10 Worst Things Iron Man Did In The MCU

His story in the MCU might be one of heroic transformation, but Iron Man also did many questionable or downright unpleasant things in the franchise. As the first hero introduced into the MCU, Iron Man proved to be a pivotal figure in the early stages of the franchise. He served as a leader, a financial backer, and a tech genius for the MCU’s Avengers, with his narrative arc taking precedence over many others in the MCU’s movie timeline. Though his high profile status among the franchise’s characters might make him seem like the quintessential hero, Iron Man was far from beyond reproach.

Even after his death, Iron Man’s legacy is one that carries on through every MCU movie, but not always in the best way. For all his heroics, Iron Man actually committed several pretty terrible acts within the MCU, sometimes accidentally but often by choice. Of course, his moral shortcomings and mistakes don’t cancel out his heroic sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame, but there are many examples of behavior that proves Iron Man wasn’t the purely heroic figure some consider him to be. With that in mind, here are the 10 worst things Iron Man did in the MCU.

10 Neglected Pepper Potts

Iron Man (2008)

In the early stages of the MCU, Pepper Potts was introduced as Tony Stark’s long-suffering assistant. Despite a clear romantic attraction between the two, Stark was consistently standoffish and indifferent towards Potts, massively undervaluing her important role in his life. Even after the pair began their relationship, Stark seemingly found it hard to drop these habits, and often treated Pepper with far less than the respect she deserved. It took a full hero turn and multiple movies for Stark to eventually correct his behavior, but his pattern of neglect had already been clearly demonstrated in the MCU’s early movies.

9 Iron Man Regularly Treated Captain America With Contempt

The Avengers (2012)

Across the Iron Man movies and the character’s appearance in other MCU stories, his relationship with his fellow heroes was a key part of his own development. Even so, Iron Man regularly treated a fellow prominent Avenger with utter contempt, regularly belittling and poking fun at Captain America. Stark often made clear his feelings that Steve Rogers was naive and overly idealistic, instead insisting that his own pragmatic and innovative approaches were far superior. Stark’s treatment of a legendary MCU hero makes him seem incredibly arrogant, and though Robert Downey Jr. manages to pull it off with charm, it’s still pretty poor behavior from a supposedly admirable hero.

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Iron Man 3 sees Tony Stark come face to face with the ghosts of his past, but the villain of the movie wouldn’t have existed if it weren’t for a particularly unpleasant act on Stark’s part. After Stark ignores the promising science of young Aldrich Killian and sends him to the roof for a meeting which he never intended to keep, his technology is developed into Extremis, which Killian then uses to get revenge on Stark. Though Aldrich Killian is undoubtedly a villain, it was Stark’s callousness that originally created him, which is certainly not a proud moment for the hero.

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Although Iron Man has had many fan-pleasing movie moments, he’s also had several of the opposite. One such moment came when Stark and Captain America’s rivalry came to a head in Civil War, with Stark refusing to believe his longtime associate when he correctly asserted that Bucky may have been framed. Though Stark was somewhat justified in his stance, his decision to dismiss Cap’s distrust out of hand turned out to be incredibly rash. Refusing to believe the MCU’s most trustworthy hero seems petty, especially when the pair had previously trusted each other in life-or-death scenarios, and it almost enabled Baron Zemo to execute his plan without a hitch.

6 Called Out The Mandarin

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Certainly one of the stupidest decisions made by Iron Man in the MCU also happens to be one of the worst, as it saw the hero put innocent lives in direct danger due to sheer arrogance. In a heightened emotional state after Happy Hogan was almost killed by one of the Mandarin’s attacks, Stark calls out the terrorist villain by announcing his home address on live TV. This decision leads to Iron Man’s house being destroyed and nearly gets Pepper Potts (and Stark himself) killed, almost making things drastically worse.Stark’s emotional reaction was understandable, but his inability to keep his anger and frustration off-air almost led to the death of a loved one, making it an incredibly unwise decision for a hero to make.

5 Turned His Fellow Avengers Into Fugitives

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Captain America: Civil War was perhaps Iron Man’s most controversial story in the MCU, as it saw him make a number of questionable decisions which he believed to be for the greater good. One of these decisions was to back the Sokovia Accords, pushing for superhero registration in direct opposition to many of his Avengers teammates. Using his platform to endorse the Accords turned his teammates into fugitives, making the morally dubious decision seem incredibly cold-hearted, given the history these heroes shared together.

4 Iron Man’s Drunken Birthday Party Could Have Killed Someone

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Iron Man 2 saw the titular hero enter a self-destructive phase while sick with palladium poisoning, but one particularly irresponsible act ranks among the worst things Iron Man ever did in the MCU. While drunk at his birthday party, Stark decides to don his Iron Man suit to entertain the crowd, shooting lasers toward his guests as a party trick. Stark’s lack of control due to his inebriated state clearly demonstrates his disregard for his responsibility as a hero in the earlier parts of his MCU story, making the moment one of his least thought-out in the entire franchise.

3 Recruited A Teenager Into The Avengers

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

One of Stark’s worst ever deeds in the MCU often goes overlooked. During the events of Civil War, Stark recruits a new hero to the Avengers: Spider-Man, the alter-ego of Peter Parker. However, Parker is only 15 at the time, meaning that Iron Man put a minor in life-threatening danger. This is made even worse by Iron Man understanding the extent of Spider-Man’s powers: he has no healing factor or anything to protect him from the potentially lethal powers of other heroes, meaning that Iron Man directly and willingly endangered the life of a child.

2 Stark Built His Fortune On War

Pre-Iron Man (2008)

Stark’s original lack of morals at the beginning of his hero arc is a key part of his story, but that doesn’t make the shady nature of his fortune any better. In the MCU, Tony Stark’s wealth stems from creating weaponry, meaning that his profits essentially come from warmongering. His realization of this is part of what begins his hero journey, but there are still countless people killed by weapons Stark created, and the Avengers’ technology and facilities were all built with the resulting profits.

1 Created Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

By far the worst thing Iron Man ever did in the MCU may have been unintentional, but that doesn’t excuse the danger he created. While attempting to protect the Earth, Stark created Ultron, an artificial intelligence who swiftly decided that his only course of action was to destroy humanity. The MCU’s TV shows offered some insight into the potential threat Ultron posed to reality, meaning that Stark’s creation of him – no matter how well-intentioned – will forever be the worst thing he ever did in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Key Release Dates