Quote Originally Posted by Tony Stark View Post
I’m just asking. Not trying to start anything. I’m honestly just curious. Usually I’m not when people hat Tony, but what is it about Tony that you seem to hate?
That post I made only made one mention of Stark...i.e. "Stark tech" and not Stark himself. The next paragraph had me describe the possible future direction of MCU Spider-Man under a succession of other science dads...in a manner that conveys that I don't look forward to that either. So it wasn't exactly my dishing against Tony Stark to start with. Still, I will answer.

My criticisms about the spotlight on Spider-Man and Tony Stark's relationship is not the same as saying I hate or dislike Tony Stark. That might sound disingenuous I know. Tony Stark has never been a favorite character of mine but that's not the same as me hating him. (Hal Jordan...now that's a character I hate). I like him in some Avengers story and some solo stories but I won't deny that the character never clicked with me unlike Spider-Man, or for that matter among Avengers -- Cap and Thor, both of whom I like far more in the comics and overall MCU. That doesn't mean that I want Tony Stark to be cancelled as a publication and killed off or any such thing. So on that level no, I don't hate Tony Stark. I happen to like Robert Downey Jr. as an actor, and as a fan of the actor I do think that it's a shame that Iron Man has taken so much of his time to the point that he hasn't done any significant non-IM movies for a long time. I prefer the movies he made earlier in his career like Short Cuts or Natural Born Killers as well as Zodiac, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Tropic Thunder (he got an Oscar nomination for the latter in the same year IM came out). The hope was that IM would pay his bills and he would continue to do the more capable roles he was drawn to, with the security net firmly established. Instead that hasn't happened but hey, I won't begrudge an actor who long struggled for recognition in independent low-budget movies for getting paid.

As far as RDJ's Tony goes I liked him in Iron Man 3 (I think IM-1 which so many people seems to think is the actor's debut film, is fine but just above average and not especially good) and I liked all his scenes with Doctor Strange in IW and Endgame. But I didn't especially care for how the MCU seemed to center around him as the movies went forward. I especially didn't care for his handling in the Spider-Man movies because I felt it was an overreach i.e. a transparent attempt to elevate Iron Man by tying him, and him alone at the detriment of other Marvel superheroes, to Spider-Man. Like not only is Spider-Man heavily featured but Happy Hogan now has a big role in the Spider-Man supporting cast. That comes at the detriment of Spider-Man's supporting cast because in the MCU movies, Aunt May is basically there for a cheap gag, and has far less screentime and far less to do with Peter than Happy does (a fact that Marisa Tomei has complained about).

If you are a fan of Iron Man, I don't think you should be entirely happy with how these movies handle Tony either. I mean the repeated attempt to make Spider-Man villains get their origins, in the comics entirely separate and unconnected, tied to Iron Man is infuriating because on one hand it adds as a pile of villains created by Stark in the MCU. And it's also frustrating because there's no actual recognition and catharsis for this. Because on account of the fact that Iron Man is a protected character, he can never actually be called out or put to task by Peter Parker for his actions because Iron Man in the MCU is senior and played by a big star, while Spider-Man is played by a character actor plucked out of obscurity.

Take the Vulture. In the comics, his origin had him screwed out of his inventions by Gregory Bestman and drove him to crime. When Spider-Man and the police found out about this, they openly sympathized with him and took Bestman in for his crime.
Justice for Bestman.jpg

In the movies, Stark takes the role of Bestman and he begins and ends the same movie coated with chrome plated teflon. So that's a case where Stark's presence actually negates and inverts the point of the original comic and ruins a Spider-Man character beat.