Iron Man (Marvel Cinematic Universe)/Synopsis

Early Life and Youth

 * "I never got to say goodbye to my father. There are questions I would've asked him. I would've asked him how he felt about what his company did if he was conflicted if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch of man we remember from the newsreels."
 * ―Tony Stark

Anthony "Tony" Edward Stark was born on Friday, May 29, 1970 in Manhatten, New York, USA. He is the only child of Howard A .W. Stark and Maria C. C. Stark. Howard 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's early life was often dominated by the absence of his father who he would later describe as '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.[3]

Tony's father would constantly talk about his friend Captain America so that he could 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 an engine. When Tony was seventeen he graduated MIT at the top of his class. He also met James "Rhodey" Rhodes, and they became best friends.[4]

One thing about Tony's childhood that annoyed him was his nanny that cared for him until he was 14.

New CEO of Stark Industries
At the age of twenty-one, his parents, Howard and Maria, died in a car crash secretly orchestrated by HYDRA. For a few months Obadiah Stane, a family friend, took over the company since Tony was too young to be CEO of the family's company, Stark Industries. Around this time, Tony's family butler, Edwin Jarvis, died. A few months later, he inherited Stark Industries, becoming the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 Company in history. After building a custom mansion, Tony made an A.I. system that helped out in the house. He named the system "Just a Rather Very Intelligent System", shortened J.A.R.V.I.S., after his butler.

Eventually, James Rhodes joined the United States Air Force and became the liaison between Stark Industries and the United States Armed Forces.

Creating Demons

 * "A famous man once said, ‘we create our own demons’. Who said that? What does it even mean? It doesn’t matter; I said it because he said it, so now he was famous and then basically getting said by two well-known guys. I don’t…argh. Let me start again."
 * ―Tony Stark, during the intro of Iron Man 3

On New Year's Eve in 1999, Stark, with his scientist paramour Maya Hansen, attended a Science Conference in Bern, Switzerland, there he met a scientist named Ho Yinsen and he arrogantly avoided a gifted but crippled scientist, Aldrich Killian, who wanted Stark's backing in his endeavor Advanced Idea Mechanics. Stark purposely told Killian to meet him on the rooftop of the building with the intention of not turning up. This lead Killian to wait all night while Stark slept with Maya in her room.

Testing Weapons in Arizona
Stark and Rhodes went to a weapon demonstration at the Yuma Proving Ground. Pepper Potts gave the weapon's specifics to the generals while Stark and Rhodes went to a night club. Stark enjoyed the company of two girls while Rhodes tried to convince him not to go to Afghanistan. He was then attacked by a man whose girlfriend he previously seduced, but Rhodes easily defeated the attacker. Later, Stark, Rhodes, and the girls went to Stark's Mansion.

Final Day of Freedom
"And what do you say to your other nickname, the Merchant of Death?" "That's not bad."
 * "You've been called the Da Vinci of our time. What do you say to that?
 * "Absolutely ridiculous. I don't paint."
 * ―Christine Everhart and Tony Stark
 * After a presentation of Stark's successful past, James Rhodes was given the honor of presenting the Apogee Award to him at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. When Obadiah Stane gave Rhodes a signal saying that Stark was not there to receive it, Stane took the award in Stark's honor. Shortly after the award ceremony, Rhodes brought Stark the award while he was gambling in the casino inside of Caesar's Palace. Rhodes got very angry at him for not being present for the award. Right when Stark was about to leave the hotel, Christine Everhart tried to interview him for Vanity Fair. Stark deflected her questions with some swift quips and the two ended up spending the night together at Tony's ocean front house. In the morning Stark began working on one of his cars. His assistant Pepper Potts reminded him about his trip to Afghanistan. He got to the plane three hours late. He and Rhodes soon got drunk and had a small party on the plane. Stark presented his newest weapon, the Jericho missile, to the military spectators and demonstrated its capability. After the successful presentation, Stark had a drink and got into a convoy vehicle to leave.

Becoming Iron Man and Kidnapping
''
 * ''"You got a family?"

"Yes, and I will see them when I leave here. And you, Stark?" "No." "So you're a man who has everything, and nothing."
 * ―Tony Stark and Ho Yinsen

During his business trip to Afghanistan to demonstrate Stark Industries' newest weapon, the Jericho missile, Stark's convoy was attacked by insurgents. While soldiers were dying around him, he attempted to find cover and call for help when one of his own company's bombs landed near him and exploded. The blast caused him to lose consciousness and embedded several pieces of shrapnel in his chest, several fragments dangerously close to his heart.

He woke up sometime later with an electromagnet attached to his chest. Hooked up to a car battery, the electromagnet kept the shrapnel from entering his heart and killing him. Stark had been captured by the terrorist group, the Ten Rings, who offered his release if he built a Jericho missile for them.

Knowing they would never keep up their end, Stark and fellow captive Ho Yinsen instead made a plan to escape. In order to improve Stark's condition, he and Yinsen created a miniature Arc Reactor, a smaller version of the power source previously invented by his father, Howard Stark, and Anton Vanko, which they embedded into his chest to supply energy to the electromagnet protecting his heart. Together, they secretly began building an armored suit to help them escape.

