Question: how old was tony stark when howard stark dies

title: Howard Stark
text: Howard Stark is shown in the live - action Marvel Cinematic Universe movie series produced by Marvel Studios , portrayed by Dominic Cooper and John Slattery . Gerard Sanders portrayed the character in a brief memorial slideshow presentation in the beginning of the 2008 film Iron Man . Slattery first portrayed the character in the 2010 film Iron Man 2 where it is revealed that he is one of S.H.I.E.L.D. 's co-founders . Having placed a message for Tony Stark in a film reel , Howard gives Tony closure in their strained relationship while providing his son a diorama of the 1974 Stark Expo to perfect the Arc Reactor . Cooper first portrayed a younger iteration in the 2011 film Captain America : The First Avenger that aided in the Super Soldier Project and then the Strategic Scientific Reserve . His contributions include providing Steve Rogers with both a costume and shield . After the Hydra battleship that Rogers raided crashed in the ocean , Stark made attempts to find Rogers before his expeditions led to the Tesseract . Cooper reprises his role of Howard Stark in Marvel One - Shot film Agent Carter , where Peggy Carter helps Stark during S.H.I.E.L.D. 's formation . A still photograph of Cooper as Stark appears in the 2014 film Captain America : The Winter Soldier . Slattery reprised his role in the 2015 film Ant - Man . In a flashback in the late - 1980s , he witnesses Hank Pym 's resignation from S.H.I.E.L.D. after the discovery of them trying to replicate the Pym Particles without consent . While objecting to Pym 's actions , Stark felt that Mitchell Carson did deserve Hank 's punch following Mitchell 's inappropriate comment about Janet van Dyne . Slattery again reprised the role in the 2016 film Captain America : Civil War . It shows that the car crash said to be the cause of the deaths of Howard and Maria Stark on December 16 , 1991 was caused by Bucky Barnes while under Hydra 's control . Barnes caused the car to crash , and then killed the Starks with his bare hands after they survived the initial impact .