Superheroes are beloved characters by many that are capable of breaking the limits of human imagination. They also have personal reasons stemming from their past that leads them to the events that calls them to action. Stephen Strange constantly deals with death of loved ones, and his hands are shattered to the point where he can’t do anything. Spider-Man is an orphan who was adopted by his kindly uncle and aunt. Batman works to avenge the death of his parents, and trains in order to protect the people of Gotham.
One popular hero that is often brought up is Iron Man. Rich Millionaire playboy, who is a world class genius, inventor and businessman, with a penchant for ladies and alcohol. But where did this start? Obviously in his origin story. Even before he was stuck in that cave with Yinsen, in his childhood. And I’m not talking about that stupid adoption story that was really out of nowhere. I’m talking classical, where Tony is the BIOLOGICAL son of Howard Stark, a genius in his own right.
However, some of Tony’s vices are inherited from his father, something that was subconscious in Tony himself, where for a while, he was the perfect legacy of his father’s. A cold, capitalist, corporatist, weapons developer who had a penchant for the ladies and alcohol. And Howard made sure of that. Father of the year he was not. Deathstroke could take notes of how to abuse children. (Just take a look at how he treated his daughter, Rose. Drugged her so much she plucked her own eye out just to get his approval. She wasn’t too pleased when she was purged of those drugs. And I’m telling you that Howard was a much sicker man.) In several flashbacks written over the years, there is various amounts of abuse that is done, including giving essentially a toddler alcohol.
And this affected Tony, who was a sensitive, clingy child who wanted to do good. He swore never to turn out like his Dad, a vow that he failed when he became the “Merchant of Death”. A child who is extremely good and loving can turn out very foul when his environment is very toxic. This can come from one of two ways: A rich kid that’s free to do whatever he wants, with no consequences whatsoever, or a child abused so much that he would do anything to survive, and that went from one thing into another, until he became the literal definition of the logical conclusion of a capitalist version of the “American Dream”, perverting the entire definition of the dream itself, into something that it never should have been.
And that’s what goes on in the core of Tony Stark. Giving alcohol to a child before he is old enough to attend school is very dangerous to the child’s brain growth and kidneys. Their immune system is not as developed as an adult’s, and alcohol is a form of poison that can really do damage to the human body. So that would have an effect on Tony Stark himself, especially when he learns that it is absolutely wrong to do so. This would also be a symbolic link to his father, and the thought of “what would his father do”, and the control Howard has over Tony, even post-mortem. Often Tony’s self-control and fascination with tinkering with machines, driving fast cars and testing out weapons sometimes are depicted with alcohol in the foreground, which indicates that he wants to channel Howard in these times.
Then we get into Tony’s philandering, another habit he picked up from his father. Tony however, does so for a very different reason. He is a mama’s boy, and for very good reasons. As much as many depictions show Tony wanting to please his father, in the mainstream 616, Tony is disgusted by his father. But Tony loved his mother, as she would protect him from as much abuse as she can, and one can argue him going through women in one-night-stands can display a sense of shame, and a lack of self-respect. He was taught that it was all right to seduce women with his money and fast cars, and a lack of respect he has for women who try to sleep with him over his money and status. Between this aspect and the alcoholism, we end up with a spiral that can bring someone down. He goes to sleep with loose women and down alcohol making cold-hearted decisions, only to feel shame over what his mother would think, so he drowns out these feelings with even more women and alcohol, only for him to sober up, think of his mother, then back in, aud infinitum.
There are also others in his childhood that affect who he is later in life, as Iron Man. One such person was Jarvis. Jarvis the butler came into the service of Howard Stark when Tony was a child, and his portrayal can be considered controversial to longtime Avengers fans. In here, Jarvis was more Howard’s yes man, the spy on Tony and Maria planted by Howard, and often an enabler that would make excuses to convince Tony that some of the abuse was how his father showed love. But how could the sweet Jarvis treat Tony that way? He was always sweet and gentle, treating the Avengers well, ensuring their needs were met. He would prefer to properly cook and bake himself, rather than buy it cheap at the store. But this adds complications, and a fascinating story to both Tony and Jarvis.
Tony is often civil with Jarvis, but is eventually shown to be guarded around him. Jarvis was so good at his job, that he represents the little conscience on young Tony’s shoulder, messing him up to become just like his father. Intentional or not, Jarvis did this to Tony, on Howard’s say so. Even when Howard ditched, instead of explaining the situation himself to young Tony, he has Maria reveal what happened, when she was dealing with heartbreak. This may cause Jarvis to become an antagonist of sorts that was party to the abuse, however, as things would progress, particularly after Howard’s death, Jarvis would change as a person, and being around heroes would make him reflect on his mistakes, and encourage him to become a better person.
In the background, we see a fascinating story, and he gets a subtle redemption story, to the point where he can nanny for Franklin, without any concern, as he treats Franklin as he would his own child. Perhaps there is regret, and a want to prove to himself that he can be a better person, seeing young Franklin Richards as a “second chance” to “do things right”. It is a very selfish act and way of thinking, having a “do-over” child, but Franklin brought him some peace, as it he has admitted that caring for a child was something he preferred over maintaining the Quinjet and ensuring Hawkeye’s arrows are ready in case they need to be shipped out. And even regarding these feelings, he then pulls through every time for the Avengers. It gets to the point where Tony starts to mend fences with Jarvis, much to his fiancée’s displeasure. Many heroes aren’t aware of Jarvis’ history of abuse. And both Tony and Jarvis don’t wish to make this a public event. It doesn’t need to be public, and it’s none of anyone’s business. Rumiko knowing about it is fine, since she was about to marry Tony, and it would be important for her to know about it, and understand where her husband-to-be is coming from.