Soon the pair enacted their escape plan, however, the booby-trapped door the pair had rigged with an explosive was set off. Yinsen realized that they did not have enough time to power the suit before the terrorists arrived. He took a gun and held back the terrorists, but was mortally wounded. With his last words, Yinsen reassured Stark that it would be OK to leave him behind and urged him not to waste his life. Angered by Yinsen's death, Stark stepped outside; the suit protected him from the onslaught of bullets, and he used the suit's flame-throwers to kill several terrorists, destroy their stockpile of Stark Industries produced weapons, and escape, though his suit was destroyed as he crashed in the desert.

Upon being picked up by the Air Force and returned to the United States, Stark met with Pepper Potts; he asked to first be given a burger, then called a press meeting. At the meeting, Stark finished his burger and declared that his company would, for the foreseeable future, no longer manufacture weapons. This move shocked the press, many declaring that he must be suffering from PTSD. His father's friend and business partner, Obadiah Stane, told him that this move was blocked by the board members shortly after, worried that the decision would ruin the company.

Marks II and III
''
 * ''"Test complete. Preparing to power down and begin diagnostics..."

"Uh, yeah, tell you what. Do a weather and ATC check, start listening in on ground control."

"Sir, there are still terabytes of calculations required before an actual flight is..."

"J.A.R.V.I.S., sometimes you gotta run before you can walk."
 * ―J.A.R.V.I.S. and Tony Stark

In the months that followed, Stark retreated from public view, focusing on improving the design of his new armored suit, refining its size, movement, and flight capability. He asked Pepper Potts to help him take his old Arc Reactor out and to put in a stronger one that would be used to power his suits.

He eventually perfected the flight power after much trial and error, taking the silver Mark II suit for its first test flight, despite JARVIS' warnings that there had not been enough tests. He soared high in the sky over the city and shouted in delight at his success. However, when he pushed the suit to see how high he could fly, he learned the suit can freeze which disabled its power. Stark fell from the sky and was just able to restart the suit moments before he would have hit the ground. He flew back to his mansion, and promptly fell though the ceiling, destroying his piano and sports car.

During his first public appearance since his return to the United States, Stark me Phil Coulson, an agent of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division; they arranged a meeting to discuss the events of his kidnapping. Stark, however, was too distracted by seeing Pepper. He danced with her and almost kissed her before he went to get them both a drink. While ordering the drinks, Stark was accosted by Christine Everhart, who showed him pictures of Stark Industries weapons in the hands of terrorist groups, including the Jericho missiles he refused to build for them. He also discovered that Obadiah Stane had been supplying weapons to both the U.S. troops and the terrorists, as well as being the one to shut him out of the board while he recovered.

Faced with the realization of what his company had done, Stark donned his suit and flew to Afghanistan, liberating Gulmira, Ho Yinsen's home village, from the Ten Rings. While destroying their weapon stockpiles, he accidentally drew the attention of the United States Air Force and his friend and company military liaison, Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes.

Two F-22 Raptors were ordered to take out the unknown target, and during the confrontation, Stark called Rhodes and revealed his identity to him in an attempt to have the attack called off. However, while trying to evade the attack, one of the Raptors lost its left wing when it accidentally collided with Tony. The pilot ejected shortly afterward but his parachute jammed. Tony dived down to help the pilot release his parachute before escaping.

Duel of Los Angeles and Defeating Stane
''
 * ''"You had a great idea, Tony, but my suit is more advanced in every way!"

"How'd you solve the icing problem?" "Icing problem?" "Might want to look into it."
 * ―Obadiah Stane and Tony Stark

Determined to make amends for his mistakes, Tony sent Pepper Potts to find Stark Industries shipping records, so that he could track down the illicit shipments and destroy them. While hacking into the system, she discovered that it was Obadiah Stane who hired the Ten Rings to kill Stark in Afghanistan, but they had reneged on the deal when they realized who the target was. She also discovered that Stane had recovered Tony's original armor prototype and had reverse-engineered his own version. However, his team of scientists, not possessing Stark's genius, could not reverse engineer a miniature Arc Reactor to power the new suit.

Stane, realizing Pepper's discovery, stole the Arc Reactor from Tony's chest to power his new suit, leaving Tony to die. Using his first reactor, which was not designed to power his latest armor, Tony battled with Stane atop Stark Industries Headquarters and the surrounding streets. Tony tricked Stane by forcing him to fly high enough so his suit would freeze and caused Stane's suit to fall from the sky. Stane survived and continued to attack him. Tony eventually killed him when the full-sized Arc Reactor that powered the lab was deliberately overloaded by Pepper, electrocuting Stane and causing him to fall into the Arc Reactor and explode.

Meeting with Coulson
''
 * ''"I think I know how to fight."

"Not yet you don't. You hit like an inventor. Fighting isn't like science or technology. You are supposed to cheat." "Yeah. I know. I've watched professional wrestling. Rhodey thinks you're trying to recruit me." "Something like that. You've created something amazing. Something that may well change the world. But the armor's creation was only the first step. Now comes the real battle. That is if you're willing." "I am."
 * ―Tony Stark and Phil Coulson.

