I understand that for the plot to move they wanted Rhodey to take his suit. They could have come up with many scenarios. Like Tony willingly giving the suit to him. Or Rhodey seeing Tony and thinking that Tony is not healthy enough to handle it and stealing it (though this seems unlikely and I am sure). What I am saying is they can think of many possibilities. I also wish we got an idepth reaction of Pepper and Rhodey finding out that he was dying.

Have a lovely day!

I'm glad you're enjoying them so much hon!

Iron Man 3.

Interesting little tidbit to start you all off; I had always put Iron Man 3 after Thor the dark World in my mental timeline, probably because that’s the order I first watched them in, and when I was first told that Iron Man 3 was the first part of phase two I was a very confused Oky.

Now on to the rant.

My small peeve is the indecisiveness about Tony’s capability.

We see the man single-handedly overrun a secure mansion filled with properly armed guards with finagled supplies from a Walmart, including a very gun-reminiscent taser.

Later, with Rhodey, Tony doesn’t appear to know how to use a gun at all, even though he was a weapons designer and knows the ins and outs of them.

We have that deleted scene from the first Iron Man that shows Tony grab up a gun and try to fire it only it’s been jammed; Tony knows his weapons, and he knows how to use them.

I get that it was for comedy’s sake, but come on, show some consistency.

My big peeve with this movie is the way Tony is just left alone.

I’ll start with the bigguns; where the hell was S.H.I.E.L.D.? 

S.H.I.E.L.D. is a global peace-keeping spy organisation.

Fury has spent two movies trying to get Tony onside, starting at the end of the first Iron Man.

Tony was very visibly part of the group that ended the battle of New York.

And yet, Fury and his flunkies never show up.

There are supposed bombing going about throughout the U.S. with a man being called the Mandarin claiming responsibility.

And yet, Fury and his flunkies never show up.

The fictional President Ellis ends up being kidnapped, strung up on display, by a mad man who can literally breathe fire.

And yet, Fury and his flunkies never show up.

Tony blows up all his suits at the end.

And yet, Fury and his flunkies never show up.

It genuinely baffles me how S.H.I.E.L.D. dropped the ball so hard that not only were cracks left in the ground, there is in fact a large hole.

And what of the other Avengers?

Okay, Thor is not on world- I completely forgive that; he physically cannot help.

Clint is possibly in recovery from Loki’s brainwashing? I’m willing to forgive that absence, though I would love to have confirmation or denial of that on screen.

But that still leaves Bruce, Natasha and Steve.

Natasha is possibly off on a mission trying to find the head base of the Mandarin or something else that S.H.I.E.L.D. needs her to do, I grant you that, but much like Clint’s maybe recovery, we don’t get anything saying one way or the other.

Natasha never show up.

Tony is left alone.

Given that we see Steve driving off alone on his motorcycle at the end of Avengers, most of us chose to believe he went on that road trip Fury suggested, but before he started driving, we saw him and Tony amicably shake hands, a symbolic mending of bridges from words spoken in anger and sadness.

Are you really telling me that Steve wouldn’t at least try to contact Tony after the genius gives out his address on TV?

Are you telling me that Steve wasn’t staying in hotels with TV’s on his trip so he never caught the news?

Are you telling me that Steve never once heard a couple passersby talking about what Tony had done?

Steve never shows up.

Tony is left alone.

And Bruce.

Bruce.

Bruce not showing up at any point during the mess with A.I.M. has led to a number of fan theories about him going back to Calcutta, or other places to resume his self-imposed work of being a doctor.

I can forgive that, Bruce striving to balance the damage he and Hulk have caused, and to find a sense of peace within himself, I get that, I understand that, I respect that.

But once again, we have no information on that in the movie, but still forgivable.

What I can’t get over though?

Tony Stark, a man who we see genuinely struggle throughout the whole of this movie with the things he has seen, the nightmares he can’t control, and the fears he cannot disperse, opens up to a someone he sees as a friend, someone who he thinks will listen, someone who he thinks will care.

And that someone, Bruce, is sleeping.

