Iron Man is one of the greatest Avengers and superheroes in the MCU, sacrificing his life to stop Thanos once and for all. His courage and bravery saved an entire universe in the process. But in some ways, Iron Man acted just as much like a villain as many of the enemies he faced. His actions also directly contributed to the dark turns of others.

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Tony Stark is one of the most complicated superheroes in the MCU, with an ego and intellect that sometimes get the better of him. Though never consciously evil, his actions sometimes directly and indirectly led to consequences that could be interpreted as villainous. Now that he's gone from the MCU, his not-so-spotless legacy is beginning to come into sharper relief.

Sold Arms To Evil Organizations

Tony is captured by the Ten Rings in Iron Man

As the head of Stark Industries, Tony Stark's mission was to make his company profitable. One of the ways it made money was by selling arms across the world. Though his weapons ended up in the hands of the Ten Rings criminal organization mostly thanks to Obidiah Stane, they ended up in the hands of Sokovian forces that killed Wanda and Pietro Maximoff's parents primarily because of his business practices.

Though not directly responsible for the deaths produced by his weapons, Tony Stark did create and sell them. The consequences of the death and destruction they caused, which include Wanda's actions in Westview, do link back to him.

Helped Create Whiplash

Whiplash prepares to attack in Iron Man 2.

The character of Whiplash is arguably one of the things Iron Man 2 got wrong, and the supervillain is another example of Tony Stark's bad habits. Stark is directly responsible for the emergence of Whiplash. Not only did Stark not credit Anton Vanko's father for his work on the original arc reactor, but he also antagonized Vanko into becoming Whiplash.

Tony Stark's habit of diminishing people he works with is seen throughout the MCU, and helped motivate Mysterio too. He similarly has a habit of pushing relatively small-scale villains into bigger stakes, like what happened with The Vulture.

Created Ultron

Ultron clutches his fist in Avengers: Age Of Ultron.

Ultron is one of the most powerful villains in the MCU and is 100% the creation of Tony Stark. The character owes their origin in Avengers: Age Of Ultron to Stark's good intentions, as he ultimately wants to protect the world from cosmic threats. But his ego and myopic tendencies lead to a villain that becomes as inflexible as he is in their thinking.

Ultron builds off of Tony Stark's brilliant work in engineering and artificial intelligence, but without any checks and balances, Ultron develops into the very thing Stark is trying to protect the world from in the first place.

Didn't Trust The Avengers With The Truth About Ultron

Thor taunting Ultron in the destroyed church in Sokovia surrounded by the other Avengers at the end of Age of Ultron.

If Tony Stark is truly a villain, he might be one of the most sympathetic villains in the MCU. But his behavior sometimes makes it hard to root for him. That's evident in his decision to keep the other Avengers in the dark on the creation of Ultron. His secrecy ultimately leads to disaster, as there are no other voices involved in the process.

Tony Stark often thinks he's the only one with the answers, and his arrogance has led to truly tragic consequences. Many people died in Sokovia thanks to Ultron, including Baron Zemo's family.

Helped Create Aldrich Killian

Killian speaking to someone in Iron Man 3.

Iron Man is responsible for the creation of most of his villains, and that includes Aldrich Killian from Iron Man 3. Though Tony Stark isn't responsible for the actions of other people, his dismissal of Killian leads to that character developing into a villain who attempts to kill the President of the United States.

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Stark's rejection of Killian at an early juncture in his development of Advanced Idea Mechanics spurs Killian to eventually co-opting both the Extremis formula and The Mandarin identity to try to destroy Tony and Stark Industries.

Formed Damage Control

A newscast shows the department of Damage Control in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

While ostensibly a good act, Tony Stark's founding of Damage Control had negative consequences. Not only did the official government body put a lot of people out of work cleaning up the Battle of New York, it ultimately drove Adrian Toomes to become The Vulture.

The Vulture is one of the best Spider-Man movie villains, but like some others, he's a product of the actions of Tony Stark. Damage Control performs a good function but also serves to further enrich Tony Stark and benefit him politically.

Backed The Sokovia Accords

Wanda holding The Sokovia Accords in Captain: America: Civil War.

The Sokovia Accords are a direct result of the tragic events in Age Of Ultron, so it makes sense that a guilt-ridden Tony Stark would back them. But in doing so, he makes another decision that renders him the villain. The Sokovia Accords limit the actions of superheroes by government sanction, and Stark's backing could be construed as benefiting himself over others.

He doubles down on the Accords, driving a wedge between him and his fellow Avengers, and ultimately breaking them up when the debate erupts into open conflict. He refuses to see it any other way, leading to more tragedy, including the injury of War Machine.

Brought Spider-Man Into A War Zone

Spider-Man steals Cap's shield in Captain America: Civil War

The introduction of Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War is a scene MCU fans love to rewatch over and over, but as heroic as it is, it's another example of Tony Stark's less-than-ideal behavior. Stark brings Peter Parker, a teenager, into a war zone that Parker has no proper understanding of for the express purpose of gaining an advantage over Captain America.

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It's a callous use of Stark's influence and potentially catastrophic. Spider-Man could have easily been killed in the battle, and almost was. Though Stark developed a strong bond with Peter, their relationship was founded on hero worship that wasn't justified.

Held Scarlet Witch Against Her Will

Vision and Scarlet Witch in Captain America Civil War

Another aspect of Captain America: Civil War that calls into question Tony's morality is his effective house arrest of Wanda Maximoff. He holds her against her will in the Avengers Compound, ostensibly for her own benefit, after her actions lead to unintended death and destruction earlier in the movie.

But his treatment of her is more proof of his autocratic tendencies, making a decision that harms others without any input from anyone else. It can also be seen as self-serving, trying to impound a powerful ally of Captain America.

Fought Captain America

Iron Man fighting Captain America and Winter Soldier in Civil War.

Iron Man ultimately fights Captain America in one of the worst moments for both characters in the MCU. The two heroes come to blows after the revelation that Bucky Barnes killed Tony Stark's parents. Iron Man's anger and grief are entirely justified, but his determination to kill Barnes is more evidence of his selfish behavior.

Stark disregards the truth about Barnes' horrific experience as the Winter Soldier and any kind of due process to get revenge, pure and simple. It leads to the destruction of the Avengers and Earth being left without its mightiest defenders against Thanos.

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