After fighting Obadiah Stane, James Rhodes tried to get Stark into an ambulance to see if he had any internal injuries. The ambulance was a fake one sent by S.H.I.E.L.D. to retrieve him. Now that they could finally get to talk to Stark, Phil Coulson talked to him after they dropped him off at a small theater. Coulson viewed Stark's fighting strategy from his fight with Iron Monger on a projector screen. He told him he needed to become a real fighter and that he would be trained by skilled S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

I am Iron Man
''
 * ''"I'm just not the hero type. Clearly. With this laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made, largely public."

"Just stick to the cards, man." "Yeah, okay. The truth is... I am Iron Man."
 * ―Tony Stark and James Rhodes

The next morning of the aftermath of the battle with Stane, news had spread of Tony Stark's alter ego, which was dubbed "Iron Man" by the press. Tony held a press conference where S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson gave him a fabricated cover story and advised him to state that Iron Man was his bodyguard. However, during the course of the conference, in a moment of self-clarity, Tony instead announced to the public that he himself was Iron Man.

Meeting Fury
''
 * ''"You think you're the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe. You just don't know it yet."

"Who the hell are you?"

"Nick Fury. Director of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Ah."

"I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative."
 * ―Nick Fury and Tony Stark, discussing on The Avengers program.

One night, Tony arrived home and was greeted by a visitor standing by the window. He revealed himself as Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and warned him that he was not the only 'superhero' in the world, intending to discuss with Stark about the Avengers Initiative. However Stark had no interest in the Initiative.

Aden
''
 * ''"Back already? What're you listening to?"

"Just a little recording I made in Yemen. Nick Fury wants to ask me out...he's just trying to be smooth about it. But who's the smoothest guy you know, Potts?"
 * ―Pepper Potts and Tony Stark

When Nick Fury sent a team of United States Navy SEALs to board a ship controlled by the Ten Rings in the port of Aden, Iron Man suddenly appeared and attacked the terrorists. Though the SEALs were outnumbered by the terrorists, Iron Man had no problems with killing all the terrorists and saving the SEALs. Later, back in his house, Tony talked with Pepper Potts about his latest action.[8]

Dealing with a Public Identity
Tony Stark continued to help, ensuring peace in the world while also removing Ten Rings terrorists, including saving a U.N. peacekeeping mission that was under attack. Stark also helped General Thaddeus Ross in saving the pilot of the Aerodynamic Marvel that crashed in the Congo. Senator Stern also expressed his concerns of the Iron Man suit as a topic in national security.

Starting the Stark Expo '11

 * "Oh, it is good to be back!"
 * ―Tony Stark at Stark Expo

Six months after revealing his identity to the world and helping maintain world peace, Tony appeared as Iron Man at the grand opening of the Stark Expo in Flushing Meadows, New York City, continuing the legacy his father started.

Unfortunately, Tony's life was not as good as it appeared. Stark was facing a double threat. The first (and possibly worst of the two) was in the form of his own heart: the Arc Reactor Palladium core was poisoning him, causing him a slow painful death due to overuse of the Iron Man armor.

Meeting with Senator Stern
''
 * ''"My priority is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America."

"Well, you can forget it. I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over myself, which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution, depending on what state you're in. You can't have it." "Look, I'm no expert..." "In prostitution? You're a senator. Come on."
 * ―Senator Stern and Tony Stark

The second threat was from a senate committee hearing, led by Senator Stern, demanding that Stark release the technology of the Iron Man armor for military application. Stark refused, believing that it was not in the best interest of the American people for the military to possess it and that they would use it as a weapon that could very well be used against America.

Senator Stern tried to turn Stark's best friend Lt. Colonel James Rhodes against him in an effort to force him. Competitor Justin Hammer tried to plead his case in the matter; Stark took this opportunity to embarrass both Hammer and Stern with a collection of video footage of Hammer and others around the world attempting to recreate the technology. Stark arrogantly stated that it would be years before anyone would be able to successfully recreate the tech.

Making Pepper CEO

 * "I appoint you new CEO of Stark Industries effectively immediately."
 * ―Tony Stark and Pepper

Stark returned to his home where he and J.A.R.V.I.S. tried to find a solution in finding a new power source for the Arc Reactor. While at his home he was visited by James Rhodes, who came to berate Stark about the military's wish to take his suits. However, Rhodes realized how unwell Stark was and assisted him by changing the Arc Reactor Palladium core. Rhodes tried to convince Stark that he did not have to do his journey alone. Uncertain of his chances of survival, Stark appointed his former personal assistant Pepper Potts CEO of Stark Industries, replacing her with Natalie Rushman.

Duel of Monaco

 * "What's the point of owning a race car if you can't drive it?"
 * ―Tony Stark

Stark traveled to Monaco with Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan. There Stark and Potts encountered Justin Hammer, who smugly tried to show off that he was being interviewed by Christine Everhart; Stark quickly made it clear of his own romantic history with Everhart. Stark excused himself to check his blood toxicity level in the bathroom.

