While Tony Stark has done many things for the sake of humanity, he can never seem to get out of the way of his own ego. Following the events of Civil War and the apparent murder of Captain America, Iron Man found himself appointed as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D in the absence of Nick Fury. With the strongest espionage agency vulnerable, Stark seemed like a viable option with his technology and resources.

Unfortunately, his tenure as the Director did not last long, as two major events resulted in not only his removal but also the disbandment of the agency itself. Starting with the Hulk’s return to Earth after being sent away by the Illuminati, it was the poorly anticipated and infiltration of the Skrulls that put the nail in the coffin. Distracted by his own personal demons and hubris, Stark's time as Director felt temporary almost as soon as it began in 2007's Civil War #7, by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven.

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Tony Stark SHIELD Director

Even when Stark accepted the position as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D, his relationship with the superhero community was tenuous, to say the least. As a major proponent for the Superhero Registration Act, he was at odds with former allies by leading the hunt to those opposing registration, including Captain America. When he became the Director, he continued to arrest those refusing to register, imprisoning them on the Raft. The only occasion where he became lenient with this rule was when the Hulk returned from Sakaar after being jettisoned into outer space by the Illuminati. Seeking revenge on Dr. Strange, Iron Man, Black Bolt and the other members, Stark saw the invasion as his own personal issue. Rather than using the near-unlimited resources at S.H.I.E.L.D’s disposal, he assigns the operatives to merely evacuate Manhattan to take on the Green Goliath himself. Dum Dum Dugan, a seasoned S.H.I.E.L.D operative protests these commands stating how vulnerable S.H.I.E.L.D would be without their director, but is quickly shut down by Stark.

As one would expect, even after showing off his Hulkbuster armor and a lofty monologue to spectators about putting the world before him, he fails to subdue the Hulk and is captured by the hellbent dominator of Sakaar. Doubling down, Stark is able to communicate with Dugan and tells him about his last-ditch effort to avoid an invasion by basically destroying Manhattan and killing the Hulk. Thankfully, Dugan doesn’t have to resort to this, but the damage to Stark’s overall leadership was already done.

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From there, things don’t get much better for Stark. Ezekiel Stane, the son of Stark’s rival Obidiah, sought revenge for his father’s death. Along with using bio-modifications to create extremely powerful suicide bombers, he experimented on himself and saw his creations as superior to Stark’s. Even with all of the resources between S.H.I.E.L.D and Stark himself, he had no idea Ezekiel even existed, once again finding himself at a disadvantage. His lack of foresight led to the death of many from the suicide bombings and even led to Pepper being put into critical care. The amount of money and attention Stark devoted to Pepper also put him at odds with Maria Hill, who saw his use of power as selfish.

Around the same time, the body of an alien masquerading as Elektra was found and brought to Tony Stark as he recovered from his recent confrontation with Stane. To make matters worse, when he addressed the discovery of a Skrull in their ranks with the Illuminati, Black Bolt revealed himself to be a Skrull as well. After Namor and the rest kill it, they realize the Skrulls have already invaded, and disband stating they are unable to trust each other. With all of the satellites, Stark and S.H.I.E.L.D had at their disposal, neither even had an inkling that this Secret Invasion was happening.

On top of that, Stark spent a good portion of the invasion questioning himself unsure of if he was a Skrull after being manipulated by the alien race’s Queen. Again, putting himself before the agency, he remains front and center in the battles against the alien race rather than utilizing the agency to its full potential.

Once the dust settled and the Avengers emerged victorious, the general public vilified Stark for the lack of preparation for an invasion, blaming him and the way he ran S.H.I.E.L.D for the death and destruction caused through the invasion. As a result, the President not only removed Stark from the Director role but disbanded the entire agency altogether. Even with everything at Stark’s disposal, nothing seemed to replace the absence of Nick Fury’s leadership and approach to keeping S.H.I.E.L.D at the forefront of world defense.

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