Had fallen asleep near the very start.

It’s once again played off for comedy, to make the ending a little more lighthearted, a little less scarily real.

But it once more leaves Tony alone.

It reinforces the idea that people don’t care about what actually happens to Tony.

It reinforces the idea that therapy -talking to someone- isn’t worth the effort, because in the end they won’t listen.

It reinforces the idea that Tony can only rely on himself to push through his demons and dreads that crawl through his mind.

I shall not deny, Avengers has an oh-so-very special place in my heart; it was my first experience with the MCU, it was my first experience with the Avengers beyond comic form, it was my first experience with Robert Downey Jr’s depiction of Iron Man that had the side effect of replacing Wolverine as my favourite MARVEL character since I was about six.

There is just so very much about this movie that I love, and the list of things I dislike is rather short.

In fact, there is only two things, and one of those things is just weirdly spread throughout a good course of the movie.

The only-happens-one-time thing is J.A.R.V.I.S. somehow not noticing Erik Selvig and then Loki entering Stark Tower and letting Tony know.

We get no explanation for that; did the turned S.H.I.E.L.D. agents utilise whatever tricky-dick program Coulson used to override J.A.R.V.I.S.? Was J.A.R.V.I.S.’ servers too occupied with Tony and the situation on the helicarrier to dedicate processing power to what was going on in the Tower? Did the writers and directors just not think of it or just not care?

We just don’t know, and I feel that is blatantly unfair to the wondrous could-be-Skynet-if-he-so-pleased that is J.A.R.V.I.S.

I mean think about it; how amazing would it have been to have a slightly tentative voice pop up in Tony’s ear about a disturbance at the Tower during, say, the propeller scene? J.A.R.V.I.S. has to let Sir know, but there is a very clear line of priority and just, argh! It would have been awesome!

Not to deride Tony’s wonderful ‘Son of a bitch’ moment, because that, dears and darlings, was just utter perfection.

My second, drawn out problem with the movie is S.H.I.E.L.D.’s once more blatant disregard for, well, most anything.

Coulson overriding J.A.R.V.I.S. to gain access to the Tower and Tony, brushing aside Tony’s comment about not being an Avenger (and with the backhanded remark of the situation being beyond personality profiles, indicating that they’re only calling in Tony because it’s that bad), not informing Steve that they had called in Tony, assumedly showing Steve Natasha’s bullshit report of Tony so that Steve wouldn’t pick Tony over S.H.I.E.L.D. (because what footage did you watch Steve that gave you in-depth knowledge of both Tony and his psyche? What footage did you see that gave you the right to decide what measure of a man Tony was? What footage were you given that made you decide you knew men ten times Tony’s worth?), the presence of the Hulk-tank (and Natasha’s stupid little ‘only us’ comment) Maria Hill’s derisive ‘When did you become an expert on thermonuclear astrophysics?’ (though go Tony for the brilliant ‘Last night.’) almost all Fury’s interactions with Tony, it’s just ...

There is just such an overbearing desire/wish/need to control everything and all I can think of is ‘That’s not how you get a team to work together’.

Fury only managed to ‘link’ the team towards a common goal by playing on guilt and anger from Coulson’s ‘death’ (As a side note, I won’t be covering Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) not by helping them work through their differences and misunderstandings.

You don’t just throw a ragtag group together and tell them to save the day; they know nothing about each other, if they can/will work well together, if they have talents that should be grouped or dispersed...

We can assume that they were all given some sort of files or briefing on their would-be teammates but that doesn’t actually tell you if you can work with some one, nor if you can work with them well.

In the comics, Steve and Tony co-lead the team because they are each other’s foils, understanding how the other works and how they pull the other into balance, but that only works because they got to know each other.

In the movie Tony knows only the stories Howard told him and that colours how Steve acts and how Tony acts around him

“That’s the guy my dad never shut up about? Wonder if they shouldn’t have left him on ice”

In the movie Steve knows only the biased footage and files he has been handed by S.H.I.E.L.D. an organisation that wants to control Tony

“I’ve seen the footage; you’re not the guy to lay on the wire and let another guy crawl over you. You’re not the guy to make the sacrifice play.”