Growing increasingly despondent and thrill-seeking as a consequence of what he believed to be his impending death, Stark raced at the Monaco Grand Prix, where Ivan Vanko, who had constructed an Arc Reactor of his own, along with whip-like energy weapons, attacked him. With the aid of Pepper and Happy Hogan who handed him his portable briefcase armor, Stark donned the Mark V armor and defeated Vanko.

Afterward, Stark paid a visit to Vanko in a French prison to learn how he acquired the technology. During the conversation, Ivan revealed that he was the son of Anton Vanko, who collaborated with Howard Stark on the first Arc Reactor but was deported back to the Soviet Union and died in poverty. Ivan blames the Stark family for his family's fate and sought revenge. Ivan also mentioned that was he fully aware of Tony's current heart poisoning, saying that it was a terrible way to die.

Tony's Birthday Party

 * "You don't deserve to wear one of these! Shut it down!"
 * ―James Rhodes

Stark went home with Pepper to celebrate his upcoming birthday. On route home, Stark attempted to tell Pepper the truth behind his current series of reckless acts. Wanting to escape from all his current problems, he tried to convince her to take a detour to Venice, Italy; unfortunately, media pressure of the recent incident in Monaco with Whiplash had everyone on edge demanding that Stark turns over the technology immediately.

Vanko's Escape
Vanko escaped prison thanks to Justin Hammer who intended to use Vanko's knowledge of Stark's technology to create his own army of armored warriors to discredit Iron Man. Stark threw what he believed would be his last birthday party and got drunk while wearing the Iron Man armor and indulged in dangerous activities, such as using the uni-beam to destroy a watermelon, forcing his friend, Rhodes, to intervene. Rhodes donned Stark's Mark II armor and after almost destroying Tony Stark's Mansion in the resulting fight, delivered the armor to the military.

Rediscovering the Element
''
 * ''"What do you want from me?"

"What do we want from you? Uh-uh. What do you want from me? You have become a problem, a problem I have to deal with. Contrary to your belief, you are not the center of my universe. I have bigger problems than you in the southwest region to deal with."
 * ―Tony Stark and Nick Fury

The next day, Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D., approached Stark at Randy's Donuts, revealing Natalie as undercover agent Natasha Romanoff and that Howard Stark was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founders. Romanoff gave Stark an injection which slowed down the poison in his veins.

Fury then gave him some of Howard's old material to aid in finding a cure for the palladium poisoning. Inside Howard's trunk, Tony found several items, including the notebook with the drawings of a "hypercube" and two Captain America comic books. A hidden message in the diorama of the 1974 Stark Expo proved to be a diagram of a new element's atomic structure. With the aid of his computer J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony synthesized the new element and cured himself. Afterward, Ivan Vanko contacted Tony, revealing he was still alive and still set on revenge. Tony donned the Mark VI armor and flew off to the Expo.

Battle at Stark Expo and Defeating Vanko
''
 * ''"Now, the true history of Stark name will be written. What your father did to my family over 40 years, I will do to you in 40 minutes."

"Sounds good. Let's get together and hash it out."
 * ―Ivan Vanko and Tony Stark

At the Stark Expo, Justin Hammer unveiled his military drones, captained by James Rhodes in a heavily weaponized version of the Mark II armor known as the War Machine armor. Tony as Iron Man arrived to warn Rhodes, but Ivan Vanko seized control of both the drones and Rhodey's armor, setting them to attack Iron Man. Pepper Potts had Hammer arrested while Tony's bodyguard Happy Hogan and Agent Natasha Romanoff raced to Hammer Industries Headquarters. Ivan had left, but Natasha turned over control of the Mark II armor to Rhodes.

Eliminating the other drones, Tony and Rhodes were confronted by Ivan in his new, more powerful suit of armor. He was defeated when Tony and Rhodes fired repulsor rays at each other, triggering an explosion beside Ivan. Too injured to continue the fight, Ivan ignited his and his drones' self-destruct bombs, killing himself. Tony raced to save Pepper amid a series of explosions. Pepper quit her position as CEO, and she and Tony kissed. Rhodes departed with the Mark II armor without serious objection from Tony.

Not a Suitable Candidate
At a debriefing, while showing news footage of another superhuman event, Nick Fury informed Tony that while Iron Man was a suitable candidate for the "Avengers Initiative", Tony himself was not. S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted Tony in a consultant position, Tony said that Fury couldn't afford his help.

Then Tony thought about the position for a moment and he agreed on the condition that Senator Stern present himself and Rhodes with their medals for bravery. A couple of hours later, Tony got his wish and took the job as a consultant. Tony took great pleasure in Senator Stern's annoyance at being forced to give him a medal.

The Consultant
''
 * ''"The smell of stale beer... and defeat. You know, I hate to say 'I told you so,' but that Super-Soldier project WAS put on ice for a reason. I've always felt that hardware was much more reliable."

