Tony Stark

## Iron Man

"I hope they remember you. When they try to take anything away from me... they'd better remember you."

### Occupation

Avenger, MPF Founder

**Tony Stark** is a major protagonist from **Marvel Comics** - though this specific incarnation hails from the **Marvel Cinematic Universe**.

## Canon

Tony Stark. Billionaire philanthropist. Industrialist. Avenger.

The Iron Man.

Tony Stark wasn't always the man he is today - in the aftermath of his parents' death and the subsequent inheritance of their company, Stark Industries, Tony enjoyed the selfish playboy lifestyle for a time, until he was kidnapped by a terrorist organisation known as the Ten Rings in Afghanistan. With his life at stake, using only scraps he found in the cave in which he was being held, Stark manufactured the first of many iterations of the fabled Iron Man armour, and used it to escape his captivity. Upon his return to his home of Manhattan, Tony went on to develop several more suits expanding upon the first iteration, using them to fight against terrorists and eventually Obadiah Stane, a corrupt executive wishing to usurp Stark Industries for himself using the same technology. After defeating Stane, saving the life of his love interest Pepper Potts in the process, basking in the glory of his newfound identity, Tony publicly revealed himself with a timeless line.

"I am Iron Man."

During his tenure as a superhero using various new iterations of the Iron Man armour, Tony found himself dying due to poisoning from his Arc Reactor - after yet another jeopardization of his position as CEO of Stark Industries as well as an attempt on his life, Stark agreed to join SHIELD and perfect their technology, entering a relationship with Pepper Potts at the same time.

### Avengers Assemble

Around this time period, Stark joined the original iteration of the Avengers, defending New York City from an invasion by Thanos' Chitauri at the behest of the Trickster God, Loki, alongside Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Bruce Banner, Thor and Steve Rogers. After the battle of New York, Stark created the Iron Legion to defend Earth and aid him in retiring.

After yet another incident in which Pepper Potts almost lost her life, Stark engaged the Clean Slate Protocol, resolving to destroy all of his Iron Man armours - this prospect was quickly discontinued upon the beginning of the War on HYDRA, at which point Tony created more armours and resumed his role as Iron Man to aid in the effort, acquiring Loki's Sceptre.

### Age of Ultron

It was then that Tony, influenced partially by Wanda Maximoff and with the help of Bruce Banner, created a peacekeeping initiative in the form of an artificial intelligence named Ultron, its prime directive being "peace in our time". Ultron was intended to protect the Earth in the Avengers' stead, allowing them to live out the rest of their lives in relative peace, but after beholding the amount of strife inflicted upon humanity by itself, Ultron concluded that the only way to truly secure peace was to destroy humanity, going rogue and becoming hellbent on humanity's destruction, as well as the Avengers' in particular. In order to aid him with defeating Ultron, capitalizing on the rogue AI's plan to create a new body to inhabit using the Mind Stone, Tony implanted the personality of JARVIS into the body, creating Vision. Ultron was defeated in the Battle of Sokovia, but not without massive loss of human life and wanton levels of destruction, as well as the death of Wanda Maximoff's brother, Quicksilver.

### The Civil War

After the Ultron Offensive, haunted by his role in creating Ultron, Stark quickly agreed to the Sokovia Accords, a set of documents which would make the Avengers the property of the government, allowing them to decide when and where the Avengers were called into action. This decision split the Avengers in two, with Steve Rogers vehemently opposing the Accords and Stark supporting them. Stark was forced to lead a manhunt for Rogers after Rogers allied himself with the fugitive Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes, recruiting a young Peter Parker to his side to help in detaining the two fugitives and giving him a pro bono suit upgrade. Tracking the two to a remote facility in Siberia, Stark, upon learning that Barnes was responsible for the death of his parents, made to kill the Winter Soldier, forcing him and Rogers to battle Stark and eventually disabling his suit, though not without Stark blasting off Barnes' mechanical arm. Stark also became a mentor for Parker around this time, as well as becoming engaged to Pepper Potts.

### Infinity War

In 2018, Stark was present in New York City with Bruce Banner and Dr. Stephen Strange, the keeper of the Time Stone, when the Black Order arrived on Earth to claim the Time Stone for the Mad Titan, Thanos. Rendezvousing with Peter Parker, gifting him with a new suit to prevent him suffocating in the upper atmosphere, Stark, Strange, Wong and Parker killed Ebony Maw upon one of Thanos' spacecrafts before being ambushed by the Guardians of the Galaxy, excluding Gamora who had been taken by Thanos prior. Travelling to Titan to wait for Thanos, the group devised a plan, which almost succeeded in removing the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos' finger before Peter Quill snapped and began beating the Mad Titan upon learning of Gamora, his love interest's death. Thanos promptly snatched back the Gauntlet, shattering the group's plan and forcing Stark to engage Thanos in one on one combat, drawing blood from him before being impaled through the stomach by his own nanotechnology formed into a jagged shard. Thanos prepared to kill Stark, proclaiming that he had earned his respect, before Dr. Strange offered the Time Stone in exchange for Stark's life. Thanos, accepting the trade, took the Time Stone, travelled to Earth and enacted the Snap, annihilating half of all sentient life. The only beings that remained on Titan afterwards were Stark and Nebula, with Parker begging Stark that he "didn't want to go" and Strange proclaiming that "it was the only way".