The concept of family is a complicated one to Tony Stark, as his was dysfunctional, on a level that almost no hero would be able to understand. (The only one that truly comes to mind is Oliver Queen, Green Arrow. But he didn’t have Maria, but both his parents were like Howard. And Ollie is very well messed up, and it shows in his love life.) It is why when he meets James Rhodes, and when introduced to his family, it surprised him, and he learned what a true family was.
The warmth and acceptance he was exposed to, had him fall in love with the family, and it would be why he has a fascination with aspects of African American culture. He became a fan of Rap music and Rap Battles, he loved their music, their food… It allowed him to see a whole new world, and met people that many in the Avengers would miss entirely. Sure Rhodey would prefer to go to the Symphony, and prefer more European interests, Tony would of course relate African American culture to the warmth of the Rhodes, and would never bring his vices to their doorstep. No women would be introduced, and no alcohol would be imbibed at their house, even when they are aware of his vices. He respects them so much, and he likely feels like a child coming home, wanting to please a mother and father with his best behaviour. Tony has personal issues with parental figures, and he may be a hard man, but he feels accepted as Anthony Stark, the family friend and pseudo-adopted son.
Tony would also have a hard time trusting the Avengers and other heroes, for the reason that if he lets them in, they will betray him, something that is proven right when it comes to Natasha Romanov, the Black Widow. Loyalty doesn’t come easy for her, as she betrayed both Tony and Clint Barton, who had a similar troubled background, and wanted to do good, which Iron Man proved to be a good role model, and thus Clint was introduced to the Avengers. But he couldn’t truly open up to Clint, even when he liked him. Hawkeye was often very impressionable, and could be convinced to turn against Tony, but he was one Avenger that Stark never held a grudge against him. This is something he developed to survive and protect himself, as someone with his history needed to protect himself in some way, and a cold calculating metal armour around himself was what he needed.
There are a few people that Tony meets that he has a very particular relationship with, that would truly affect him and change him as a person, allowing him to have an outlet. One such friend is Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD. (Not the modern Sam Jackson version, but the older version. The cool version of Nick Fury) Fury has a lot of stress at SHIELD, often being the fall guy for the government, and cleaning up messes by other agents, such as Black Widow and Sharon Carter, with Spider-Man sneaking in and chewing him out over incompetence over cases that are not shut, even when Fury has probably 3 other files that need closing urgently, unable to trust anyone but “Dum-Dum” Dugan (Who isn’t so much a “Dum-Dum”. He is actually pretty smart.) and his wife, Contessa Valentina De LaFontaine. And Tony understands the stresses of Nick Fury’s job, considering he has experience with the Board of Directors playing games with him. So the two often unwind with each other, chatting and hanging out, putting aside all of their professional lives, although venting would be something they would do. It is odd for two people in their situation to befriend. But a child like Tony would be looking for a kindred spirit, and as an adult, gravitating to such a person would be good, and it is odd that a super-spy would be a straight-shooter with friends.
A man like Tony would also seek out what he would idealize as real men, men of valour and virtue, akin to the heroic knights of chivalry he fell in love with as a child. A man who has quite a bit of arrested development would search for role models, sometimes in the oddest of places, and none are odder than the young man, Spider-Man.
In contrast to modern comics, Tony actually looked up to Spider-Man, and wanted to live up to Spider-Man’s ideals. Iron Man would do what Spider-Man would ask of him, without question, something that is odd for Tony. he is aware that Spider-Man is a good person, very intelligent and makes it seem like the right thing to do is far simpler than what one would think. He takes Spider-Man’s motto “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility” very seriously. There are times when Tony is so eager to please the wall-crawler.
That disappointing him would be considered a failure, and he would overcompensate to the point where even Spider-Man would tell him to slow down, which Iron Man would back off. We are well aware that Spider-Man is a younger character than Tony Stark, and yet, Tony looks up to a boy about ten years his junior. With all the good Spider-Man does, Tony often asks himself “What would Spider-Man do?” even when he doesn’t need to. So after an adventure, when Spider-Man shakes Iron Man’s hand, and puts his hand on Tony’s shoulder, Tony is also fanboying out. Just like in the “Secret War” story arc in the Spider-Man cartoon, the mere concept of an insult thrown Spider-Man’s way can only be resulted in a threat to the person in question, even if unnecessary. When a boy sees a man he sees as an idealized figure in his mind, he will want to fight for that person’s honour. There’s a reason why Spider-Man taught him how to be a hero.
Tony’s childhood has a very major effect on how Tony interacts with people. He needs to protect his vulnerable core by establishing armour. He learned how to interact with people both on a scientific level, and a personal level. How he behaves around other heroes, how he learned how to be a hero overall, and with Rumiko, he would have made peace with his past, finding solace in a woman who was willing to take up the burden, knowing full well what she was getting into.
As for Tony, it is a daily battle to fight off the bottle and women, as he would become his father again, whereas, he also learn how to be a hero like many others,
I like the idea that pre-Iron Man Tony's hedonic lifestyle is form of armour, protecting him from further emotional harm. And then the iron suit he wears that protects him from physical harm. But does that mean when he eventually admits he is Iron Man, he is allowing himself to become vulnerable? And does that mean he has recovered somewhat from the negative influences of his early life?
Ugh! I tend to portray my heroes as not having such negative backgrounds, but then, this style of fiction (the superheroes) depends on exaggeration. Going all out to trowel on every evil thing possible (btw, being a capitalist is NOT one of those things).