S.H.I.E.L.D. didn’t want them to get along, because then S.H.I.E.L.D. would have a hold over both of them 

-Steve with only the presented options of seeming order with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the unpredictability and seeming unreliability of Tony.

-Tony with the ever unattainable standard of Steve and the desperate desire to match up anyway.

And the constant low-key hate/fear and dehumanising towards Bruce

“It’s an impressive cage. Not one i think built for me.”

“Built for something a lot stronger.”

~

“Romanoff, if you would escort Doctor Banner back to his-”

“Where? You’re renting my room.”

“The cell was just in case-”

“You needed to kill me.”

The heartbreaking ignorance of Thor’s emotional upheaval.

“I thought you dead.”

“Did you mourn?”

~

“The guy’s brain is a bag of cats, you can smell the crazy on him.”

“Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother.”

“He killed eighty people in two days.”

Yeah S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury, Coulson, WSC, whoever else. Yeah.

“My greatest creation ... is you.”

I get that Howard Stark was truly devoted to two things -inventing and Steve Rogers- but I can’t accept him calling Tony his greatest creation.

Creation makes it sound as though Tony is just another invention Howard has cooked up in his workshop.

As though Tony is just another thing that Howard gets to be famous for.

And I remind you that Howard never so much as told Tony that he liked him.

Why the hell should I or Tony -or anyone for that matter- let him get away with being a bad father just because he made a home movie (and then left that home movie in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s care) saying that Tony was going to do amazing things and was Howard’s greatest creation?

Thor is next on the chopping block.

ODIN.

He is without a single doubt my biggest peeve/problem/hate in this film; every single complaint I actually have about the first Thor movie can in some way be linked back to the all-daddy, and not in a good way.

Thor’s self-righteousness?

Odin wanted his son to be a mighty Warrior, so praised him when he did well in battle. As the King of Asgard and the All-Father, the Aesir look to his actions and then copy, hence Thor was regularly praised by everyone, and when it started going to his head, Odin didn’t try to stop it until he realised having Thor on the throne with that mindset would be bad.

Loki’s loneliness and mischievous/bad behaviour?

Odin wanted his son to be a mighty Warrior, and Loki, despite being adopted, was a son so he was to be a warrior, but Loki was talented with magic, seidir, an ability that is considered womanly on Asgard (ignoring how Odin uses it as well). So Odin focused more on Thor, exacerbating the above problem.

The Aesir, seeing Odin focusing on Thor instead of Loki, made like sheep. Loki started to prank and trick to get attention. At some point he was decried a liar, possibly by Odin, and once again, it spread. Loki ended up owning the taunts and turned them to titles so they couldn’t hurt him any more.

Loki’s inviting the Jotun’s to break into Asgard’s treasure vault?

Loki saw quite clearly that Thor was not yet ready to be a good King. Unfortunately, by this time he was already known as a silver tongue and liar, so any he told assumed he was jealous of Thor and trying to decry him. Except that, no, Loki just wanted his brother to be a good King. Loki was not scheming for power; we see that in both the actual movie and in a deleted scene

(Deleted Scene) Loki “I have looked forward to this day as much as you have. You are my brother and my friend. Sometimes I’m envious, but never doubt that I love you.”

(Actual Movie) Loki “I never wanted the throne!”

Loki was genuinely happy to be Thor’s advisor, but Asgard and in particular Odin, refused to let him be anything but the angry jealous second son.

Now, Frigga, I will say this, wasn’t as bad as most of Asgard when it comes to Loki, but she allowed Odin to go essentially unopposed for far too long in my opinion. Yes, she loved Loki, despite him not being biologically hers (and in the comics, Thor isn’t biologically hers either) but she never really seems to do much of anything to actually help Loki in the movie

Odin’s fallen asleep and the people don’t trust Loki? Stay watching Odin like a creeper and don’t leave for an hour to publicly vouch for your kid.

