Tony Stark is a much deadlier hero than he seems, as he demonstrates when he uses his suits of armor for the first time inIron Man. Iron Man is now remembered as theMCU’s universe-saving savior thanks toTony Stark’s sacrifice at the end ofAvengers: Endgame, where he gave up his life to wipe out Thanos and his army. However, Stark didn’t have a spotless past.
Tony Stark spent most of his life and career publicly known as a warmonger, focused on amassing wealth through weapons manufacturing and ambitious technological advancements. His near-death experience in Afghanistan turned him into a superhero, but Stark still couldn’t shake off his infamy in the eyes of characters like the Maximoff twins and Baron Zemo.Even as a superhero, Iron Man had little regard for life.
Tony Stark Uses Deadly Force Within The First 40 Minutes Of Iron Man
Iron Man Doesn’t Hesitate To Annihilate His Enemies
Only thirty-five minutes intoIron Man, Tony Stark plows through the Ten Rings terrorists as he makes his way out of their cave.Stark equipped the Iron Man Mark I armor not only with a rocket launcher, but also with a flamethrower he uses to torch over a dozen enemies. Half of the terrorists die of blunt force trauma, another half are burned to ash, and an unlucky one dies when his own bullet ricochets on Stark’s armor.
At the one-hour and fifteen-minute mark, Tony Stark returns to Afghanistan with the sole goal of taking revenge. Wielding the Iron Man Mark III suit, Stark takes joy in blasting several enemies with his repulsor beams, punching one into a wall, and shooting several others in the head. Iron Man also explodes multiple missiles in front of the terrorists and throws their leader into an angry crowd so they can take the law into their own hands.
How The MCU Gets Away With Showing The Avengers Kill People
The Avengers' Enemies Are Unmistakably Irredeemable
Iron Man isn’t the only Avenger who doesn’t hesitate to kill his enemies in creative and brutal ways. Thor destroys countless Frost Giants and creatures, Hulk smashes Chitauri soldiers like they were made of jelly, andCaptain America shot an unknown number of Hydra soldiersin WWII. Black Widow and Hawkeye also murdered countless enemies during their time as assassins.
The MCU’s cannon fodder antagonists are both unidentifiable and irredeemable, so it doesn’t even register when the heroes murder them in cold blood
Most of the Avengers' dead enemies are nameless, faceless villains with no characterization of their own. Iron Man’s enemies were terrorists, Captain America’s villains were Nazis, and Thor and Hulk’s were aliens. The MCU’s cannon fodder antagonists are both unidentifiable and irredeemable, so it doesn’t even register when the heroes murder them in cold blood. In the case of Black Widow and Hawkeye, the MCU never shows their victims on screen.
In retrospect, the Avengers' lack of hesitation when facing regular enemies raises questions about their encounters with supervillains. For instance, it would make sense for a WWII-era Captain America to shoot the Red Skull as soon as he could inCaptain America: The First Avenger. This is a common issue in action movies, where the heroes only struggle to pull the trigger when they reach the main antagonist.
Death And Killing Will Always Be Part Of The MCU
Not All Heroes Need Or Deserve A No-Kill Rule
Famous superheroes like Spider-Man, Daredevil, and Batman have popularized the concept of the “no-kill rule”, which keeps them from resorting to murder and underlines their superior moral compass. Other heroes like Captain America and Superman often respect this rule in many comic book stories, but their version of the rule isn’t always unbreakable.Sometimes heroes simply have to use deadly force for the greater good or by chance.
InIronheart’s three-episode premiere, Riri Williams leaves John to die of suffocation, but she had no other option. Previously, T’Challa tried to negotiate with Killmonger, butN’Jadaka wouldn’t stop until he was dead. Thanos' death wouldn’t change anything afterAvengers: Infinity War’s ending, but Thor’s broken warrior spirit led him to decapitate the Mad Titan. While murder might not be the epitome of heroism, it proves that superheroes aren’t perfect.
