Tony Stark: The Invincible Iron Man Appreciation 2022

[Tony Stark]

I thought it was a fair argument, I mean he's often still written like a jerk in other stuff so I don't think it'd be a good idea from an in-universe POV. It seemed like Tony just wanted to win and solve the Kingpin problem ASAP instead of actually thinking of how he'd do as a mayor.

I was kind of surprised he took it so personally, I feel like he's going to run for mayor and screw up the plan for the other heroes.

I guess I’m a little biased lol. I just didn’t like the way they came at Tony with the switch.

[Mr. White]

Eh, that's not something I mind. Having a mad scientist like Stark run for mayor was always really strange, and not something I was interested in.

Although a much better pick would have been Captain America. Captain America running for mayor would have been a guaranteed easy win.

Cage was a mercenary for years. I can see him being a better choice than Stark, whose history of crazy experiments like genetically engineering an entire city, could easily be weaponized against him by Fisk. But still, Cage is a hard-sell, and you don't want hard sells in an emergency like this. Having Captain America run would have been a much safer, smarter play.

Did they give a reason not to have Captain America run?

Tony had come up with the idea to run for Mayor, but Cap, Luke, Jessica, Matt and Miles said it should be Luke should run for Mayor over Tony. They said Luke is more inspirational(which is ok) than Tony and it would be just another rich guy going against Fisk.

While from a story perspective I wouldn't want Luke to be tied up as Mayor (though I guess it can potentially afford him more screentime and he may get a new mini-series or something which I'm 110% in support for), think he is the most "New York" of the bunch, has always been "for the people" and frankly based on representation/diversity and the fact he's a family man... Luke being pushed in this direction makes the most sense (IMO) from both an in-universe perspective and real-world perspective.

I'd however have preferred that the first conversation in DR2 was Luke and Jess telling Tony no and that they don't think he should run and instead, perhaps Luke should run. And then the scene in the park used to reinforce the argument and Tony coming to accept it and agree by himself. The manner it was done was a bit....wonky/untidy.

I thought it was a fair argument, I mean he's often still written like a jerk in other stuff so I don't think it'd be a good idea from an in-universe POV. It seemed like Tony just wanted to win and solve the Kingpin problem ASAP instead of actually thinking of how he'd do as a mayor.

I was kind of surprised he took it so personally, I feel like he's going to run for mayor and screw up the plan for the other heroes.

This brings up a question I've been mulling over recently - how do you like your Tony Stark/Iron Man written?

Do you prefer the Tony Stark of Extremis, Civil War (irrespective of your views towards the event), Director of SHIELD era or do you prefer him written more similar to RDJ's portrayal and everything that has come after the first movie till date (i.e. Tony Snark)?

I've realised I'm not a fan of this new characterization. While it has existed for a good number of years now, reading those stories (including Busiek's run) makes me wish for days gone by.

[Frontier]

I'm more of a Busiek Tony man myself.

[K7P5V]

Don't know if I've posted this, so forgive me if I'm repeating myself, so, here's my favorite Iron Man stories (in no particular order):

1- Demon in a Bottle
2- The Original Armor Wars (just read it the other day)
3- Extremis
4- The Five Nightmares
5- World's Most Wanted

^^^Excellent choices. My list has more of an '80s vibe going for it, though...

• "Escape from Heaven's Hand!"
  
  
• "Light Makes Right!"

• "Doomquest"

[K7P5V]

I'm more of a Busiek Tony man myself.

Me too. Busiek's Tony had his moments (IMHO):

[WestPhillyPunisher]

While from a story perspective I wouldn't want Luke to be tied up as Mayor (though I guess it can potentially afford him more screentime and he may get a new mini-series or something which I'm 110% in support for), think he is the most "New York" of the bunch, has always been "for the people" and frankly based on representation/diversity and the fact he's a family man... Luke being pushed in this direction makes the most sense (IMO) from both an in-universe perspective and real-world perspective.

I'd however have preferred that the first conversation in DR2 was Luke and Jess telling Tony no and that they don't think he should run and instead, perhaps Luke should run. And then the scene in the park used to reinforce the argument and Tony coming to accept it and agree by himself. The manner it was done was a bit....wonky/untidy.

I don’t think Luke as Mayor wouldn’t work. I mean, not only is he a convict, but an escaped convict, disqualifying him from political office. Now, I don’t recall if Cage was ever officially pardoned, but if he hadn’t, not even his time spent with the Avengers can gloss over the fact he has a criminal record. That said, I’m not sure Tony would be a better option as he didn’t exactly cover himself with glory as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

This brings up a question I've been mulling over recently - how do you like your Tony Stark/Iron Man written?

Do you prefer the Tony Stark of Extremis, Civil War (irrespective of your views towards the event), Director of SHIELD era or do you prefer him written more similar to RDJ's portrayal and everything that has come after the first movie till date (i.e. Tony Snark)?

I've realised I'm not a fan of this new characterization. While it has existed for a good number of years now, reading those stories (including Busiek's run) makes me wish for days gone by.

I prefer a more serious bent for Tony, like he had been written by the likes of Busiek, David Michielinie, Warren Ellis and Matt Fraction. The RDJ wiseass angle has long since gotten old.

[MichaelC]

He literally saved the entire world as director of SHIELD. The Mandarin had launched an attack that was going to kill 98 percent of the population, and mutate the rest.

[Marvell2100]

I don’t think Luke as Mayor wouldn’t work. I mean, not only is he a convict, but an escaped convict, disqualifying him from political office. Now, I don’t recall if Cage was ever officially pardoned, but if he hadn’t, not even his time spent with the Avengers can gloss over the fact he has a criminal record. That said, I’m not sure Tony would be a better option as he didn’t exactly cover himself with glory as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.



