Application - History and Basic Information
[CHARACTER INFO]
CHARACTER NAME: Tony Stark // Iron Man
FANDOM: Marvel Universe; Earth-616
CHRONOLOGY: Post Civil-War; Right Before the Secret Invasion of the Skrull.
BACKGROUND: Tony Stark was born to something of an industrialist legacy, his father being Howard Stark, part of the legacy started by Isaac Stark; the founder of Stark Industries, of which Tony’s father, Howard, ran until he and Maria Stark were killed in a car accident on the Ides of March. Tony, who inherited Stark Industries at the age of 21, breathed life into the company by turning the company into one of the superior weapons contractors for the US government. However, that isn’t to say that Tony is just a CEO with a golden touch. He is considered a genius by most descriptions of the word, having entered MIT at the age of 15, studying Electrical Engineering, to start.. This is only the beginning of a long list of visionary achievements that would exemplify the reputation of the man for the rest of his life.
However, all of that changed when he went to the Vietnam. Tony was supervising a field test when he tripped on a booby trap, and was taken captive by Wong-Chu, the leader of a group of Communists. The explosion from the trap lodged shrapnel in Tony’s heart, and Wong-Chu made Tony a Deal: If he would design a weapon for them, he would allow Tony to have the operation on his heart that would save his life. Tony was given a lab to build the weapons in, where the Physicist Ho Yinsen was also located. The two of them decided not to work on the weapons, but instead built a suit of armor to help them escape, which also included a pacemaker for Tony’s sake. However, in the time that it took the suit to power up, Wong-Chu suspected that there was something going on in the lab, and came to investigate. Yinsen left the lab to save Tony’s life, knowing it was a suicide mission. Yinsen was killed, and Tony managed to use the suit to take out Wong-Chu and his comrades, before heading into the surrounding jungle. He was discovered by a pilot named James Rhodes, who had crash-landed in the jungle, but had managed to repair his helicopter; he gave him a ride, and the two formed a lasting friendship. (Rhodes has also taken over for Tony several times in his super-hero activities, such as when Tony had problems with alcoholism, or one of the other many incidents in which he was otherwise indisposed.)
Once he had returned to the United States, Tony obviously had to make some adjustments to his pacemaker to ensure that he would be able to keep living, so the armor he had created was condensed and streamlined so he could wear it under his clothes. For some time, Tony had to make sure to plug this pacemaker in to ensure that he wouldn’t die, which was a severe weakness of his. He also retrofitted his armor during this time, and began a long line of suits, doubling the Iron Man personality as his body guard; who, of course, always appeared at just the right time. During this time, Tony also helped found the Avengers and Stark Industries was turned away from designing weapons, presumably because of a moral epiphany from his encounters in Vietnam.
It was after some of these tasks that Tony’s life slowly began to fall apart. He, like his father, had always had something of a problem with alcoholism, especially because of his wealth and status amongst the wealthy. He has gone through two bouts with extreme alcoholism, and is now a recovering alcoholic, the most notable of incidents that happened during this period was the fact that he lost Stark Industries to Obadiah Stane. Jim Rhodes overtook his place for a while when Tony battled his addiction by becoming War Machine, and Tony used this time after he overcame his addiction to battle Obadiah Stane, who had stolen his technology and went under the guise of Iron Monger; helped Clint Barton found the West Coast Avengers; and also began a project in Silicon Valley called Stark Enterprises, which quickly began to turn a profit.
Sometime afterwards, Tony was shot by a girlfriend of his, Kathleen Dare. This injury was suspected to be the one that would eventually kill Tony Stark, but he was dedicated to the rehabilitation regimen that he undergone, and was also able to move normally within the Iron Man suit. After this incident, Tony was taken under control by the villain known as Immortus, who caused him to commit several very un-Avenger-like acts, and he sacrificed himself, along with the other Avengers to take out Onslaught. They were revived by Franklin Richards, and he was labeled as innocent of the acts that Immortus claimed that he had done.
Tony’s life, however, can never be perfect. Although he was in a rather tremulous relationship with Rumiko Fujikawa, and there were certainly some strong feelings between the two, there was also the problem of the Super-Hero 3rd wheel, namely Iron Man. Unfortunately, Tony was fighting a villain known as Whiplash, who sent an electric shock through his armor, which led to Tony discovering that his armor is very clingy. The armor claims that it knows Tony better than anyone else, and tries to seclude him from every person in his life, including the AI Jocasta. At first the armor seemed to be a good fit, however when it killed the villain Whiplash, Tony knew that he needed to put a stop to the armor’s sentience. He donned an older outfit, but this drew the Armor into a rage, (as if Tony had been caught with an ex-lover, I might add) and it ripped off the suit piece-by-piece before taking Tony to a romantic location secluded island in the tropics, where the armor begged for him to get into the suit. Tony refused, and after the suit left on a call from the Avengers, he managed to escape the bindings that had kept him trapped, and managed to make traps and such for the armor. When the suit returned, the two fought, and Tony managed to make a few hits, but the Armor struck him, and sent him into a massive heart attack. The armor, who heard Tony’s words of “die like a man” somehow caused the Sentient Armor to feel sympathy for Tony, and it rips out its internal machinery, which latches to Tony and saves him from dying of a heart attack.