### Endgame

Stark was returned to Earth, on the brink of death, with the assistance of Carol Danvers, at which point he berated Steve Rogers in a stupour and tore off his arc reactor, placing it in Steve's hand and demanding that he take it and kill Thanos himself. Once he was recovered, the rest of the Avengers went to kill Thanos and restore the lives taken, only to find that the Infinity Stones had been destroyed by Thanos himself. After Thor decapitated Thanos, the Avengers returned to Earth, resigned to fate. Five years later, Stark and Pepper Potts are happily married with a daughter, Morgan Stark. The Avengers, with the help of Scott Lang, devise a plan to travel back in time, retrieve the Infinity Stones and reenact the Snap to revive everyone who was killed, but Stark refuses at first, concerned for his own family's well being as well as his own. After some persuasion, Stark perfects a method of time travel using Pym Particles and a complex apparatus, and the Avengers begin the Time Heist. Stark retrieves the Mind Stone as well as the Tesseract, and returns home with Steve Rogers after revisiting the Battle of New York and conversing briefly with his father. However, a version of Thanos from the year 2014 also returns to the present, arriving at the Avengers Compound in search of the Infinity Stones and reducing it to rubble with a volley of explosives after Bruce Banner snaps his fingers, reviving everyone who was killed by the first Snap. Stark, Thor and Rogers battle Thanos while Hawkeye protects Stark's artificial Nano-Gauntlet, until Thanos overpowers the three and makes to kill Steve Rogers. At that moment, portals begin to open behind the First Avenger, revealing an army of those who oppose Thanos including every hero killed by the first Snap. The two armies prepare to collide as Captain America declares his battle cry:

"Avengers!... Assemble."

During the battle, Stark reunites with Peter Parker and fights alongside Pepper Potts, hoping to return the Infinity Stones to the correct timeline through the use of a time machine located in Scott Lang's van - however, Thanos eventually secures the Stones, and makes to snap his fingers once more, proclaiming that he will erase the universe outright and build a new one. Iron Man grabs onto his hand momentarily, only to be swatted away. Thanos proclaims "I am inevitable", and makes to snap his fingers, only to find that Stark has assimilated the Stones into his armour. The energy from the Stones eating away at his armour and his body, Stark snaps his fingers and erases Thanos' army, but not before stating his last words.

"I am Iron Man."

Badly injured by the energy from the Snap, Pepper and Peter Parker among others tearfully plead with Tony, with Pepper telling him that she and Morgan will be alright and that he can rest. Assured that his family and the Earth will be preserved in his absence, Tony Stark dies.

## Pre-Paradise

Erasing the army of the Mad Titan Thanos from existence using the power of the Infinity Stones.

## Plot Involvement

Upon his arrival in the Hotel, Stark immediately set about discovering his whereabouts, being brought into the Multiverse Protection Foundation in short orde. While there, he is made aware of Thanos' presence and vows to kill him someday. Tony also reprimanded Cillian Bukowski for his errant use of bowling balls as a projectile after narrowly avoiding being hit by one falling from the sky. Stark later met Cillian personally, conversing with him in the aftermath of a gauss cannon experiment gone wrong, extinguishing the flames and offering his assistance to Cillian in developing an improved one before leaving once more.

Later on, in the middle of a meeting at the MPF's headquarters, Tony catches wind of Thanos' position, and accompanied by Jason Todd, flies out to meet him. After Thanos refuses to fight back against him, Tony eventually snaps and decapitates Thanos in a fit of grief and rage. He proceeded to announce Thanos' death alongside Jason Todd in the Hotel's public chatroom, defending his stance momentarily before going offline.

## Character Relationships

* *Jason Todd* **-** The leader of the Multiverse Protection Foundation and one of the first people Stark spoke with upon his arrival to the Hotel. Stark trusts Todd, seeing no reason not to, and the two, while not particularly friendly as of yet, are efficient workplace colleagues.
* *Cillian Bukowski* **-** Stark first met Bukowski over the public chat, scolding him for his errant use of bowling balls as a projectile and ordering his remote suits to deliver the bowling balls back to him. Shortly afterward, Stark met Cillian personally, conversing with him in the aftermath of an experimental gauss cannon's explosion before offering his aid to the burgeoning scientist and taking his leave. Stark sees himself in the young orphan, and is intrigued by his prowess, hoping to meet and speak with him again on less tense terms.
* *Thanos* **-** Thanos and Tony Stark have never met in person, and for good reason - Stark vowed to kill Thanos himself upon the revelation that the Mad Titan was present, and fully intends to do so whenever the opportunity arises. Stark despises Thanos, and for good reason, and will not hesitate to attempt to kill him when they should meet.

## Trivia

* Tony appears to be a de-facto adoptive father figure and mentor to Cillian Bukowski.
* Tony Stark was the victor of one of the largest polls ever run in the server to date, defeating characters such as Vergil from the *Devil May Cry* Series, Charlie Magne from *Hazbin Hotel*, Adrian Veidt from *Watchmen* and Ultron.
* Tony Stark is responsible for the first character death in the Multiverse Paradise server, killing Thanos.