Tony Stark is a complicated character, a fact proven time and time again in both the pages of the comics and on the silver screen. However, Robert Downey, Jr., when he took the role, was expected to do well, and even ended up exceeding expectations. Now, it’s practically impossible for fans to imagine anyone else in the role of Tony Stark in the MCU.
Despite this, there are a few times that the character is mischaracterized, and a few other times that decisions are made regarding the Iron Man that frankly make little narrative sense. In spite of this, the MCU manages to keep on moving past these blunders, continuing to create a wonderful character in Tony Stark. Tony is beloved enough that fans mourned his passing, even creating petitions to bring him back, but his sacrifice is one of the things that truly does make sense for his character.
10 Tony Stark Goes In Person To Afghanistan
Based on everything fans know about Tony Stark when he’s first introduced in the very first movie in the MCU, Iron Man, Tony is a party guy. He lives life incredibly lightly, doesn’t take many things seriously, and develops terrible weapons simply because it’s what Obadiah Stane has turned his company into. Despite the fact that Tony doesn’t seem to be heavily involved in much of the actual operations of his company, he is inexplicably in attendance at the demonstration of the “Jericho” missile in Iron Man.
If he wasn’t there, of course, the events that make him Iron Man would never have occurred. Despite this, though, it doesn’t actually make sense for Tony himself to be there and to be in such great danger when he’s worth so much money and doesn’t even need to actually attend.
9 Tony Shouldn’t Have Survived His Injuries
When Tony Stark is attacked in Afghanistan, it seems that his life is coming to an end. The convoy that Tony is in is ambushed, Tony Stark himself is injured in the blast from one of his own missiles, and his injuries turn critical quickly. After he is captured, he’s imprisoned with a doctor who tells Tony his name is Yinsen.
Despite the fact that they’ve been captured by the Ten Rings, Yinsen is able to create an electromagnet arc reactor prototype that saves Tony’s life, stopping the shrapnel from reaching his heart. It doesn’t make any actual sense that Tony’s life is saved; Yinsen’s intentions are good but, if Tony was hurt as badly as they said, he shouldn’t have been able to survive his injuries while imprisoned.
8 Tony Should Have Been Immediately Arrested After Confessing To Being Iron Man
When Tony Stark goes against the wishes of S.H.I.E.L.D. and practically everybody in his life by admitting, publicly, to being Iron Man, people are enthralled with him. He is under scrutiny in Iron Man 2 because of his abilities and his actions in the first movie. However, before Tony’s announcement on television to reporters and audiences around the world, Tony is technically responsible for the death of Obadiah Stane.
The two of them fight in their technology, and Tony Stark and Pepper Potts technically are responsible for the death of the character. When Tony Stark made this confession, this technically should’ve made law enforcement aware that Tony Stark was also the one responsible for Stane’s death the night before.
7 Tony Takes A Huge Step Back In Iron Man 2
After it seems that Tony Stark learned his lesson in Iron Man about what matters to him and what does not, the character takes a huge step backward in Iron Man 2. Stark finds out that the arc reactor in his chest is no longer saving his life, but instead slowly killing him. If he removes the arc reactor, though, and stops the poisoning, the shrapnel in his chest will make its way to his heart, and that will kill him, instead.
Facing death, Tony Stark spirals; despite the fact that he learned in Iron Man that he can trust Pepper Potts and James “Rhodey” Rhodes to support him, he doesn’t seek their assistance. Instead, he misuses the Iron Man suits he values so deeply and pushes Pepper and Rhodey away at the same time. For someone who cares so much about his friends, this makes zero sense for poor Tony Stark, and it’s a clear indicator that he needs a lot of help.
6 Tony Has Personal Issues With Steve Rogers
Tony Stark does have a lot of issues with his father, and it seems that Howard Stark valued Steve Rogers a great deal. Tony sees Captain America as some impossible standard that his father held him to, and so, when Steve Rogers gets taken off ice and brought into the 21st century, Tony Stark has a hard time dealing with him. Despite the fact that Tony has already begun to come to terms with his issues with others, he grates against Steve Rogers. In The Avengers, even when others are in danger, he’s constantly in conflict with Steve Rogers. These personal issues seem to come out of nowhere, just to make friction between the characters in this movie.
5 The Hulk’s Roar Brings Tony Stark Back To Life
After Tony Stark takes off in the Iron Man suit, grabs the missile intended to decimate New York, and directs it up into space, it seems that his life is going to end. He gets gravely injured while in space, then falls back through the portal to Earth. While, at first, it seems that Tony’s going to be okay, it quickly became clear to his fellow Avengers that Tony was not conscious as he hurtled back down to Earth. The Hulk ran to catch him, swinging from building to building until he catches Tony and brings him to the ground. It seems that Tony is dead until the Hulk roars in his face, seemingly just startling Tony back to life. It doesn’t exactly seem medically possible for Tony to be shocked back to life by a random noise.
4 Tony Does Not Seek Support Despite Having Learned This Lesson Already
After learning in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and The Avengers that Tony Stark has countless supports who love him for who he is and will always seek to prop him up when he needs them, he has a hard time once again in Iron Man 3. Because of the events of The Avengers, Tony Stark is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and is having a hard time living his day-to-day life.
Again, his actions make no sense, because they’re not the actions of Tony Stark; they’re the actions of him under duress. He pulls away from Pepper yet again, creating so many Iron Man suits that he eventually needs to be stopped.
3 Tony Stark Doesn’t Have Battery Back-Ups For His Suits
In Iron Man 3, Tony Stark is flying in his new armor to try and stop the Mandarin. The Mandarin destroys Tony Stark’s home and Tony escapes in a new Iron Man suit he had only just made. While the suit is meant to be an experimental prototype, Tony is supposed to be much smarter than to create such a weak item. He uses the suit, but it dies over Tennessee, sending him hurtling to Earth in a hunk of metal. It seems incredibly out of character for Tony Stark to not have backups for his suits, especially after the events of movies like The Avengers.
2 Tony Stark Doesn’t Need His Arc Reactor Anymore
The symbolic end of Iron Man 3 shows Tony Stark removing his arc reactor from his chest and hurling it into the ocean. He undergoes surgery to have both the reactor and the shrapnel in his chest removed. If this medical technology existed before, it should have been used before; if it’s not possible, then Tony Stark should not be removing his arc reactor at all.
The entire reason he had it in the first place is that the shrapnel would be impossible to remove, and yet, it becomes possible when Tony needs it to symbolically.
1 Tony Stark Takes Matters Into His Own Hands And Endangers Everyone
While Tony has good intentions when he and Bruce develop the technology that would defend the world, he ultimately ends up unleashing it before it’s ready. It’s this technology that becomes Ultron, a machine determined to wipe out humanity. Stopping Ultron comes at a heavy cost that Tony must pay throughout the MCU.