Tony resumed work at a heavier-than-normal pace, until an old friend requested his help with a project known as Extremis, which was an offshoot of the Super Soldier program. Tony accepted to help, and eventually wound up fighting the terrorist known as Mallen. He was unable to defeat the extremis-injected man, and eventually wound making advances to the Extremis serum, and then injecting himself with it. When awoken , he found himself able to interface directly with machinery, and his armor was then upgraded to reflect this new development. With Extremis, Tony was able to defeat Mallen, but was then manipulated by the son of his one-time savior, Ho Yinsen, who activated a chip to manipulate Tony into killing several of the men responsible for the death of his mother.
The most recent change in Tony’s life is that of the Super Human Registration Act, and its aftermath. After Tony learned that the government was planning on forcing all super humans to register, he initially attempted to halt its passing, but then decided to support it. (The leading theory is that if he supported it, then perhaps he could ensure the safety of his fellow super humans.) However, everything seemed to go wrong for Tony as he alienated friend and ally alike, and was forced to rely on those that he would rather not, such as the Thunderbolts for aid. Eventually, the entire thing came to a head when Tony and Captain America faced off, and the American Hero realized that people were afraid of him, and his power, and he conceded to his friend. Unfortunately, Steve was then assassinated by Red Skull, and it was yet another life that was placed on Tony’s conscience. Currently, Tony is the head director of SHIELD, and in charge of their dossiers on all registered super humans.
PERSONALITY: Tony is a particularly complex character. This is partially due to the fact that there is more than one facet of himself that he shows to the world; and also the fact that as the CEO of a business, he has a public face that he must show to the world.
That being said, the public face Tony shows the world is a study in professionalism, which is partly due to his status as the CEO of Stark Solutions, but also because he is an Avenger, and dealing with crises on a regular basis has taught him to keep a cool head under pressure. He can be smooth, confident, and relaxed under such situations, and he also has a commanding presence when needed. This is where the view of the ego-centric playboy comes from, with respect to Tony Stark. He certainly has an air of confidence about him, and certainly has been known to throw a snarky jab or two from time-to-time, but over time, this attitude has receded as his standing has gone from the playboy CEO to Defense Minister, and then to the Director of SHIELD.
However, beneath this professional façade is the Tony Stark underneath, who is much different than the world sees. Tony is well known as having an iron will, and will prevail against anything that threatens his life, as well as threatens that of his friends. However, Tony is also something of a schemer, and often does not let his intentions known to those around him, which can create problems, as he often tries to take control of many situations (such as that with the Illuminati).
Tony also possesses a very addictive side. He has had two bad bouts with alcoholism, and when things get bad, he often goes back to the drink as a way to cope, but this is not the only thing that he comes to rely on for his day-to-day proceedings. Since receiving Extremis, Tony has become more and more dependent on this, using it to not only interface with his Iron Man suit, but also meet with his board of directors and posting bids on auctions…at the same time. He is also well-known for secluding himself in his lab, and working on one project or another; all of these amounting to studies in avoidance, which Tony seems to be very good at. Not intentionally, of course, but in the fact that Tony tries to do too much, and ends up buckling under the weight of too many things going on at once. However, since becoming the Director of SHIELD, Tony has become even more dependent on the Extremis, and one could compare it to a drug, with the way that he relies on its abilities to ensure that everything is going smoothly. He can also be easily distracted on occasion, especially when he gets an idea in his head that won’t go away. These are times when Tony is prone to locking himself away in his lab and working on something for lengths of time that would probably be thought of as inhuman, but these are also the times when Stark brings out his best work. He is something of a Howard Hughes character in that respect, as he can forget menial things in favor of his genius.
Essentially, Tony does far too much for his limitations as a human being, and the reason for this is that he does have something of an ego, even if it isn’t recognized. He sees himself as the only person for most jobs, which links back to the fact that he rarely consults anyone with his plans, even if it might have ramifications upon everyone else.
CLASS: Hero
SUPERHERO NAME: Iron Man
ALTER EGO: Tony Stark; CEO of Stark Solutions
POWER: CANON POWERS: A far more eloquent round up of his abilities is here.
Tony is in possession of Extremis at this time. This means that he can directly interface with his armor, which he won’t show up with. He is also able to wirelessly communicate with most devices, such as cell phones, communicators, and computers. Extremis has also improved his reaction time to superhuman levels, his reflexes are greatly improved, and he now has a mild regeneration factor.
