, and other things.

Today, I’ll start with Iron Man. Iron Man was the first hero and movie to start up the MCU way back in 2008. Today he is still a popular character that has become an important player in this universe. So let us check this guy out!

NAME: Anthony Edward “Tony” Stark

POWERS: Genius Intellect, Various Armored Suits

APPEARANCES: 10 (Including Endgame), first appeared in Iron Man (2008)

REFERENCES/MENTION: 4

AFFILIATION(S): S.H.I.E.L.D, Avengers

EQUIPMENT: Various Suits and Gadgets

KNOWN FOR: Being a founding member of the Avengers, being a consultant to S.H.I.E.L.D, creating the villain Ultron and aiding in the creation of Vision, agreeing with the Sokovian Accords.

Overview/Interpretation: As a CEO of his family-found company of Stark Industries, Tony Stark started out as a playboy industrialist who worked with the military to create new forms of weaponized technology. While he was a genius at developing new pieces of tech, he cared little of what would come of this industry.

Everything of course changed when he was attacked, physically harmed, and abducted by terrorists using the very weapons he helped create. Having a change of heart and realizing the ramifications of his actions, he created a prototype suit of armor and escaped his captors. He now vows to use his new knowledge of his suit tech to fight off those who would harm peace, and to find other means to protect the world.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe Started with this character way back in Iron Man (2008), and since then he has become a staple-point in this franchise. Arguably, his story arc is the most “Transformative” out of everyone else.

My Opinion: To not enjoy this character is to not enjoy the MCU as a whole. Iron Man is still, after ten years, an inspiration and crowning achievement for Marvel Studios. Of course with every great character, there are flaws to be had which help relate or later strengthen a character.

Tony Stark certainly wants to do right, but most of his personal films revolve around prior mistakes made either by him or his family legacy. A majority of his villain roster is made due to a previous engagement where Tony, known or unknowingly, screwed over a person who years later attacks him out of revenge of some sort.

Among other things, Tony’s actions are usually the cause of major problems for the Avengers team as well, including Loki using his convenient Stark Tower to open a portal. Perhaps his biggest failure was hoping to create a protective legion of safety drone, only to result in the creation of the psychotic super-AI Ultron who later went on to destroy the country of Sokovia.

Even his nearly aggressive push to sign the Sokovian Accords resulted in the divide of the Avengers team. And while it can be argued still to this day, his careless attempt to fight off Captain America and attack Bucky Barnes was not the best way to approach such a situation no matter who’s really at fault.

Despite all of that he is still a lovable character to many and it mainly comes down to his heart as a whole. No matter what mistakes he has done you know it’s all done because he cares and he doesn’t want anyone to ever be harmed again. You must also accommodate his grand ambitions to create a permanent plan for protecting the world, when the Avengers eventually become no more.

And let’s be honest, we all love when he charades his fame in one way or another. And his egotistical nature works off great on the other Avengers characters as well.

Iron Man is still one of my all time favorite heroes and easily in my top five heroes of all time. I do not know what his fate will be in Avengers: Endgame, but I have a feeling it will be a fitting end to this wonderful character.

Thanks for reading if you did, Captain America will be next! Til next I post…

-TOM