Do you think Tony Stark has any principles?
I was reading Chad Nevett's Random Thoughts post this week, and he mentioned he wasn't a fan of the trend in the Marvel Universe of Steve Rogers always being right. I tend to think if it's a question of whether it's right to do something or not, at least as it pertains to the American Ideal, yeah, Steve Rogers should be right. Doesn't mean he can't be wrong about other things, or handle things incorrectly*.
So in the comments, someone argued that Stark was the bigger man than Rogers, because Stark was being treated as a villain, he was taking all this blame, he has to provide Rogers with some way to stop him if he goes off the rails like this again, Stark never set up a covert ops team**. The point being, if Steve Rogers is lauded for standing by his principles, Tony Stark should be as well, perhaps more s,o since he did it while becoming hated by everyone.
I'm not convinced Tony Stark really has any principles, though. He was big on making people register their identities with the government, but this is the guy who previously somehow used satellites to make the world forget who he was. He wanted everybody to fall in line and follow the law, but that's coming from a man who wrecked the armors of all the guards at a super-villain prison because, through no fault of their own, parts of their armors were based on his designs. Hell, he beat up Stingray just because he thought Stingray's armor might have some of his designs in it.
Tony Stark strikes me as a character who doesn't have any set rules, except perhaps "Don't touch my stuff!" He seems to do what he thinks is right in the moment, but may do the exact opposite later if he decides it's the right choice. Other people's thoughts on the matter may not factor into his decision at all. Or they might, if he feels like listening. Which is fine. As long as he's trying to do right, I imagine he can be a hero without a strict code he follows, but I'm not sure that qualifies as having principles. I'm obviously biased against Stark, so I may not be giving him enough credit. Plus, my collection of Iron Man comics is pretty small. So I'd like your input on whether Stark has principles, and if so, what you think they are.
* I think after he escaped Maria Hill at the start of Civil War, it might have been a good idea to have some friends cover him, visit a major TV network, and ask for some time to present his thoughts on why the Super-Hero (Human? Whatever.) Registration Act was wrong. Give the public something to chew on before embarking on his "fight crime from the shadows campaign".
** No he decided to unleash Venom, Bullseye, Lady Deathstrike, etc., on Spider-Man, after Spidey switched sides. He used nanites to make Norman Osborn shoot an Atlantean diplomat, because the threat of war with fish people would convince the public to go along with what Stark wanted. Say what you will about the Secret Avengers being "covert ops", they are actual heroes. OK, the Ant-Man he's using is a scumbag, but the rest of them are, give or take some time as Communist spies (Black Widow), or being insane (Moon Knight).
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3 comments:
I think Tony has a general set of principles: defend the defenseless, protect his people (his people being defined differently based on situations), and ensure his ideas are used for good.
The problem is that he doesn't have them very well defined, and tends to be pragmatic about them. Cap tends to draw a line and stick faithfully to it. Tony tends to bounce back and forth over his own lines, in order to preserve his sense of the future.
In the modern context (since Tony's character has changed a lot more over the years than Cap's has), I think his biggest problem is his ability to "see" the future. He's so busy trying to manipulate events towards a future that he considers to be brighter, that he overlooks a lot of the stuff he considers "small scale."
Tony's code is based on what he wants the world to be like in 2110. So anything that endangers his attempt to build that world (such as Iron Man tech being in other people's hands), needs to be stopped. On the other hand, if something will help him build that world then he will support it with all of his influence, even if it makes him appear hypocritical.
None of the other heroes really match that sort of code. The closest to Tony's code would probably be Xavier's dream. Just like Tony he played fast and loose with morality (lots of mindwipes) in order to build his future.
So that's my attempt to defend Tony's actions. Right now they look hypocritical and even villainous, but in 2110 he'll be remembered as the Father of the Future, meanwhile Cap will be a nice archaic character. Kind of like a Cowboy now, certainly heroic but from a different era that doesn't have a place in the modern world.
Tony Stark is always so utterly convinced that he's right, and since he is a "futurist", that everyone should just trust him, and take his word for it.
Which makes him a bit like Doctor Doom, actually.
Frankly, Stark scares the heck out of me, and I'm glad I don't live in the Marvel Universe.
What SallyP said. He's a lot closer to Pol Pot than he is to a principled hero -- if people have to die to make his 'new world', then people have to die, too bad.
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