CHARACTER NAME: Tony Stark // Iron Man
FANDOM: Marvel Universe; Earth-616
CHRONOLOGY: Post Civil-War; Right Before the Secret Invasion of the Skrull.
BACKGROUND: Tony Stark was born to something of an industrialist legacy, his father being Howard Stark, part of the legacy started by Isaac Stark; the founder of Stark Industries, of which Tony’s father, Howard, ran until he and Maria Stark were killed in a car accident on the Ides of March. Tony, who inherited Stark Industries at the age of 21, breathed life into the company by turning the company into one of the superior weapons contractors for the US government. However, that isn’t to say that Tony is just a CEO with a golden touch. He is considered a genius by most descriptions of the word, having entered MIT at the age of 15, studying Electrical Engineering, to start.. This is only the beginning of a long list of visionary achievements that would exemplify the reputation of the man for the rest of his life.
However, all of that changed when he went to the Vietnam. Tony was supervising a field test when he tripped on a booby trap, and was taken captive by Wong-Chu, the leader of a group of Communists. The explosion from the trap lodged shrapnel in Tony’s heart, and Wong-Chu made Tony a Deal: If he would design a weapon for them, he would allow Tony to have the operation on his heart that would save his life. Tony was given a lab to build the weapons in, where the Physicist Ho Yinsen was also located. The two of them decided not to work on the weapons, but instead built a suit of armor to help them escape, which also included a pacemaker for Tony’s sake. However, in the time that it took the suit to power up, Wong-Chu suspected that there was something going on in the lab, and came to investigate. Yinsen left the lab to save Tony’s life, knowing it was a suicide mission. Yinsen was killed, and Tony managed to use the suit to take out Wong-Chu and his comrades, before heading into the surrounding jungle. He was discovered by a pilot named James Rhodes, who had crash-landed in the jungle, but had managed to repair his helicopter; he gave him a ride, and the two formed a lasting friendship. (Rhodes has also taken over for Tony several times in his super-hero activities, such as when Tony had problems with alcoholism, or one of the other many incidents in which he was otherwise indisposed.)
Once he had returned to the United States, Tony obviously had to make some adjustments to his pacemaker to ensure that he would be able to keep living, so the armor he had created was condensed and streamlined so he could wear it under his clothes. For some time, Tony had to make sure to plug this pacemaker in to ensure that he wouldn’t die, which was a severe weakness of his. He also retrofitted his armor during this time, and began a long line of suits, doubling the Iron Man personality as his body guard; who, of course, always appeared at just the right time. During this time, Tony also helped found the Avengers and Stark Industries was turned away from designing weapons, presumably because of a moral epiphany from his encounters in Vietnam.
It was after some of these tasks that Tony’s life slowly began to fall apart. He, like his father, had always had something of a problem with alcoholism, especially because of his wealth and status amongst the wealthy. He has gone through two bouts with extreme alcoholism, and is now a recovering alcoholic, the most notable of incidents that happened during this period was the fact that he lost Stark Industries to Obadiah Stane. Jim Rhodes overtook his place for a while when Tony battled his addiction by becoming War Machine, and Tony used this time after he overcame his addiction to battle Obadiah Stane, who had stolen his technology and went under the guise of Iron Monger; helped Clint Barton found the West Coast Avengers; and also began a project in Silicon Valley called Stark Enterprises, which quickly began to turn a profit.
Sometime afterwards, Tony was shot by a girlfriend of his, Kathleen Dare. This injury was suspected to be the one that would eventually kill Tony Stark, but he was dedicated to the rehabilitation regimen that he undergone, and was also able to move normally within the Iron Man suit. After this incident, Tony was taken under control by the villain known as Immortus, who caused him to commit several very un-Avenger-like acts, and he sacrificed himself, along with the other Avengers to take out Onslaught. They were revived by Franklin Richards, and he was labeled as innocent of the acts that Immortus claimed that he had done.
Tony’s life, however, can never be perfect. Although he was in a rather tremulous relationship with Rumiko Fujikawa, and there were certainly some strong feelings between the two, there was also the problem of the Super-Hero 3rd wheel, namely Iron Man. Unfortunately, Tony was fighting a villain known as Whiplash, who sent an electric shock through his armor, which led to Tony discovering that his armor is very clingy. The armor claims that it knows Tony better than anyone else, and tries to seclude him from every person in his life, including the AI Jocasta. At first the armor seemed to be a good fit, however when it killed the villain Whiplash, Tony knew that he needed to put a stop to the armor’s sentience. He donned an older outfit, but this drew the Armor into a rage, (as if Tony had been caught with an ex-lover, I might add) and it ripped off the suit piece-by-piece before taking Tony to a romantic location secluded island in the tropics, where the armor begged for him to get into the suit. Tony refused, and after the suit left on a call from the Avengers, he managed to escape the bindings that had kept him trapped, and managed to make traps and such for the armor. When the suit returned, the two fought, and Tony managed to make a few hits, but the Armor struck him, and sent him into a massive heart attack. The armor, who heard Tony’s words of “die like a man” somehow caused the Sentient Armor to feel sympathy for Tony, and it rips out its internal machinery, which latches to Tony and saves him from dying of a heart attack.
