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aspiestvmusings · 5 years

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LONG POST: I AM IRON MAN

A STUDY ON: THE MAN vs THE SUIT.

MY THOUGHTS ON TONY vs IRON MAN.

SPOILERS FOR MCU FILMS, INCLUDING ENDGAME. SO BEWARE.

I am being very vague, and no real spoilers, but some might still find this too spoilery, too.

In “Iron Man 1″ Tony built the Iron Man suit, and declared at the end of IM1, publicly, to everyone that “I am Iron Man”. Then in “Iron Man 2″ he went on record and said that the suit & the man are one (”The suit & I are one”). But then in “Iron Man 3″ (due to the events of “Avengers 1″) the man & the suit started separating.

In IM 1 he got the suit, and became one with the suit. In IM 2 he becomes truly one with the suit. In IM3 he and the suit are, against his will, separated.... “physically”, when both the suit & the connection to the suit (JARVIS) are separated from him.

In the beginning of IM3 he first claims that the suits are part of him. But the he goes on a personal discovery journey. (And that’s AFTER he uses the suit to protect Pepper - putting others first) IM3 shows that while both the suit and the man are broken (suit physically broken, Tony mentally broken), he mostly tries to take care of the suit, not himself. Therefore putting the suit (others) before the man (himself).

Up until now he has seen them as one - the man & the suit (himself & Iron Man), but meeting Harley and the experiences they have together... makes him see things from the boys perspective... through eyes of others (non-superheroes, random people) - who only know the “covers of the book” - the suit & not the man inside...not really. The suit is Iron Man & he is the mechanic, who made the suit (even if, technically, he/the man is Iron Man).

His character development takes (mostly) place in IM3, where he is “broken”. And yet he still tries to take care of the suit first, and not the man -- the man comes second. He has believed that the suit makes him - that his strength comes from the suit, not his character. But as the IM3 end tells us via his voice over - he now sees it differently. He destroys the old suits (and his home has been destroyed, too), and starts off from scratch (The Clean Slate protocol) That was the end of the first chapter of his development.

When in IM1 his declaration “I am Iron Man” said that he & the suit are one and the suit makes him Iron Man, then in IM3 his end declaration says the opposite - he is Iron Man despite it (You can take away all my toys and tricks (his suits) - but you can’t take away one thing - the fact that he, the man, is Iron Man). He now acknowledged that the mere mortal human inside the suit is the Iron Man - that it’s Tony who has the strength & the power... to do all these great things.

His character arc was to get to that point in the IM trilogy. He has accepted that his strength comes from having flaws, too.

Up until this, the suit & him have also been one, because he’s depended on the arc reactor in his chest to power the suit & to keep the man inside it alive. But the end of IM3 changes that. IM3 end separates the man & the suit... as he gets the shrapnel removed from his chest, and is not dependant on the magnetic heart in his chest. After this the suit is not “part” of him, but “around him”. Now the suit lives ON his skin, instead of IN(SIDE) him.

As he says in A3... the arc reactor now is just a device on his skin, an accessory (like a watch or a piece of jewelry worn) that houses the suit, and he is not dependant on it, it’s just an “accessory”, not a device keeping him alive...more literally.

And that “growth” comes after the A1 events, and how it affects him - the anxiety, the PTSD, the.... sleepless nights...that takes us to IM3. And then his attempt to save everyone came to play in A2 - his greatest fear of not being able to save everyone, and losing everyone he loves (he might say that Pepper is the only one/thing he can’t live without, but A2 to SM1 have shown that his family is larger than her, and losing the kid in A3 definitely affected him... strongly. He, like they all, lost a lot - lost someone important to him. He didn’t lose everyone as he had feared (the A2: AoU “vision”), but he did lose someone. His greatest fear did come true. So his “survival guilt” & “not being able to save everyONE” was the theme...kinda after that...)

Tony needs to save everyone - he needs to be the “suit of armour around the earth” that protects everyone. He needs to be the hero. As once again, mentioned in one of the A4 trailers, when Tony says that he can’t help everybody & Pepper replies that it sorta seems that/like he can. His VISION in A2 & his reality after A3 - experience at the end of Infinity War - losing everyone/being the only (human) survivor after the battle (at his location) - is the one thing he can’t live with. He doesn’t want that (Spiderman’s death) on his conscience, cause he feels (like all the heroes) that it’s his fault/on him. But...he is a hero, who needs to save everyone. And this - failure - has always been his greatest fear, and the weight on his shoulders.

And this is why CA was incorrect in “Avengers 1" when he said Tony is “big man in a suit of armour...take that off & what are you?” Because, while Tony answered the way he did, because he hadn’t gone through the IM3 arc yet (and saw himself differently), he was always more than the suit. And Endgame proved that HE (Tony) is Iron Man even without the suit, and that he doesn’t fight for (only) himself. This is why Tony’s & Iron Man’s journey comes full circle with Endgame. He is the guy who (in many ways) is stronger than Thor & Hulk, and more patriotic (and caring about others) than Cap. He is a Hero. He isn’t just pretending to be one. And he’s not looking for an easy way out - saving his own ass, and letting others take the blows. Proving people wrong...once & for all. Too bad some didn’t really see the man in the suit until that moment.

