Editing Iron Man (section)

===Personality and motivations===
{{Quote box
| quote = We really thought about how we needed to give him a weakness. It wasn't hip to have him running out of energy and looking for a light socket every few pages, or having a heart attack every time Ultimo was fighting him. So we discussed it and we thought that we would give him the corporate man's disease [alcoholism]. Something that would always haunt him.
| author = [[Bob Layton]]{{Sfn|Sacks|2015|pp=140–141}}
| width = 30%
}}
Iron Man is a businessman and entrepreneur who seeks to innovate and improve his technology,{{Sfn|Zanco|2015|p=167}}{{Sfn|Faller|2010|p=257}} both for society's benefit and his own.{{Sfn|Zanco|2015|pp=164–167}}{{Sfn|Cooley|Rogers|2015|p=80}} Iron Man is one of many Marvel heroes with a genius-level intellect,{{Sfn|Spanakos|2010|p=133}} but his focus on societal application alongside hard science distinguishes him from other heroes.{{Sfn|Spanakos|2010|p=133}} The character is a futurist, and he works to identify solutions for problems that have yet to emerge. This preemptive problem-solving was a driving force in his organization of the Avengers and later in his support for the Superhero Registration Act during the ''Civil War'' event.{{Sfn|Spanakos|2010|pp=129, 133–134}}

Stark's intelligence and engineering skills allowed him to construct the Iron Man armor, and he believes this justifies his authority over the armor and who uses it.{{Sfn|Terjesen|2010|pp=101–103}} While Iron Man sometimes develops equipment for other superheroes, he is selective about who can use the armor, trusting only a few close allies.{{Sfn|Malloy|2010|p=117}} In the 2008 story "The Five Nightmares", Iron Man narrates his five greatest fears: relapse into alcoholism, reproduction of the Iron Man technology, other people becoming Iron Man, the technology becoming disposable, and that someone else would be distributing this technology. Besides the danger such scenarios pose, they all represent fear of losing power over himself or his technology.{{Sfn|Michálek|2015|p=196}}

Iron Man finds machines easier to interact with than humans, believing machines can be more easily controlled and repaired.{{Sfn|Hoskin|2008|loc=Iron Man}} This leads him to engage in self-destructive behavior, giving his relationships as Tony Stark lower priority and failing to be accountable for his creations as Iron Man.{{Sfn|Robichaud|2010|p=53}} His isolation comes to him from two directions, with both his celebrity status and his role as Iron Man making personal relationships difficult.{{Sfn|Faller|2010|pp=261–262}} Through both poor decisions and bad luck, he is unable to maintain romantic relationships despite his wealth and talents.{{Sfn|Kirk|2020|p=50}} Writer Dennis O'Neil described the Iron Man armor as "a psychological crutch preventing him from dealing with his own inner demons".{{Sfn|Ridout|1992|p=7}} He identifies with the Iron Man armor as an extension of himself, believing the image it presents is his own image, and he considers himself responsible any time someone uses the technology.{{Sfn|Hogan|2009|p=205}}

Iron Man behaves differently as a superhero and as a civilian, engaging in courageous and selfless acts as Iron Man but morally ambiguous behavior as Stark.{{Sfn|Nielson|2010|pp=201–202}} The character represents a traditional understanding of American masculinity as a businessman and a playboy, particularly as it was seen in the Cold War.{{Sfn|Michálek|2015|p=193}}{{Sfn|Alaniz|2015|p=58}} This characterization also manifests in negative traits that were prominent in early Iron Man stories, including belligerence, negligence, and misogyny.{{Sfn|Michálek|2015|p=201}} Stark has several character flaws emerging from his impulsivity and arrogance, engaging in vices that include excessive drinking, partying, and womanizing.{{Sfn|White|2010|p=172}}{{Sfn|Nielson|2010|pp=201–202}}{{Sfn|Curtis|2010|pp=236–237}}

Iron Man's heart injury was prominent in his early characterization, causing him to isolate himself so as not to reveal his injury or his [[secret identity]].{{Sfn|Patton|2015|p=7}} This weakness was a threat to his autonomy and his masculinity.{{Sfn|Genter|2007|p=968}} As real-world medical technology made heart injuries less fatal, writers introduced neurological damage{{Sfn|Mulligan|2015|pp=205–206}} and alcoholism as other medical weaknesses.{{Sfn|Sacks|2015|p=137}}{{Sfn|Novy|2010a|pp=80–81}} Despite this, Iron Man considers himself lucky and believes he lives "a good life", attributing this to his money, friendships, engineering skills, and recovering health.{{Sfn|Patterson|Patterson|2010|pp=218–220}}

Iron Man's belief in progress sometimes manifests as opposition to the press and politicians, whose attempts to keep him accountable hamper his efforts as a superhero.{{Sfn|Cooley|Rogers|2015|pp=81–82}} He is conflicted between his support for the [[rule of law]] and his moral beliefs in doing what he feels must be done for the greater good. When he engages in unsanctioned attacks against those who co-opted his technology in the "Armor Wars" story, he describes it as "a tough decision; perhaps the toughest in my life".{{Sfn|Donovan|Richardson|2010|p=193}} The character's morally ambiguous nature can make him more accessible to readers relative to other superheroes who are more inherently virtuous.{{Sfn|Patterson|Patterson|2010|p=217}}{{Sfn|Curtis|2010|p=242}}