Tony resumed work at a heavier-than-normal pace, until an old friend requested his help with a project known as Extremis, which was an offshoot of the Super Soldier program. Tony accepted to help, and eventually wound up fighting the terrorist known as Mallen. He was unable to defeat the extremis-injected man, and eventually wound making advances to the Extremis serum, and then injecting himself with it. When awoken , he found himself able to interface directly with machinery, and his armor was then upgraded to reflect this new development. With Extremis, Tony was able to defeat Mallen, but was then manipulated by the son of his one-time savior, Ho Yinsen, who activated a chip to manipulate Tony into killing several of the men responsible for the death of his mother.
The most recent change in Tony’s life is that of the Super Human Registration Act, and its aftermath. After Tony learned that the government was planning on forcing all super humans to register, he initially attempted to halt its passing, but then decided to support it. (The leading theory is that if he supported it, then perhaps he could ensure the safety of his fellow super humans.) However, everything seemed to go wrong for Tony as he alienated friend and ally alike, and was forced to rely on those that he would rather not, such as the Thunderbolts for aid. Eventually, the entire thing came to a head when Tony and Captain America faced off, and the American Hero realized that people were afraid of him, and his power, and he conceded to his friend. Unfortunately, Steve was then assassinated by Red Skull, and it was yet another life that was placed on Tony’s conscience. Currently, Tony is the head director of SHIELD, and in charge of their dossiers on all registered super humans.
PERSONALITY: Tony is a particularly complex character. This is partially due to the fact that there is more than one facet of himself that he shows to the world; and also the fact that as the CEO of a business, he has a public face that he must show to the world.
That being said, the public face Tony shows the world is a study in professionalism, which is partly due to his status as the CEO of Stark Solutions, but also because he is an Avenger, and dealing with crises on a regular basis has taught him to keep a cool head under pressure. He can be smooth, confident, and relaxed under such situations, and he also has a commanding presence when needed. This is where the view of the ego-centric playboy comes from, with respect to Tony Stark. He certainly has an air of confidence about him, and certainly has been known to throw a snarky jab or two from time-to-time, but over time, this attitude has receded as his standing has gone from the playboy CEO to Defense Minister, and then to the Director of SHIELD.
However, beneath this professional façade is the Tony Stark underneath, who is much different than the world sees. Tony is well known as having an iron will, and will prevail against anything that threatens his life, as well as threatens that of his friends. However, Tony is also something of a schemer, and often does not let his intentions known to those around him, which can create problems, as he often tries to take control of many situations (such as that with the Illuminati).
Tony also possesses a very addictive side. He has had two bad bouts with alcoholism, and when things get bad, he often goes back to the drink as a way to cope, but this is not the only thing that he comes to rely on for his day-to-day proceedings. Since receiving Extremis, Tony has become more and more dependent on this, using it to not only interface with his Iron Man suit, but also meet with his board of directors and posting bids on auctions…at the same time. He is also well-known for secluding himself in his lab, and working on one project or another; all of these amounting to studies in avoidance, which Tony seems to be very good at. Not intentionally, of course, but in the fact that Tony tries to do too much, and ends up buckling under the weight of too many things going on at once. However, since becoming the Director of SHIELD, Tony has become even more dependent on the Extremis, and one could compare it to a drug, with the way that he relies on its abilities to ensure that everything is going smoothly. He can also be easily distracted on occasion, especially when he gets an idea in his head that won’t go away. These are times when Tony is prone to locking himself away in his lab and working on something for lengths of time that would probably be thought of as inhuman, but these are also the times when Stark brings out his best work. He is something of a Howard Hughes character in that respect, as he can forget menial things in favor of his genius.
Essentially, Tony does far too much for his limitations as a human being, and the reason for this is that he does have something of an ego, even if it isn’t recognized. He sees himself as the only person for most jobs, which links back to the fact that he rarely consults anyone with his plans, even if it might have ramifications upon everyone else.
CLASS: Hero
SUPERHERO NAME: Iron Man
ALTER EGO: Tony Stark; CEO of Stark Solutions
POWER: CANON POWERS: A far more eloquent round up of his abilities is here.
Tony is in possession of Extremis at this time. This means that he can directly interface with his armor, which he won’t show up with. He is also able to wirelessly communicate with most devices, such as cell phones, communicators, and computers. Extremis has also improved his reaction time to superhuman levels, his reflexes are greatly improved, and he now has a mild regeneration factor.