Relationships are hard, especially when it involves people who are sure to be in the papers all the time. Add in the stresses of running a megacorporation like Stark Industries and being a supergenius superhero who saves the world a lot, and one can be sure that Tony Stark and Pepper Potts don't have a normal relationship.
Still, these two lovebirds found a way to make it work. Pepper ran the company and Tony ran around with the Avengers, but at the end of the day, they came home to one another. With their witty banter straight from a Howard Hawks movie and their love of putting on suits of armor, these two quickly became the "It" couple of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But how did they do it? How did they beat the others?
10 Equal Minds
Tony Stark is a genius. He built the first Iron Man suit while being held captive in the desert, made a working arc reactor to power his suits, and invented just about every piece of tech the Avengers use. However, Pepper Potts and her serious smarts are often overlooked.
Sure, Tony can build a laser gun out of an old TV and a paperclip, but he was terrible at running Stark Industries. Pepper, on the other hand, has the head for business, keeping the weapons manufacturer profitable even after Tony decided to get out of the market. These two highly intelligent people know what they want and how to make it work.
9 Equal Hearts
While one needs a good head on their shoulders to really make a relationship work, they also need a whole lot of heart. For Pepper Potts, the heart was always there; she cared for others from the first moment fans met her, and she understood how to treat people with respect. Tony needed a few lifechanging experiences before he figured out the whole heart thing, but he got there in due time.
A big part of Tony finding his heart was Pepper. She was able to see that deep down inside Tony Stark, underneath all the ego and bravado, was a man who cared. She just needed to literally reach into Tony's chest to bring out the better person inside him.
8 Equal Powers
It can be easy for Tony Stark to want to keep all the cool toys to himself. After all, he invented them, why should he share them with others? Luckily for all of existence, Tony stopped being selfish as he got older and he made Pepper her very own armor. The armor, called Rescue, had all the bells and whistles of Tony's suit. Well, most of the bells and whistles.
The important thing is that Tony didn't keep his power for himself. He shared it with Pepper, the woman he wanted to spend his life with. She, in turn, understood that to use that power was a responsibility that had to be taken seriously.
7 They Share Everything
Even more important than sharing Iron Man tech was Tony's willingness to share every piece of his mind with Pepper, and for her to do the same. Tony's past is filled with questionable choices, and he let Pepper in on them. Not only did he share his past with her, but he also opened up about his insecurities, fears, and ideas on how to make things better. Tony and Pepper were partners in every part of their lives.
As for Pepper, audiences do not learn much about her past, and it's probably a safe bet that her mistakes of youth are nowhere near as regrettable as Tony's, but she presumably was as open with him as he was with her. After all, a strong relationship is built on trust.
6 Accepting the Unacceptable
Most couples would probably break up after one of their exes showed up with superpowers and tried to kill them, like Maya Hansen in Iron Man 3. Or things would fall apart after one person in the relationship nearly destroyed the world by creating an AI system that was meant to protect it, like in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Pretty much every part of Tony and Pepper's lives would be unacceptable to most couples. There is just way too much craziness and danger to ever really feel safe. But somehow these two were able to accept the craziness and even find joy in it.
5 Independent, Not Codependent
While they may share everything, that doesn't mean Tony and Pepper spend every minute of every day together. A healthy relationship requires the people in it to be able to go it alone from time to time, and that's something these two can do.
Pepper is busy running Stark Industries while Tony is off in Sokovia cleaning up a mess he totally created. Tony is in the garage with Dummy building more armors while Pepper is in China making deals to bring the renewable energy of the arc reactor to more countries. These two work best together, but they have no problems being apart when needed.
4 He Believes In Her
Tony Stark is not someone who puts his trust in many people. Initially, he has a combative nature and prefers to do everything himself without anyone questioning his choices. The only people he trusts are Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts, and he clearly trusts Happy more in those early days.
But over time, Tony comes to not only trust Pepper but to also believe in her. He hands the reigns of Stark Industries to her, putting his onetime assistant in charge of running his corporation because he knows she can do the job. He believes not only in Pepper's intelligence but in her empathy and compassion to help make Stark Industries a company that works to improve the world.
3 She Makes Him Better
Tony Stark is the kind of genius who, if he wanted to, could rule the world. He has the smarts, is quick on his feet, and has countless suits of armor that are far superior to anything else mankind has created. Give him a week, and the Earth would be saluting King Iron Man.
Luckily for the humans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tony knows Pepper. It is through her that Tony comes to see that the Iron Man tech can't just be used to get revenge on the people who hurt him. Pepper's belief in a better tomorrow is what leads to Tony working to make that vision happen.
2 The Super-Ego & The Id
All of this comes down to two parts of every person; the id and the super-ego. Tony Stark is, undoubtedly, the id. He is a ball of uncoordinated instinctual energy that can't be stopped once he sets his sights on something. Tony gets what he wants and nothing will stand in his way.
Pepper is the super-ego. She focuses on rules and cultural norms, like taking a folder that is handed to her by a friend. She takes the time for niceties, like learning Agent Coulson's first name. She works within the system and understands the need for patience and planning. The id needs the super-ego to keep it on track, and the super-ego needs the id to make things fun.
1 Not Much Competition
To be blunt, there aren't many healthy relationships in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Besides Tony and Pepper and Hawkeye's family, things are really rough. The Hulk and Black Widow had a thing going on before the former left the world without telling anyone where he was going. Thor was with Jane Foster, but that apparently fell apart between movies.
Star-Lord and Gamora looked like they were in the running for the best couple right up until Gamora's adoptive dad Thanos went and killed her. Scarlet Witch and Vision were basically stuck at the Avengers compound and had no one else to talk to. Lastly, Captain America may have had something with Sharon Carter but he couldn't get over a girl he had a crush on sixty years ago. This wasn't a hard competition for Tony and Pepper to win.