5 Reasons Why Tony Stark Is Incredible

If you know me at all in any capacity, it's obvious I'm a Marvel fan. It is also obvious I'm a fan of Tony Stark, aka the sassy Avenger, aka Iron Man. My Instagram bio says only, "in love with tony stark." (I couldn't think of anything else, okay?)

 I've often felt weird about this, as it's clear Tony Stark is the "jerk" of the group, but at the same time, I find so much about Tony Stark is lovable, redeemable, and relateable. If you haven't quite fallen in love with our shrapnel-struck hero, here are a few reasons why I love Tony Stark a whole heckuva lot.

via screenrant.com

1. He is a wounded warrior.

I need to start off by saying a lot of the reason I love Tony is for personal reasons. I deal with a chronic illness called fibromyalgia which affects my life in many ways. My dad does too. One day he made a comparison to how Tony was a "wounded warrior", and how that applied to our lives as well. (I'm not trying to brag about being a badass warrior or anything, by the way. I've only had Nerf sword battles, sadly.) 

Ever since, that's stuck with me. Tony's wound is the shrapnel in his chest fighting its way into his heart. In The Avengers, he says this:

"You know, I've got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart." [points at the mini-arc reactor in his chest] "This stops it. This little circle of light. It's part of me now, not just armor. It's a... terrible privilege."

I've held onto that line ever since. It's made me tear up at times. Fibromyalgia and my other health issues are my terrible privilege. What's yours?

 2. He is funny as heck.

Often, I've felt like my sense of humor (which often relies on being more prideful than I actually am) is somehow a sin or unacceptable. Tony Stark changed that. I mean, shawarma anyone? And this:

Tony Stark: You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark, please leave a message.
Agent Phil Coulson: This is urgent.
Tony Stark: Then leave it urgently.

Tony jokes a lot about being the best person in the world. A textbook narcissist. Or this:

Most of his jokes stem from a self-important viewpoint. But deep down, he is a lot more humble and vulnerable than we realize. Which brings me to point #3.

3. He is a fragile person.

We got to see this in Iron Man 3, and I've heard it goes even deeper into the comics: Tony has issues. Between his anxiety attacks in IM3, and his alcoholism in the comics and the franchise, it's clear Tony has turned to alternative ways to deal with his pain. One reason his humor isn't actually as confident as we think it is stems from the fact that it's a coping mechanism. I've heard from people who think Tony Stark is a jerk and beyond saving. They don't take the time to see that behind his sometimes rude exterior, there really is a broken, fragile person inside. 

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4. He is human.

The cool part about Tony is that he isn't actually a superhero. Well, he is, but he made himself into one. The tech and everything is so cool, and made even cooler when you see the flesh and bone person underneath. And he's also human in every aspect: like in point #3, he has flaws, insecurities, vulnerabilities, weak spots. (His weak spot emotionally is Pepper, his weak spot physically is his arc reactor which can be removed or corrupted, as we saw in IM1 and IM2.) He is so relatable because he is human. He's not just a flat character on paper. He's grown and changed and become almost real. The MCU (Marvel Canon Universe) has done a great job of fleshing him out.

5. He decided to change.

We see this in the first movie. Before Tony gets hit by the missile and taken prisoner, he doesn't care that he manufactures mass weapons of destruction. He doesn't care about anyone, actually. Throughout the movie we see him slowly change, which includes changing the focus of Stark Industries around a bit. And throughout the franchise, we see him become a much more sympathetic person, forming a relationship with Pepper, Harley, and even his fellow Avengers. Tony may be an antihero, but he leans a lot closer to hero than some. Behind his armor, both literal and metaphorically, there is a really good guy. And that is something I really appreciate.

. . . . . . . . . . . 

"The suit and I are one."

One more thing. This isn't technically a reason, but I couldn't let this post go by without pointing out how beautiful his suit is. Seriously, drool worthy.

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In conclusion, I'm extremely grateful to Marvel and Tony Stark for helping my life make a little bit more sense. Fictional characters can often be the best companions, and the power of stories is that they help us feel like we're not alone. To me, that is just incredible. (And, as we've learned today, so is Tony Stark.)

What about you? Why do you like Tony? 

And on a deeper note, what's your terrible privilege? 

On a non-Tony-related note, has there been a particular character that's impacted you?