Iron Man

### Education

High school graduate; MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), multiple PhDs in physics, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering

## Characteristics

### Weight

185 lbs (84 kg); 425 lbs (193 kg) (in armor)

### Unusual Features

Chest scarring resulting from an injury which implanted large amounts of shrapnel into his chest.

## Origin

### Origin

A billionaire industrialist who is captured by terrorists and made to build weapons for them. Instead, Tony Stark used his intelligence to build a suit of power armor escape. Once freed, Stark improved his armor and became the technologically advanced superhero, Iron Man.

## History

### Early life

#### Troubled childhood

Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark was born on Friday, May 29th, 1970, in Manhattan, New York, to Howard and Maria Stark. Howard had hired a butler named Edwin Jarvis before Tony was born. Jarvis became a good friend to Tony as he grew older. He watched over Tony throughout all of his childhood. Tony had an older brother whom he had never met, Arno, who died shortly after he was born.Tony's early life was often dominated by the absence of his own father who he would later describe as both 'cold' and 'calculating'. Growing up Tony had issues with his father, who Tony has said never told his son that he loved him, or even that he liked him. Since Tony was so young, Howard never was able to tell him his plans for him.

Tony's father would constantly talk about his friend Captain America, to inspire Tony to do great things in life, which highly annoyed young Tony Stark. When he was four years old, he made his first circuit board. When he was almost seven, he built a V8 motorbike engine. At sixteen, he won the 4th Annual MIT Robot Design Award. When Tony was seventeen, he graduated MIT at the top of his class. He also met James "Rhodey" Rhodes, and they became best friends. One thing about Tony's childhood that annoyed him was his nanny that cared for him until he was 14. While he was in high school, Tony hacked into the Pentagon on a dare by some friends.

#### Losing his parents

In December 1991, when Tony was just 21, Howard and Maria prepared to go away for a few days and leave him alone, although his father remained skeptical about how responsible Tony would be while they were gone. Sadly, they died in a "car crash" in Long Island, leading Tony to become driven in grief for their deaths. In reality, they had been killed on the orders of HYDRA by the Winter Soldier, though Tony would not discover this for many years. For a few months, Howard's business partner Obadiah Stane took over as interim CEO of Stark Industries until Tony officially assumed the role shortly after. In 1994, Tony's long-serving family butler, Edwin Jarvis, also died.

### CEO of Stark Industries

#### Rebuilding the company

A few months after his parents were killed, Tony inherited Stark Industries, becoming the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 Company in history. Having built himself his own high-tech residence, Stark Mansion in Malibu, California, Tony made an artificially intelligent system that helped out in the house. He named the system "Just a Rather Very Intelligent System", shortened J.A.R.V.I.S., in tribute to his late butler Edwin Jarvis whom he had often credited for helping to raise him.

Eventually, James Rhodes joined the United States Air Force and became the liaison between Stark Industries and the United States Armed Forces, earning Tony billions of dollars. Under Tony's leadership and with the aid of Obadiah Stane, Stark Industries quickly thrived and became one of the most advanced companies in the world, creating new forms of advanced, futuristic weaponry.

#### Creating demons

On New Year's Eve in 1999, Tony, with his scientist paramour Maya Hansen, attended a science conference in Bern, Switzerland. There Tony got so drunk he could barely give his speech and rejoined the party as soon as possible. While celebrating he met a scientist named Ho Yinsen who introduced him to Doctor Wang Wu, although Tony swiftly dismissed them both and moved through the party.

While moving throughout the hotel with his assistant Happy Hogan and Maya Hansen, Tony then arrogantly disrespected a gifted but crippled scientist whom he'd just met, Aldrich Killian, who wanted Tony's financial backing for his own science company, Advanced Idea Mechanics. Once they were alone in an elevator together, Tony decided to lie to Killian for amusement, telling him he'd meet him on the rooftop of the building to discuss him working with Stark Industries, with the intention of not showing up. After Tony left the elevator, Killian departed for the rooftop to wait on him.

Back in Hansen's hotel room, Tony looked at her new research into a project known as Extremis which had the potential to regrow human limbs if she could get enough funding. Tony was amazed by the concept, although Happy was less impressed and played with a nearby plant despite being told not to. Tony and Hansen then went to her bedroom where they continued flirting with each other before then leading towards each other for a passionate kiss.

However, Happy inadvertently caused a small explosion by touching the plant, causing a brief moment of panic. Tony sent Happy away and then spent the night with Hansen, leaving Killian freezing alone on the rooftop where he even considered committing suicide out of complete humiliation. Tony was unaware of Killian's suffering and woke up the next morning, completed Hansen's formula for her before walking out and returning home, leaving Hansen behind.

#### Testing weapons in Arizona

Years later in 2010, Stark Industries was more successful than ever, earning massive profits due to both government contracts and private sales. On January 30th, Tony and James "Rhodey" Rhodes went to a weapon demonstration at the Yuma Proving Ground. Pepper Potts gave the weapon's specifics to the generals while Tony and Rhodey went to a night club. Stark enjoyed the company of two girls while Rhodey tried to convince him not to go to Afghanistan for a weapons demonstration the following month. Tony was then attacked by a man whose girlfriend he previously seduced, but Rhodey was able to defeat the attacker. Tony, Rhodes and the girls then went to Stark Mansion in order to continue the party.

#### Final day of freedom

The next month, Tony was being honored with the Apogee Award at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. After a video presentation of Tony's successful past, Rhodey was given the honor of presenting the Apogee Award to him. When Obadiah Stane gave Rhodes a signal saying that Tony was not there to receive it, Stane took the award in Tony's honor. Shortly after the award ceremony, Rhodey brought Tony the award while he was gambling in the casino inside of Caesars Palace. Rhodes got angry at him for not being present.

Right when Stark was just about to leave the hotel with all of his own entourage, Christine Everhart ran up and tried to get an interview with him for her magazine Vanity Fair. Tony agreed to her interview, all while he deflected her questions with some swift quips. Upon being morally questioned, Tony defended his actions and turned to seducing Everhart. She agreed to spend the night with him and the two where taken back to Stark Mansion where they had sex.