"Stark." "General." "You always wear such nice suits."
 * ―Tony Stark and Thaddeus Ross

Keeping with his job as a consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D., Stark was tasked with preventing General Thaddeus Ross from releasing Emil Blonsky onto the Avengers Initiative, ordered by the World Security Council. Stark arrived at a Bar where he found a drunken Ross. The two exchanged insults before Stark told him that a team was being made.[10]

In the subsequent talk, Stark annoyed Ross so much that the latter tried to have him removed from the bar, which Stark bought and arranged to be demolished. The task was complete with Ross refusing to release Blonsky from his custody.

War for Earth and Initiation
"You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark. Please leave a message." "This is urgent." "Then leave it urgently."''
 * ''"Mr. Stark, we need to talk."
 *  ―Phil Coulson and Tony Stark

After Loki infiltrated the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility and stole the Tesseract, Nick Fury decided it was time to re-establish the Avengers Initiative. Agent Phil Coulson traveled to the newly built Stark Tower where Tony and Pepper Potts were celebrating the successful creation of a new, clean energy source. Tony was informed of Coulson's presence at Stark Tower by J.A.R.V.I.S. to which he informed him that he had "reached the Life Model Decoy of Tony Stark" and refused to see him. Coulson entered the building anyway and informed Tony that the Initiative was now active, and they needed him to come in, handing Stark holographic screens with information about Captain America, Thor, Bruce Banner, and Loki.

Capturing Loki and Meeting Thor
''
 * ''"You don't know what you're dealing with."

"Shakespeare in the park. Doth Mother know you weareth her drapes?"
 * ―Thor and Iron Man

Stark suited up in his Mark VI armor and traveled to Stuttgart, Germany where he found his old acquaintance, Natasha Romanoff in a Quinjet overlooking the newly unfrozen Captain America in the middle of a battle with the hostile god, Loki.

Stark jetted right in and blasted Loki with his repulsors and stood tall next to the Captain forcing Loki to surrender. After escorting Loki onto the Quinjet, the team headed back to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier. Stark commented on Rogers' fighting skills and subtly mocked him. The Quinjet was then surrounded by a storm and attacked by Thor, who broke in and grabbed Loki before he flew away. Stark immediately pursued them.

While Thor threatened Loki atop a mountain, Stark blasted straight into him, hurling him onto the forest floor. Stark refused to let Thor get close to Loki, and the two began a battle.

During the fight, Thor summoned lightning to his hammer, Mjølnir, and electrocuted Stark only for J.A.R.V.I.S. to inform him that his suit was at 400% capacity, allowing him to blast Thor off his feet. The armor took a beating during the battle as Thor easily began to crush one of the gauntlets with his bare hands. The fight was broken up by Captain America who, after matching Mjølnir with his shield, managed to stop Thor.

Traveling in the Helicarrier

 * "It's good to meet you, Doctor Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of how you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."
 * ―Tony and Bruce Banner.

They took Loki back to the Helicarrier where Stark met Bruce Banner and discussed the Tesseract but not before Stark planted a hacking device and allowed J.A.R.V.I.S. to begin searching S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database to find out its secrets.

Attack on the Helicarrier
"I need a minute here!" "Lever. Now!"''
 * ''"Cap, hit the lever."
 *  ― Captain America and Iron Man

Stark and Bruce Banner learned that S.H.I.E.L.D. was trying to harness the Tesseract's powers to create weapons of mass destruction and Captain America found out that S.H.I.E.L.D. was using HYDRA technology to learn how to harness it. During a huge argument between Nick Fury, Natasha Romanoff, Rogers, Banner and Thor, Loki's troops led by a brainwashed Clint Barton caused an explosion on the Helicarrier in order to free Loki. Stark suited up as Iron Man and began to fix the ship from the outside with the aid of Rogers.

Battle of New York
''
 * ''"What have I to fear?"

"The Avengers. It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' type thing." "Yes, I've met them." "Yeah. Takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one. But, let's do a head count here: Your brother, the demigod; a super-soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them." -Loki and Tony Stark  Upon fixing the ship and fighting off some of Loki's troops, the duo learned that Banner had transformed into the Hulk and escaped from the ship, as well as Thor being ejected from the Helicarrier by Loki who escaped and murdered Agent Phil Coulson. Nick Fury informed the two that the Avengers Initiative was started so that the isolated individuals could become something more and that Coulson died still believing this. Stark took his death hard and worked out where Loki was planning his attack. Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye (now free from Loki's mind control) traveled to Stark Tower where Stark found Loki had installed a device powered by the Tesseract.

Stark took off his armor and began to "threaten" Loki, secretly putting on two metal bracelets moments before Loki threw him out of the window, as he fell he ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to deploy his new Mark VII suit which jet packed out through the window after him and formed around him moments before he almost hit the ground. Stark flew back up to Loki and blasted him backward in the name of Agent Coulson. Stark was however confronted by Loki's device which opened a portal into space where Loki's army of Chitauri flew into New York City and began their war against Earth.