Your adopted son has found out in a terrible way that he is not only not your biological son, but that he is from a race that the Aesir have essentially made into the monster under the bed, and he is scared and confused and wanting answers and validation? Tell him that a lie was kept so that he’d never feel different, instead of actually explaining why, and then proceed to completely defend everything your husband has done despite the emotional impact your kid is going through.

And yeah, again, both of these problems loop back to Odin.

I get that he is the all powerful ruler over the Nine Realms blah, blah, blah, I don’t care. He is a man who responsible for a tonne of bad things that came back to bite not him, but Loki in this movie.

Even Loki’s attempt to destroy Jotunheim, I’m perfectly fine leaving that at Odin’s feet. Odin is the King who won a war against them, he is the one who let the murmurs the Jotuns being monsters spread, he is the one who Loki was trying so desperately to impress.

I understand that for the movie industry to keep going, movies have to sell; they have to draw in an audience, sell as much merch as they can flog, and keep the people entertained.

I get this.

But the MCU does that terrible ‘will they, won’t they’ dance around whether emotional, heartfelt moments can just be. They show you something beautiful and painful and touching, and then throw something utterly stupid in immediately because comic are for kids, and you obviously aren’t grown up enough for the serious stuff (ignoring that all MCU movies are rated M).

Seriously, I can go long and hard on this topic, but I’m limiting myself just to Iron Man 2.

For now anyway, I’ll get to Endgame, believe you me.

Now, credit where it is due, Iron Man 2 has a lot of really well done emotional scenes

Rhodey “This lone gunslinger act is unnecessary... you don't have to do this alone!”

-

J.A.R.V.I.S. “It would appear that the same thing that is keeping you alive is also killing you, sir.”

-

Pepper “Tony, what are you not telling me?”

Tony “I don’t want to go home... at all.”

Really, just so good.

But ... then we have

Tony “Can I ask you something personal? If this was the last birthday party you were going to have, what would you do?”

Natashalie "I would do whatever I wanted to do, with whomever I wanted to do it with.”

[cut to Tony dancing around drunkenly in Iron Man suit]

I just ... I don’t understand.

I get the whole ‘well, Imma be dead soon anyway, let’s go out with a bang’ mindset, but Tony has spent so long being the man in front of the camera, the public darling or enemy number one, the front page at all times...

He has spent the whole movie not wanting to worry Pepper, Rhodey and Happy, it is literally the reason he hasn’t shared the fact he is dying with them.

He spoke honestly and deeply to Pepper about not wanting to be there, not wanting to celebrate his birthday, not wanting to deal with however many people who he doesn’t know and are just there to be seen.

And then they have him do it anyway?

Even as a cover to giving a suit to Rhodey, it just doesn’t mesh.

I would have found it far more believable if Tony just skipped out on the party; he would have worried Pepper, Happy and Rhodey equally as his drunken shenanigans did, but it would have felt truer for a man trying to accept his death to have stepped back, stepped away from the old normal.

Even with that man being Tony Stark, he has changed himself so thoroughly since Afghanistan, and ‘turned over a new leaf’ and ‘cleaned up his act’ and ‘started anew’, whatever cheesy saying works best for you.

Tony’s put in the effort, and after being unable to tell those he cares for most what is happening to him, I can’t see him forcing himself into the company of strangers, of willingly placing himself with those who see him only as a toy and tool.

S.H.I.E.L.D.’s nonsense.

Director Nicholas Joseph Fury is a spy, he’s the spy, his secrets have secrets, and the man isn’t just holding his cards close to the chest, he’s got an entire second deck.

Which makes the choices he take in Iron Man 2 really aggravating. 

Though it isn’t outright stated, it is heavily implied that S.H.I.E.L.D., or at least Fury, was aware for a good amount of time that Tony was suffering from Palladium Poisoning. This implication comes from their little ‘stop gap’ formula of lithium dioxide (and I’ll get to that injection in a moment).

Fury tells Tony that “You have become a problem, one that I have to deal with” which implies that at least for a while Tony was under someone else’s jurisdiction as S.H.I.E.L.D. monitors all potential threats, and now for whatever reason, it is Fury’s turn to put up with him.