I prefer a more serious bent for Tony, like he had been written by the likes of Busiek, David Michielinie, Warren Ellis and Matt Fraction. The RDJ wiseass angle has long since gotten old.

I totally agree. One of the most powerful, intelligent people in the MU has been treated like a punchline and all we get is articles of how someone else is better than Tony or how many flaws he has.

[Marvell2100]

He literally saved the entire world as director of SHIELD. The Mandarin had launched an attack that was going to kill 98 percent of the population, and mutate the rest.

They don't focus on that. It's all about his failures and shortcomings.

[Tony Stark]

He literally saved the entire world as director of SHIELD. The Mandarin had launched an attack that was going to kill 98 percent of the population, and mutate the rest.

Well put. They always say Tony failed as DoS, but that’s not true. If that’s the case how many times has Fury outright failed?!

[The Negative Zone]

I'm reading random Iron Man one-shots and just read a comic where Tony was able to use his armor to time travel? Like it wasn't treated as a big deal he just had a function on his armor to do that. Really cool but a bit overpowered. The comic referenced his time with Doom, any idea if this is canon? I'm having fun regardless.

One shot is Iron Man Kiss and Kill.

[Tony Stark]

I'm reading random Iron Man one-shots and just read a comic where Tony was able to use his armor to time travel? Like it wasn't treated as a big deal he just had a function on his armor to do that. Really cool but a bit overpowered. The comic referenced his time with Doom, any idea if this is canon? I'm having fun regardless.

One shot is Iron Man Kiss and Kill.

It’s canon as far as I know. I really enjoyed the kiss and kill one shot with Tony and Natasha. There were a few good one shots that came out around the same time.

[Habis]

Eh, that's not something I mind. Having a mad scientist like Stark run for mayor was always really strange, and not something I was interested in.

Although a much better pick would have been Captain America. Captain America running for mayor would have been a guaranteed easy win.

Cage was a mercenary for years. I can see him being a better choice than Stark, whose history of crazy experiments like genetically engineering an entire city, could easily be weaponized against him by Fisk. But still, Cage is a hard-sell, and you don't want hard sells in an emergency like this. Having Captain America run would have been a much safer, smarter play.

Did they give a reason not to have Captain America run?

Steve Rogers would obviously be the best choice, of course. Other Avengers and Avengers allies could make good candidates too. I think Janet is quite famous and popular...

Anyways, Tony Stark has way too many weak points: He is a former weapons producer and seller, he sabotaged his rivals' weapons test to ensure they didn't get government contracts. He attacked federal agents and destroyed the weapons he had sold to the US government and to SHIELD during Armor Wars. He sent heroes to Negative Zone Guantanamo and forced people to train and become government sponsored heroes against their will during Civil War I. He led a rebellion against UN sanctioned forces and committed kidnapping during Civil War II. He basically created the Phoenix Five during AvX. He experimented with artificial intelligence and synthetic life. He led an AI revolt. He publicly admitted to being an AI himself... etc.

Over the years he has given every possible political faction reasons to hate him...

It if were me, I would just kill Fisk in a way that looked like an accident, and save Steve Rogers for whenever the Avengers need their own presidential candidate, rather than burning that cartridge making him NY mayor... (being a great hero doesn't guarantee Steve Rogers would be a successful mayor...).

He literally saved the entire world as director of SHIELD. The Mandarin had launched an attack that was going to kill 98 percent of the population, and mutate the rest.

True, but, how many people would remember that? Stuff like both Civil Wars, Secret Invasion, AvX, the Robotic Rebellion...etc., were all way more conspicuous. Everybody in the MU watched those on TV, and New Yorkers literally saw the fighting on their streets...

[MichaelC]

I'm reading random Iron Man one-shots and just read a comic where Tony was able to use his armor to time travel? Like it wasn't treated as a big deal he just had a function on his armor to do that. Really cool but a bit overpowered. The comic referenced his time with Doom, any idea if this is canon? I'm having fun regardless.

One shot is Iron Man Kiss and Kill.

Are you talking about issue #59 of Grell's run? Because yes, that's canon.

[Huntsman Spider]

Steve Rogers would obviously be the best choice, of course. Other Avengers and Avengers allies could make good candidates too. I think Janet is quite famous and popular...

Anyways, Tony Stark has way too many weak points: He is a former weapons producer and seller, he sabotaged his rivals' weapons test to ensure they didn't get government contracts. He attacked federal agents and destroyed the weapons he had sold to the US government and to SHIELD during Armor Wars. He sent heroes to Negative Zone Guantanamo and forced people to train and become government sponsored heroes against their will during Civil War I. He led a rebellion against UN sanctioned forces and committed kidnapping during Civil War II. He basically created the Phoenix Five during AvX. He experimented with artificial intelligence and synthetic life. He led an AI revolt. He publicly admitted to being an AI himself... etc.

Over the years he has given every possible political faction reasons to hate him...

It if were me, I would just kill Fisk in a way that looked like an accident, and save Steve Rogers for whenever the Avengers need their own presidential candidate, rather than burning that cartridge making him NY mayor... (being a great hero doesn't guarantee Steve Rogers would be a successful mayor...).



True, but, how many people would remember that? Stuff like both Civil Wars, Secret Invasion, AvX, the Robotic Rebellion...etc., were all way more conspicuous. Everybody in the MU watched those on TV, and New Yorkers literally saw the fighting on their streets...

Fair points, except for the part about killing Fisk. While that would be the more expedient solution, that would also be proving him right about the heroes' hypocrisy, albeit in a twisted kind of way. Personally, as interesting as it would be to see either Tony or Luke run for mayor of New York against Fisk, I'd see that as more of a delay tactic to occupy Fisk's attention while their allies get evidence of his dirty dealings as mayor (and presumably as the Kingpin).