Tony fought off the Chitauri and tried to call War Machine, who told Tony that he was too busy fighting soldiers working for the Ten Rings, but would come to help as soon as possible.[12] Iron Man was joined by his teammates as they begin to battle the alien menace. Tony began to chase after a Leviathan, a giant alien serpent and the warship to dozens of Chitauri. When he was notified of Banner's arrival on the field, Tony led the serpent towards him so that Bruce would transform into the Hulk and defeat it. Tony landed on the ground alongside his fellow heroes, Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, Hawkeye and Black Widow. The team was then confronted by hundreds of Chitauri who flew in through the portal as well as several more Leviathans. Rogers gave out orders and instructed Tony to take to the skies and take out more Chitauri. Tony even took out a Leviathan by flying headfirst into its mouth and launching missiles from the inside.

Tony asked Thor if he had ever seen Game of Thrones, saying he reminded him of it. Thor asked him how he can joke around during a war, but was then eaten by a Leviathan. Out of rage, Thor used Mjølnir to get out of the Leviathan.

After a long battle, the team were still outnumbered and learned that Natasha had found a way to close the portal. Stark hindered this as Fury has instructed him that the World Security Council had sent a missile to blow up Manhattan. Stark intercepted the missile and flew it up through the portal and blew up the Chitauri Command Center, losing power in the process and falling unconscious back through the portal just before it closed. As Stark fell back to Earth, he was caught by the Hulk who landed with him back on the ground.

Rogers and Thor ran over to Iron Man who appeared to be dead, only for Hulk to scream in his face, waking him up. The team reformed and made sure that Loki surrendered, taking him into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.

A few hours later, Stark and the rest of the Avengers went to the Shawarma Palace where they ate silently.[15] They were soon interrupted by War Machine, who arrived too late to aid in the battle.

The next day, the Avengers then made sure Loki was taken back to Asgard by Thor along with the Tesseract. The team then disbanded and went their separate ways. Tony was later seen with Pepper Potts on Stark Tower ready to rebuild after the damage that was done.

The Iron Legion

 * "Iron Man's not enough. Not even with a War Machine watching his back. For what's coming, we're gonna need an Iron Legion."
 * ―Tony Stark to James Rhodes

After the battle, Stark invited James Rhodes to his workshop in Malibu. Seeing that not even the combined powers of Iron Man and War Machine would be enough to protect the Earth from the next threat from the Nine Realms, Tony showed Rhodes several Iron Man armors that could be remotely controlled. He called them the "Iron Legion".

Aldrich Killian's War and Nightmares

 * "And I guess 72 hours is a long time between siestas. Didn't think it could get any worse, then I had to go and turn on the TV. That's when he happened."
 * ―Tony Stark

Six months after the Battle of New York; Tony tested the Mark XLII, which was built so that he could summon various pieces of the armor when needed. Right after testing the new armor, Tony went to go watch television, only to see that the Mandarin had made another attack against the United States. Meanwhile, James Rhodes had his suit repainted by the American government who had now renamed him Iron Patriot.

Stark met with Rhodes at a bar where he mocked the Iron Patriot name when two kids asked him to sign a drawn picture of him diverting the nuclear missile to the portal. The picture depicted Stark's near-death experience in the Battle of New York which leads him to have an anxiety attack, forcing him to leave the bar in his suit.

Back at his house, Pepper Potts approached Stark about his insecurities, claiming he had been pulling away. Stark stated that he had been having trouble coping after his near-death experience in New York, claiming that gods, aliens, and other dimensions were too much for him to handle and that he could not sleep without having nightmares. Pepper stated that his obsessiveness over his technology was a distraction. Later that night, Tony had visions of himself going against the Chitauri, causing him to go into distress. Pepper tried to wake him until his armor appeared, coming to Tony's aid, seeing Pepper as a threat. Tony awoke and deactivated the armor, apologizing to a terrified Pepper who left him alone in bed.

Threatening The Mandarin

 * "My name is Tony Stark and I'm not afraid of you. I know you're a coward so I've decided that you just died, pal. I'm going to come and get the body. There's no politics here; it's just good old-fashioned revenge. There's no Pentagon, it's just you and me."
 * ―Tony Stark message to the Mandarin

Meanwhile, a string of bombings by the terrorist known as the Mandarin left intelligence agencies bewildered at the lack of forensic evidence. When Happy Hogan was caught in one such attack, Stark issued a public threat to the Mandarin.

Destruction of Tony Stark's Mansion
The next day, Maya Hansen; Stark's old lover, confronted Stark at his home, warning him about the effects of his recent public warning. Potts appeared and told Stark that it was time for them to leave until they were attacked by several helicopters, led by Eric Savin.

Stark signaled his armor onto Potts, protecting her. Once Pepper had gotten Maya to safety, Stark summoned the armor back to himself, fending off the several helicopters surrounding him. After being outgunned, Stark was pulled into the ocean while his home demolished over him, barely escaping.

Back to Basics
Stark found himself in Rose Hill, Tennessee after J.A.R.V.I.S. followed his initial flight plan to find the Mandarin. Lacking the power to return to California, the world at large believed him to be dead. Stark sent a private call, hoping for Potts to hear. Apologizing for putting her in harm's way, Stark stated that he could not return home yet.