He then has Natasha inject the lithium dioxide into Tony without consent, without knowledge, and without proof that it will actually help him.

Then tell Tony that they’ve done what they can, Tony has to get off his ass and cure himself.

As though Tony hasn’t been trying to do that for months now.

All of this after it has been revealed to him that Pepper’s secretary -a person who is consistently in very close quarters and communication with Pepper- is a S.H.I.E.L.D. spy.

Tony is already dealing with the stress of a closely impending death, the stress of what happened the night before at his birthday party, the stress of keeping all of this hidden from his nearest and dearest, and now this bullshit had been thrown onto his lap.

If I understand the psychology of the moment correctly, Fury waited until one of the last possible moments to give Tony the stop gap, so as to engender feelings of gratitude and obligation in Tony as they ‘saved’ him in his time of most need. In this moment, Tony is extremely emotionally and mentally vulnerable, and Fury has no problem taking advantage of that.

Tony Stark is a very dangerous man, but he has proven to be loyal to those he feels deserves it, so why wouldn’t Fury try to force through a little of that loyalty to himself, through ‘saving’ Tony’s life?

I doubt Fury thought twice.

Now that injection.

Without gaining Tony’s consent, without fully informing him of what it was, what it did, without providing evidence that it could even help him, Fury has Natasha stab a needle into Tony’s neck.

While I am no expert, I do believe that can qualify as an unwanted medical intrusion, maybe even an unwanted body modification.

Frankly, I think Tony’s had far more than enough of those from Afghanistan.

And by forcing it on him, Fury is showing he has little to no respect for Tony’s body or personhood.

As the Director of one of the shadiest super spy organisations on the planet, Fury has become used to seeing people as tools and pieces, to be used and moved as he sees fit.

And Tony, as brilliant and intelligent and innovative as he is, is simply a slightly more useful tool to use and piece to move.

After all, he didn’t listen when Tony said no.

Fury then forces Tony into some measure of house arrest, once more doing something to J.A.R.V.I.S., and then tells Tony that everything he’s done so far to try and save himself is pointless, and he needs to hurry up and get to work and prove himself to be as clever as Howard always said Tony was.

Okay, not only brushing aside all the effort Tony has been making, but bringing in the dead man.

As will become quickly apparent on my tumblr, I am in no way fond of Howard Stark. The man was, at best, horribly neglectful towards his child. At worst, Howard was outright abusive, and not necessarily physically abusive (though he very much is so in comics) but certainly verbally abusive. It’s cannon that Howard often traveled to search for Steve, so he wouldn’t be with his wife and child for at least a couple months, so he was likely dismissive of Tony, and Tony confirms that Howard never even told Tony he liked him.

Do not try and defend this man to me.

But Fury brings him up to Tony.

This has several reasons why.

1) It is a subtle comparison between the two men, implying that Fury thinks one may be better than the other, so Tony feels the need to prove himself to be himself, and not his father’s shadow.

2) It brings up memories of Tony going to great lengths to prove himself to Howard, and perhaps be praised or rewarded, and Fury is telling him about how Howard was constantly raving about his son.

3) It brings up the ache Tony felt growing up and not being enough for Howard, a man who was always going on about Steve Rogers, and wouldn’t it be grand to finally show Howard how great he is?

Fury does not bring up Howard to be kind to Tony, to build a rapport with Tony, to remind Tony of a past kindly missed.

No, Fury brings up Howard to push Tony into getting to work.

Because Tony Stark is a useful tool.

And Coulson’s disregard for Tony physical and mental state?

“If you try to escape, or play any sort of games with me, I will taze you and watch ‘Supernanny’ while you drool into the carpet.”

And

Coulson “We need you.”

Tony “More than you know.”

Coulson “Not that much.”

Yeah, I can see how much you care for Tony, Coulson.

Now, let’s move to Fury’s little power play, shall we?

