Editing Iron Man (section)

=== Politics and economics ===
Iron Man was more overtly political than other [[Silver Age of Comic Books|Silver Age]] Marvel characters.{{Sfn|Wright|2001|p=222}} Lee wrote the character to represent [[liberal capitalism]], fighting against communism and other [[anti-democratic]] forces.{{Sfn|Patton|2015|p=15}}{{Sfn|This|2015|p=17}}{{Sfn|Dunn|2010|p=20}} Though anti-communist sentiments were present throughout Marvel Comics, they appeared most prominently in Iron Man stories.{{Sfn|Patton|2015|p=10}} After Marvel shifted away from addressing foreign conflicts toward the end of the 1960s, Iron Man was portrayed as a [[Liberalism|liberal]] who was skeptical of the U.S. government, yet also opposed [[radical politics|radicalism]]; at the time associated with [[counterculture of the 1960s|1960s counterculture]].{{Sfn|Wright|2001|pp=241–243}} Marvel portrayed Iron Man as more self-doubting, questioning when the use of force is justified against communism.{{Sfn|Cooley|Rogers|2015|p=88}}{{Sfn|Curtis|2010|p=238}} By 1975, Iron Man opposed the Vietnam War,{{Sfn|Wright|2001|pp=241–243}} which gave the character a new motivation in making up for his promotion of violence in the past.{{Sfn|Robichaud|2010|p=54}} Iron Man's use of his vast resources as a protector was reframed as a cautionary tale, in which these resources could be co-opted to do harm. His motivation for providing weapons to the government was retroactively changed so Stark only got involved because he believed it would end the war more quickly.{{Sfn|Dunn|2010|pp=20–22}} Over time, writers portrayed Iron Man as a [[philanthropist]].{{Sfn|Henebry|2015|p=103}}

The dual role of Iron Man and Tony Stark allows for the examination of both the perspective of an individual inventor and that of the bureaucracy of governments and corporations, respectively.{{Sfn|Genter|2007|pp=967–968}} His business Stark Industries is depicted as a force for good that advances scientific knowledge through capitalist innovation.{{Sfn|Cooley|Rogers|2015|p=80}} The Iron Man persona itself, as well as the technology Iron Man uses, are proprietary assets owned by Stark Industries.{{Sfn|Malloy|2010|p=115}} Reflecting his characterization as a businessman, Iron Man stories often invoke themes of [[economic competition]], seeing him face characters who try to develop better versions of the Iron Man armor.{{Sfn|Zanco|2015|p=168}} Many of Iron Man's challenges involve corrupt business rivals and [[corporate espionage]].{{Sfn|Darowski|2015b|p=175}}