Stark broke into a workshop belonging to 10-year old Harley Keener (and his family). Tony enlisted Harley's help in finding the truth behind the terrorist bombings. Seeking information, Stark set up a meeting with the mother of recently killed (Extremis-infected) soldier Chad Davis. Once being handed valuable information regarding her son's death, Tony was attacked by Ellen Brandt and Eric Savin. Barely escaping from Brandt, Savin confronted Stark, threatening to kill Harley. Harley used a device given to him by Stark earlier, blinding Savin for a few moments in which the two were able to escape.

Finding Killian
With Harley's assistance, Stark tracked down the Mandarin's location in Miami - as the suit was recharging, Harley suggested that Stark build his own gadgets if he had to defend himself.[5] Infiltrating the Mandarin's home, Stark discovered that the Mandarin was not really a terrorist, rather a drunken British actor named Trevor Slattery employed by Aldrich Killian to act as a threat to America, covering up Killian's test-subjects/Extremis program. Tony was however knocked unconscious by Savin who took Tony to Killian.

Being held in captivity, he learned Maya Hansen was working for Killian. Killian arrived and explained the reasons behind A.I.M. and how he was grateful to Tony for teaching him that he needed to rule the chaos from behind the scenes. Tony then discovered that Killian had captured Pepper Potts and was currently infecting her with Extremis. When Maya Hansen tried to help him, Tony witnessed Killian casually murder her.

Tony was left guarded by two henchmen, Tony worked out that the suit would be charged by now and offered the henchmen a chance to escape. Summoning his Mark XLII all the way from Harley's House, Stark escaped captivity and defeated several guards, despite only getting a hand and leg part of the suit for the duration of the fight.

Saving the Air Force One Crew
Tony reunited with Rhodes, who revealed that Savin had taken control of the Iron Patriot Armor, intending to launch an attack on President Matthew Ellis aboard Air Force One. Remotely controlling his armor, Stark sent it aboard the plane and killed Savin by blasting a hole through his chest. The armor then exited the plane and saved the surviving passengers and crew, but was unable to rescue Ellis from Killian, who had already removed him from the plane in the Iron Patriot armor.

Battle on the Norco
Stark and Rhodes traced Killian to an impounded oil tanker called the Norco where he intended to kill Ellis on live television. Sneaking in, they were attacked by several Extremis Soldiers. Stark fired his gun at the soldiers but was unable to stop them. Rhodey proved himself to be the superior marksman which annoyed Stark. Outnumbered, Stark summoned the Iron Legion to their aid (controlled by J.A.R.V.I.S.) except the Mark XLII, which was running late after trying to save the president in Air Force One. Stark wore the Mark XXXIII suit and flew into battle.

Tony found Pepper under wreckage when Aldrich Killian unexpectedly attacked him and began burning through his suit, forcing Tony to cut off Killian's arm and eject from the suit before he summoned another. Coming to Pepper's aid once again, Tony was unable to reach her and watched as she fell into a pit of fire to a certain death. Aldrich Killian then appeared and mocked Stark, Stark then engaged in a fight with Killian.

As Killian proved his Extremis abilities could cut through the armor with relative ease, Stark again exited his suit to avoid defeat and then donning another which suffered the same fate. Standing on a platform, Stark, now armor-less due to his other suits being preoccupied with Tony's command to destroy Killian's Extremis soldiers, awaited the Mark XLII but was deflated when it simply crashed and disassembled once again. While Killian spoke of Tony not deserving Potts and that he was close to making her perfect, Tony said he was right but that she already was perfect and sent the Mark XLII onto Killian, trapping him. Tony then ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to let it self-destruct while he escaped.

Jumping into another suit, Tony escaped the explosion and crashed to the ground. Suddenly, Aldrich emerged from the flames with most of his tissue layers destroyed seemingly beyond Extremis' ability of reconstruction and still intent on Tony's death. Tony was powerless and at the mercy of Killian while KIllian began to call himself the real Mandarin, saying that he was from the start. During this proclamation, Pepper, still alive due to the Extremis in her system completing its transition in her body, struck Killian to the ground with a large metal pipe. Tony was left almost speechless and in amazement at her return.

An Iron Man suit flew downward in an attack position, prompting Stark to try and tell Jarvis to disengage the suit, only to find that the earpiece which he used to take to and command Jarvis several feet away from him on the ground. Pepper then dodged a repulsor blast from the suit, which then flew back into an attack position. Pepper then ran at Stark, causing Tony to think that she was mad at him, though she actually ran past him and jumped off a beam to impale her arm into the suit's chest and removing and donning one of the suits arms. Tony watched as Pepper sent an attacking Killian flying backward into the air with a swing of her now armored arm and removed an explosive missile and threw it into Killian and blew it up with a repulsor blast, finishing him off.

Tony apologized to Pepper and promised to find a cure for her. Tony, seeing Pepper worried about their future, ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to destroy all his remaining armors in Operation: Clean Slate Protocol. Surrounded by the subtle, firework-like explosions in the sky, the two embraced.

A Step Further
Stark was able to use his vast resources to cure Potts of the Extremis, removing her powers as he promised. Two days later, Tony underwent surgery from Doctor Wu to have the shrapnel removed from his heart. He used the pieces of shrapnel to make a necklace, which he gave to Potts.