Tony is either taken or directed to a bunker-like location; just from the glances we see, I get major military vibes from the place. He is left in a room with a couple of agents who have no interest in talking to him, and a folder about the Avengers Initiative left on the table in front of him.

It is obviously bait, obviously left to garner Tony’s interest, especially as Tony twice now, has said no.

Yet when Tony tries to read the file, Fury ‘suddenly’ appears out of nowhere and tells him he doesn’t deserve to.

When Tony is finally considering that, maybe yes he could work with a team, he is told no, we don’t trust you.

Natasha’s personality profile is read, and we get to that line. That cursed line that taints so many future reactions to Tony.

Iron Man yes, Tony Stark not recommended.

I have heard the theory that Natasha wrote up two profiles for Tony, and that one is just for the purpose of forcing Tony to work harder, be better, to prove himself worthy of being an Avenger in a way that gives S.H.I.E.L.D. a measure of control over him, and I feel it has merit, but we haven’t received any proof of this to my knowledge, which leads me to think that Natasha actually believes that of Tony.

And it’s obvious that Tony believes that of himself too.

His defences of his actions are half-hearted, almost joking. He doesn’t just get up and leave, because he doesn’t feel that they are wrong.

And Fury and Natasha take advantage of this in the future, so I’m not just seeing things.

In the end, Fury ‘compromises’ and offers Tony a position as a consultant.

Tony is one of the most intelligent men on the planet. The sheer potential that can come from his thoughts and ideas is so beyond staggering. Tony really isn’t wrong when he tells Fury that S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn’t afford him; Tony’s time really is worth more than most can pay.

Yet Tony feels the tugs of gratitude and obligation, planted by Fury’s ‘life-saving’ actions, and agrees to waive the fee in exchange for a favour.

For a man like Fury, pushing Stern into the position of having to award Tony a medal is beyond easy.

And he gets potential years of free consultation from a mind of near-no-peer.

One of the scariest things people will ever have to face is knowing with certainty they will soon die.

We know that in the end we're all returning to the dust from whence we came, but we all think of it as some nebulous far away eventually.

For Tony, it's not nebulous, it's not far away, and he's scared.

This was something I adored about RDJ's performance; Tony trying to be brave about the thing all people fear.

But now, let's get into the ranting. Be warned, it's a long one.

My biggest gripes with Iron Man 2 are of course the bullshit profile Natasha made for Tony, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s nonsense and how some amazingly deep moments are brushed aside for comedy.

I'll do Natasha first, then attack the others in another post or two.

Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, survivor of the Red Room, whatever you want to call her, she has a history and legacy of being the best, of letting nothing and no one stand in the way of her completing each and every mission to perfection, of seeing through any masks presented to her.

And yet she has fallen victim to her own hype, come to believe that she will never get it wrong.

Here are some facts, and my responses to said facts;

 1) Natasha Romanoff becomes Natalie Rushman, a lawyer/legal worker who has been working with SI for some measure of time, and the one who brings the paperwork to transfer CEOship from Tony to Pepper.

Okay, first of all, some one please explain to me how such important paperwork was handed over to Miss Rushman? For a company as big as Stark Industries, as famous and international, that level of paperwork would be handled by one of the most experienced lawyers/legal workers that SI retains, or at least by one who has often worked with Tony an Pepper. Somehow handing it over to Miss Rushman is a huge concern in both security and clearance.

How did Natasha even get any work done? Surely the members of Legal would take note of her never having been on the team before? I'm sure she could fake a certain level of legal know-how, but I doubt well enough to fool actually trained professionals.

 2) Natasha makes a personality profile on Tony when he's dying.

When faced with death, particularly an early death, people rarely act rationally and Tony is suffering from Palladium Heavy Metal Poisoning. It's a bit long, but here are some of the common symptoms of Palladium Poisoning

Allergic reaction (Skin)

Migraine headaches

Burning of eyes

Impaired immune system

Confusion

Memory loss

Dizziness

Metal taste in the mouth

Nerve pain

Muscle cramps

Depression

Breathing difficulty

Paralysis of face

Kidney disease

Liver disease

Fibromyalgia

Insomnia

Heart palpitations

I've bolded the ones I think are most immediately important. Do any of them sound familiar to what Tony was showing? Because they really freaking should.

