8 Comics Where Tony Stark Was Evil
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“Evil Tony Stark,” is the baseline personality quirk of Tony Stark in the comic books. While 80% of MCU fans, who don’t read comic books, see RDJ as Tony Stark, the character in the comic has deep personality flaws that show him as being human, not always as a hero.
And humans can be evil.
In the comics, Stark has drunkenly used his armor, sadistically got a city hooked on an addictive app as a capitalist, killed the Avengers, and even suckered Peter Parker into revealing his identity to bolster political legislation. (Parker later paid serious consequences for the act.)
Here are 8 instances in the comic where Tony Stark committed downright evil actions to prove a point, further an agenda, or because he wanted to do it.
1. Stark Operated His Armor While Drunk
Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle is one of the most legendary Iron Man storylines in the history of the character. As Tony Stark succumbs to alcoholism his armor technology gets stolen by his corporate competitors. Even the government begins considering whether or not to take Stark’s technology on the grounds of national security.
As Stark struggles to protect his armor and technology he drifts further into alcoholism and irresponsibility. He even operates his armor while drunk and makes himself a public hazard. This pivotal 1979 story inspired RDJ’s performances in the MCU Iron Man film trilogy, especially Stark drunkenly dancing in his armor at the party in 2010’s Iron Man 2.
Buy this 176-page collected story for $11.99 on Kindle or the paperback for $75 at Amazon now.
2. Iron Man Kills a Nanny
Iron Man Epic Collection: The Crossing is basically a 512-page omnibus that collects the notorious 1995 storyline “The Crossing.” As Tony Stark experiences unexplained blackouts and memory loss, a portal-hopping intruder kills the nanny for the Avengers. It turns out that Kang the Conquerer has found a way to mind-control Stark into destroying the Avengers from within.
At the end of this storyline, Stark was replaced with a teen version to replace the older, corrupted, and evil Tony Stark. It was a very controversial storyline during its era. This paperback collects the original storyline and several tie-in issues. Get the paperback for $30.49 at Amazon.
3. Stark Kills Goliath With a Thor Clone
The 2006 Marvel Comics storyline Civil War featured the passage of the Superhero Registration Act. All superheroes had to register with the government or be labeled as criminals. Tony Stark sided with the government while Steve Rogers rebelled; their conflict caused the superhero community to take sides. This story inspired 2016’s Captain America: Civil War.
What you might not know is that Evil Tony Stark was the star of this comic. Stark did some really messed up things to defend the SRA and protect himself. Goliath, an Avenger who can grow to 100 feet tall, was killed by a Thor clone created by Stark in a battle over the registration. Stark would let nothing stand in his way when he is determined.
Get the paperback, which collects all seven issues of the original series, for $14.98 at Amazon now.
4. Stark Gets San Francisco Hooked on a $99-Per-Day App
The 2014 comic Superior Iron man was published in the wake of the “Axis” event. The morals of superheroes and villains were reversed. So, an Evil Tony Stark persona manifested and Stark decided to become a greedy and malicious corporate baron.
He released Extremis 3.0, an alleged nanobot-interactive app that could transform anyone into the dream version of themselves, for a free one-day trial. After that, the app costs $99 per day, or over $36,000 annually per user. Stark becomes a drunk, cynical, hateful, and opportunistic capitalistic who values a dollar more than being a hero. This is the storyline that inspired the online fan campaign to try to get Marvel to sign Tom Cruise as a multiverse variant of Superior Iron Man.
Superior Iron Man 1: Infamous collects the first five issues of the series. Get the hardcover for $34.18 at Amazon now.
5. Stark Restores Daredevil Sight to Maliciously Bribe Him
When Superior Iron Man was hooking San Francisco on the Extremis 3.0 app Daredevil discovered the secret of the app. Daredevil, a vigilante and a lawyer, confronts evil Tony Stark to compel him to do right. Stark uses nanotech to temporarily restore Daredevil’s sight in an effort to bribe him and keep the secret of Extremix 3.0 secret.
In the aftermath of those events, Pepper Potts also makes a stand about Stark’s malicious behavior.
Superior Iron Man 2: Stark Contrast collects issues #6 through 9 of the series. Get the hardcover for $29.80 at Amazon now.
6. Stark Helps Launch the Illuminati
During the buildup to the “Secret Invasion” storyline, several superheroes decided that they would form a supergroup to secretly manipulate world events as needed. Iron Man, Namor, Prof. X, Mr. Fantastic, and several other heroes decide that they know what is best for the world and create the Illuminati.
While it is easy to blame an evil Tony Stark mindset for the creation of this group, he didn’t create it alone. Several heroes warn the group that such an action will only create more problems than they solve. Get the paperback for $15.86 at Amazon now.
7. Stark and the Illuminati Banish Hulk From Earth
The Illuminati decided to banish Bruce Banner, who was considered for membership in the Illuminati, in the aftermath of a fight with the Thing that almost destroyed a city. The Hulk is put on a ship that strands him on a lawless gladiator world for years. Meanwhile, a ticking clock starts on the Hulk getting his revenge on the Illuminati.
Get the 416-page Incredible Hulk: Planet Hulk paperback for $22.99 at Amazon.
8. Stark Fools Peter Parker Into Publicly Revealing His Identity
Stark used his money and celebrity to pump as much propaganda onto the American populace to justify the Superhero Registration Act during “Civil War”. To prove that the SRA was the right legislation for the country Stark manipulates Peter Parker into publicly revealing that he is Spider-Man at a news conference. This happened in Civil War #2.
The revelation shocked the comic book community of the era. The decision was later retconned during the notorious “One More Day” storyline where the Devil dissolved Peter and Mary Jane’s marriage and made the world forget Peter was Spider-Man. This decision caused the near death of Aunt May and the Devil to annul Peter and Mary Jane’s marriage, so the “Evil Tony Stark” term, considering all the consequences, is justified.
Evil Tony Stark
Since most comic book fans don’t read comic books, the modern perception of Tony Stark is RDJ’s portrayal of the character in the MCU. However, Stark is a multi-faceted character in the comic books and he is not always the good guy. Some of the best depictions of Tony Stark are found int he comic books, not the MCU.
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Allen Francis is a full-time writer, prolific comic book investor and author of The Casual’s Guide: Why You Should Get Into Comic Book Investing. Allen holds a BA degree from Marymount Manhattan College. Before becoming a writer Allen was an academic advisor, librarian, and college adjunct for many years. Allen is an advocate of best personal financial practices including saving and investing in your own small business.