He went back to the wreckage of his mansion that same day, and threw his Arc Reactor into the ocean, vowing that no matter what, he was Iron Man even without the Arc Reactor and his suits. He also took the remains of his Dum-E robot to repair it. After this, Tony retired from the hero "business" for at least a year but continued to work as a consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D. and run Stark Industries.

Therapy Session with Doctor Banner
''
 * ''"You're actively napping?"

"I was-I-I drifted." "Where did I lose you?"

"Elevator in Switzerland."

"So you heard none of it?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not that kind of doctor. I'm not a therapist. It's not my training."

"So?"

"I-I don't have the-"

"What? The time?"

"Temperament."
 * ―Tony Stark and Bruce Banner

A few months after his battle with Aldrich Killian, Stark retold the story to Bruce Banner in the Avengers Tower. Banner had fallen asleep during the tale, telling his friend that he was not that kind of doctor. Stark ignored this comment and began telling more stories of his life, much to the dismay of Banner who went to sleep again.

Project Insight
Tony Stark was listed as a potential target of Project Insight by HYDRA. Luckily, Captain America was able to stop HYDRA in time to save all of HYDRA's intended victims.[17]

After the defeat of Project Insight and the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., Stark hired former S.H.I.E.L.D second-in-command Maria Hill, utilizing his army of lawyers to protect Hill from the numerous parties that would see her incarcerated, in order to help him fill the void left by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s absence by privatizing global security.

Avengers Reassembled and Fighting HYDRA
''
 * ''"Good talk."

"No, it wasn't."
 * ―Tony Stark and a HYDRA Soldier

With the rising threat of HYDRA, the Avengers were officially reassembled, with Stark's financial backing. Using the Avengers Tower, as their headquarters, they embarked on several missions to ruin HYDRA's plans for world domination. Stark and the other Avengers attacked Baron Wolfgang von Strucker's HYDRA base, while the other Avengers fought the soldiers on the ground, Stark worked on destroying the base's shields to allow the team access. When Stark swore during the mission, Steve Rogers told him to watch his language, much to Stark's amusement.

Stark soon managed to disable to shields and entered the base, once inside he killed Doctor List before making his way through the hallways. Stark located inside the base a giant Leviathan, which HYDRA had stolen after the Battle of New York, and the Scepter. While Stark was looking at the Scepter, Wanda Maximoff sneaked up behind him and caused him to have a vision of the future, in the vision Stark saw the other Avengers lying dead after a mysterious battle. Shaken by what he had seen, Wanda allowed Stark to retrieve Loki's Scepter, knowing its power would ultimately cause his downfall.

Creating Ultron

 * "Peace in our time. Imagine that."
 * ―Tony Stark

Continuing his mindset toward protecting humanity while realizing the void that the downfall of S.H.I.E.L.D. created, Tony Stark created an intelligence with the mandate to ensure global peace at any cost. The intelligence, Ultron, in turn, created the Ultron Sentinels to defend humanity as a sort of makeshift army. At a party celebrating the launch of Ultron, Stark and the Avengers decided to try to lift Mjølnir; Stark initially tried to lift it on his own, when that failed he called for James Rhodes' help to no avail. Upon his defeat, Stark looked for fingerprint recognition software in Thor's hammer. Ultron Sentinels then attacked the party.

After a brief battle, the lead Ultron robot was destroyed, although it claimed it would attack again. With the team gathered together, Stark began examining the robot to understand what caused it. He learned that it had destroyed J.A.R.V.I.S.' mainframe in a rage. Thor stormed in a grabbed Stark by the throat, accusing him of bringing destruction to the Earth, Stark defended himself, however, claiming that he was coming up with a solution to end a war that would destroy the Earth. The team later learned that Ultron had built himself a new body and had killed Wolfgang von Strucker and was planning on stealing Vibranium from Ulysses Klaue.

Hunting Ultron
''
 * ''"Don't compare me with Stark, he's a sickness!"

"Oh junior, you're gonna break your old man's heart."
 * ―Ultron and Tony Stark

Stark led the team to South Africa where they found Ultron along with Pietro and Wanda Maximoff taking the Vibranium. They engaged in a fierce battle, with Stark taking on Ultron alone while the rest of the team fought the Ultron Sentries and the Maximoff twins. Eventually, Stark brought down Ultron and destroyed his body. Not long afterwards, however, he learned that the team had been mentally taken down by Wanda Maximoff, who had proceeded to cause Bruce Banner to transform into the Hulk in the middle of South Africa.

Hulk vs Hulkbuster

 * "Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep..."
 * ―Tony Stark to the Hulk

Stark called for his Mark XLIV armor, he tried to contain the Hulk in an enforced metal cage, and when his failed, the friends began to fight. When the Hulk damaged the armor, Stark called for extra parts and used its many capabilities to try and knock the Hulk down or fly him out of the city. Eventually, he resorted to dropping him through a building still going through construction, this seemingly calmed the Hulk enough that Stark could knock him out with a final massive punch.

The Barton Home
To be added

Battle of Seoul
To be added

Birth of Vision
To be added

Battle of Sokovia
To be added

Leaving the Avengers
To be added