We know the arc reactor impairs Tony's full lung capacity, which in turn makes it easier for Tony to get sick as he can't consistently breathe deeply enough to clear his lungs. Now, thanks to that same arc reactor, Tony's breathing is further impaired and his immune system is also shot, meaning it's even easier for him to get sick, which at this stage could very well be the thing that finally kills him.

Not to mention the extra stress he's under with the heart palpitations. Tony's really not joking when he mentions having a heart condition.

Migraines are full suckage at all times, and they make it harder for anyone suffering them to just get on with life, which affects people's moods and behaviour.

The confusion and memory loss?

Do you all recall how Tony bought a box of strawberries for Pepper when he was trying to tell her he was dying? He got the strawberries because he knew they were important to her. He didn't remember that they were important because they can kill her. Yes Tony has already proven that he doesn't have the best memory for personal details (which is a head-cannon rant I'll get into later) but I find it hard to believe that Tony would forget a life-or-death fact about one of his closest friends without an extra influence. And with how baffled Tony appears to be in so many moments of the film, I commend RDJ for being thorough.

I'm fairly certain that Tony has cannon insomnia, but it's getting jacked right now, especially with migraines.

And Depression.

Tony is desperate to stay alive, he doesn't want to die.

But everything he's tried, all the research and tests and experiments he's done have all come back negative.

Tony is a genius, no doubt, question, or contention, but he is not all knowing; there is always something more to learn. Tony understands machines and technology, not so much the squishy sciences, yet he learns as much as he can to try and save himself.

And yet for all his efforts, his wealth, and his connections, nothing is working. That weighs on the mind, it weighs on the soul, and Tony is looking at death stepping ever closer every moment.

There are still traces of Palladium when Tony changes into the new reactor

"It tastes like coconut ... and metal!"

3) Natasha makes a personality profile on Tony when he's dying, to see if he's fit to join a group he had declined joining.

Tony told Fury no. After having to kill a man who he had grown up believing cared for him, after having to deal with the utter betrayal of finding out Stane had wanted him dead and gone, Tony had to deal with J.A.R.V.I.S. being shut down and a man breaking into his house for the second time in a short while. The only difference was, this time the intruder was trying to recruit him. But Tony said no. He didn't know or trust S.H.I.E.L.D. or Fury, and so he turned down being an Avenger. That should have been the end of it.

But Fury decided to ignore that.

Tony said no, but Fury had him profiled for the team anyway.

 I'm willing to forgive that Natasha approached the task honeypot style; Tony has a well documented history of womanizing, so he's more likely to respond well to a woman (for literally just this moment remembering that Tony had not yet been confirmed as bi in the comics) and Natasha is a beauty, so I don't actually have trouble forgiving that approach.

What I'm having trouble forgiving is that Natasha, for all her proclaimed skills and brilliance, files that mess of a profile.

The armour is specially designed to the wearer - Fury even notes that Tony let Rhodey take a suit- but it is armour. A shield. A high-tech, full-body prosthesis. It doesn't change the way Tony acts or thinks. It doesn't reset his morals, his convictions, his dreams and goals. The armour is what allows Iron Man to act, it is not what allows Iron Man to exist.

Iron Man yes, Tony Stark not recommended.

The profile was created in a short time, while the subject was in one of the highest emotionally and mentally vulnerable times a human being can experience. Perhaps Natasha had also pulled up past newspaper articles to research and present as evidence for her profile job, but that ignores the fact that celebrities rarely act as themselves when in front of the camera.

The profile utterly ignores that Tony has to have something about him that has ensured the loyalty and friendship of Rhodey, Pepper and Happy.

It ignores how despite the quarrelling not a one of them had any trouble working with Tony to solve the problems caused by Hammer and Vanko, nor Tony with them.

It ignores how, in the end of Iron Man 2, there were a total of twelve deaths, out of possible thousands or even tens of thousands with how many people were flocking to the expo.