Iron Man served as one of the leaders of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Infinity Saga, and unlike many other superheroes who do their best to keep their identities secret, Tony Stark revealed he was Iron Man in his first movie – but why? The MCU has become the most extensive superhero universe, and it all started back in 2008 with Jon Favreau’s Iron Man, which introduced Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and set the tone for the rest of this connected universe.
Iron Man explored the origin story of the title hero, who began as the narcissistic, egotistical, and arrogant lead of Stark Industries, the main weapons manufacturer for the U.S. military. Tony’s life took a turn when he was severely injured after an explosion and kidnapped by the Ten Rings. To keep shrapnel shards from reaching his heart and thus save his life, fellow prisoner Ho Yinsen (Shaun Toub) implanted an electromagnet into Tony's chest, and together they later built an armor that allowed Tony to escape. This was the beginning of his superhero journey as Iron Man, and his whole story was unlike any other superhero.
After his second solo adventure, Iron Man joined the Avengers and served as the team's leader alongside Captain America, but throughout his whole journey in the MCU, Tony struggled with his inner demons and other personal issues, mostly his ego. This led him to make some not-so-good decisions during his time in the MCU, and his ego was also what made him do something right at the end of his first solo movie that changed his life for good and bad: reveal his secret identity during a press conference, even though he was advised against it.
At the end of Iron Man, Tony was getting ready for a press conference to address “an incident at Stark Industries” in which the arc reactor that powered the building was overloaded and killed Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) when he fell into it. Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) handed Tony an alibi in order to protect his identity and told Tony to read the statement word for word. Of course, Tony didn’t stick to the plan and ended up revealing he was Iron Man, which was yet another display of his ego and his distrust of authorities. Tony was all about recognition, though at first he didn’t care much about the reputation that could bring, and as at that moment his journey as Iron Man was just getting started, he was still driven by his ego, leading him to make that big reveal. However, this key moment in the MCU’s history can also be seen as Tony’s first display of maturity and responsibility, as by revealing he was Iron Man, he was taking full responsibility for his actions during the “incident” at Stark Industries and future events as well – though beneath all that could have also been his crave for recognition and appreciation.
Of course, revealing he was Iron Man brought both good and bad things to Tony’s life: that big reveal caught the attention of Nick Fury, who recruited him for the Avenger Initiative, but it also made him a target of a variety of enemies, who also went after those closest to him, as were Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan, and Rhodey. Tony’s ego made way for one of the most iconic and important scenes in the MCU, and this key moment in Iron Man’s life was later mirrored in Avengers: Endgame, giving him a satisfying and emotional ending.