And as he said to Peter in SM1... He wanted Peter to be better than he was/is. He told Peter than if he is nothing without the suit, then he shouldn't have it. He had realized this in IM3 (about himself), so he was “paying it forward”. And he applies this to himself, too. The man inside the suit makes the suit around the man. Or in other words: the man makes the suit, not the other way around.

It’s the same as they’ve done with Thor, for example - it’s not the hammer that has the power, but the man holding it - thunder comes from within him (it’s in his veins), not from the hammer. Interestingly to me... Thor’s character arc seems so much like Tony’s to me... especially after Endgame (which was Thor’s IM3 - learning to accept himself as he is, with flaws and all... which makes SPOILER GOES HERE Thor’s Harley Keener...because THAT CHARACTER helped him see & accept himself with flaws...find himself & start the healing)

In many ways he’s been “hiding” behind the mask... throughout the MCU history... throughout his journey over the past years since 2008. Literally. Every time there is danger, he “puts on the suit” & “closes the helmet around his face”. But... how does his journey end? The man behind the mask is revealed. He wears the suit, but... not the mask. The suit is a protective armour around him... a “mere mortal human”, but we see the man inside, because he doesn't hide behind the mask... he does not wear the helmet (at the end of the battle). Making it Tony that is being the hero, not the suit (Iron Man).

The two are separated now. This is the man...in the suit... that is doing the fighting. And...as it turns out TONY (not Iron Man) is the strongest avenger...in many ways. He is able to “lift as much as Hulk” - he does the same thing Hulk did, and unlike Bruce as Hulk, who needed time to get used to the power when it attacks him, Tony doesn’t even falter... when confronted with so much power coming at him... (he wills himself to do it & succeed)

Tony also has the willpower to save Thanos for last at the end. He makes Thanos witness his whole army/team die before the purple evil finds his own end. Tony does that by simply his willpower. He lets Thanos witness his teams failure/fall (that he/they lost)...letting that sink in...slowly, letting him know that Tony and his team won... This is why Thanos is the last one to die...

This is why in his line ”...and *I* am Iron Man...” in Endgame he was emphasising the “I” part. He, Tony, the man inside the (ironman) suit is Iron Man... the human with all his flaws...not just strengths. But his strength comes from his character, and the choices he’s made (from choosing to become peacekeeper instead of weapons maker...to everything that followed) that tell of his character. The whole story so far has been about how Tony Stark has a heart, and how he is the heart of the story. HE did all that. Tony did all that. He had the suit to help him (though).

Also... we see how everyone finally sees him as the hero, and the heart of the story. This is why Tony doesn’t say anything during THAT scene (besides those few words to Pepper) - it was all about how others felt about him - the hero. And everyone standing to acknowledge Tony... (as) the Iron Man, and the hero. Everyone's reaction to the hero was the focus, because that arc has now also been completed - everyone else now, too, sees Tony as the hero he is. It baffles me that it took until that moment for others to finally see it, too, but... that’s how it is.

Based on the canon there were many characters in this universe who did not see him as the selfless hero he had been...since almost the start of his journey (he redeemed himself in IM1... before he met any of the other heroes) And I am sad to read/see that even the makers of the films (the creators, the writers, the directors) didn’t see him as the selfless hero until his retirement. Maybe it’s the usual publicity talk & not their actual view on the character they helped to create, but yeah... seeing some claim that he finally...only now..did something not selfish...and fought for others, not himself... for me...is strange & means the person & character wasn't understood. But then again...maybe it’s the genius-factor at play - people just not understanding genius and seeing anyone who is smart & all actions by geniuses as arrogant & selfish. Not seeing the real person behind it & the real motives behind their actions? That’s my take on...that.

He is more than the suit. He is everything without the suit. Tony is Iron Man...the hero. That was the end of the second chapter of his development.

And here's an appropriate quote to sum it up: “The measure of a hero is how (well) they succeed at being who they are.” Tony was a hero, a superhero, a friend, a leader, a son, a *****’*; a ******.

Which is why him choosing family over other options...is...so believable. This way he’s had a taste of both of the worlds & he’s saved both - the world & his family.

IRON MAN WILL RETURN? LINK HERE

THE END

Congrats if you made it this far. It’s been another super long post from me.

There is, of course, more to this, but this is already too long of a post...even though I can say so much more about this all.

#SPOILER #endgame spoilers #avengers endgame spoilers #Tony Stark #Ironman #Iron Man #MCU #AVENGERS #The Avengers #Avengers 4 #Avengers: Endgame #Avengers Endgame #my thoughts #master post #long post

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