When Iron Man first released in 2008, it revived the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since then, the train has not stopped. All the actors have thanked Robert Downey Jr. for starting this beautiful journey. A billionaire, genius, and philanthropist, Tony Stark is easily one of the smartest characters there is. Throughout the years, he has outsmarted his enemies and made a remarkable place for himself. No matter what foe he is facing, Stark has always been fearless but vigilant at the same time.
Let’s be fair for a moment. All our heroes have a dark phase in their lives and it is not every day that they win. Maybe eventually, but with a lot of struggle. Here is a list of ten times that Tony Stark was outsmarted by his enemies and friends alike:
Vulture Infiltrating Stark’s Moving Plane
Stark has always made enemies just because of his quirky behavior. Toomes, aka Vulture, received the government contract to clean up the mess after After Stark and his Avengers took part in a battle that sabotaged a major part of Manhattan. But as usual, Tony being an opportunist, stepped in at the last minute and took away the contract. Of course, all the more reason for Toomes to feel angry. Hence, Toomes salvaged some ancient alien tech and used it to get back to Stark. He was hell-bent on stealing Stark’s technology and sell it to make a fortune. Surprisingly enough, he took over a moving plane of Stark Technologies and legit hijacked it. Sorry Stark Tech, you have been beaten at this moment.
Zemos’ Masterplan That Made Tony and Cap Fight
Zemo is a villain that has no superpower or technology whatsoever. But he can turn the world with just his evil mind. He single-handedly turned the Avengers against each other. This is exactly what happened in Captain America: Civil War. Well, Zemo has all the right reasons to hate the Avengers as the collateral damage came in with the cost of Zemo losing his loved ones. He framed the Winter Soldier, Bucky, for the death of King T’Chaka. This is exactly where Tony and Steve arrived at a major disagreement regarding Bucky’s future. Tony’s decision to turn Bucky in was later on amplified by the fact that it was indeed the Winter Soldier that killed his parents.
Nicky Fury Playing With Tony’s Mind By Using Black Widow
As put by Tony himself, he is a playboy. Hence, one of his biggest weaknesses is women. This is something that Nick Fury was aware of. He took advantage of this by having one of his agents, Natasha Romanoff, infiltrate Stark’s inner circle by posing as an assistant. With no possible doubts, the plan was a success and Stark did not suspect a thing. Fury knew that by just seeing Romanoff, Stark will be prompted to ask her to be her assistant.
Vanko Turned Stark Expo Into A Drone Firefight
This has to be one of Tony’s most miserable failures ever. Speaking of collateral damage, Vanko’s family was just another witness to it. Anton Vanko, the family’s patriarch, worked with Howard Stark before a disagreement about the arc reactor (and Vanko trying to take it) led to Vanko’s deportation. As a result, Ivan decided to recreate the arc and claim his revenge. His initial plan at Stark’s life was an ultimate failure. It was only when Ivan Vanko partnered with Justin Hammer to create a series of drones to show off at Stark’s upcoming rally. Vanko manipulated the drones on display to go after Stark himself.
Maya Hassen Taking Pepper
She is just another addition to the list of people that Tony has wronged. Maya Hassen was a budding scientist. Regardless of who she was, Tony had a one-night stand with her and left in the morning. This sent Hansen into the open arms of Aldrich Killian and his think tank AIM. She did reappear in Stark’s life later on. But Hansen disappeared with Pepper to use as leverage to get Stark to help her fix Extremis. Maybe Tony was actually in the wrong with consciousness as well.
Spider-Man Bypassing The Training Wheels Protocols In Stark’s Suit
Peter is a young kid with considerably less knowledge than Tony when it comes to technology. Tony was nice enough to be a mentor in Peter’s life. Stark got Parker involved in a superhero civil conflict and gave the teen a high-tech Spidey suit. This suit came with a tracker and training-wheels protocol that kept Parker from harming himself. But Tony was definitely outsmarted by the knowledge of a high-school kid as Peter along with his best friend Ned, was able to hijack into Tony’s technology. Hence, they were easily able to remove the tracking chip.
Ultron Disabled JARVIS and Took Loki’s Specter
Ultron was Tony’s biggest mistake. It was not just a result of Tony’s mind, but Banner as well. But he was much smarter than his creators. Stark made Ultron thinking that it’s an AI peacekeeping force that would be best for humanity. But his ego got the best of him. As a result, Ultron brought down JARVIS and was also intelligent enough to grab Loki’s scepter, a device key to his creation. Ultron was the reason why most of Sokovia was destroyed. The collateral damage was unrealistic when it came to the intensity.
Obadiah Turned Off Stark’s Heart
It was Stane who took over Stark Industries as an interim CEO after Howard Stark’s passing. Tony was not old enough to take over the company at that time. This is where the Ten Rings was introduced. Stane decided that he did not want to give up control of the company and decided to eliminate Tony with the help of the same organization. This is when Tony made the arc reactor to keep up with his heart condition. But Stane used a short-term paralyzer to stun Stark and remove the arc reactor from his chest. This outsmarting was a bit of a long con because Stark had no reason to believe he couldn’t trust Stane. Hence, Tony as usual let his closed ones deceive him.
Mandarin/Aldrich Killian Wiped Out Stark’s Home And Armor Collection
Even though this Mandarin was a fake one, it posed a lot of difficulties to Iron Man. Stark issued a threat to the Mandarin after his bodyguard was injured Happy Hogan was harmed. This is classic Tony. He let his ego take over. In the threat, he told the Mandarin to come to his home address and fight him like a man, and Mandarin did appear. But he was there and he legit destroyed all of Tony’s property, with him barely surviving. The Mandarin sent helicopters to fire missiles into the home. This is one of the many moments where Tony was outsmarted and almost on the verge of dying.
Stark’s Friends Knew They Could Get Him Back Into The Fight
Tony gave up being a superhero after losing to Thanos. He was not ready to lose his family after he almost lost his wife, Pepper, and his daughter. The Avengers knew that for their time-travel shenanigans they would indefinitely need Tony’s help. They know that the only thing that they need is to plant the idea in Tony’s head, and he will get to it. He will say no of course, in beginning, but he will eventually work on it and emerge as a winner. But this tells us something about Tony. He isn’t as secretive or shelled up as he thinks. His friends are pretty much aware of his behavior and are sure that if they do something Tony will do things that they have already predicted.
