7 Times Iron Man Betrayed Another Marvel Superhero

Iron Man is one of the longest-running heroes in Marvel Comics, but he is also one of the most untrustworthy. After debuting in Tales of Suspense #39 in 1962, he became one of the first Avengers and was a core original hero for Marvel alongside names like Ant-Man, The Fantastic Four, and The Hulk. However, over the years, Iron Man did a lot of things that seemed less than heroic. What made him even worse is that Tony Stark often excused his poor actions as for the greater good, even if it meant betraying the people who trusted him the most.

Here is a look at seven instances where Iron Man betrayed another Marvel Comics hero.

7) Iron Man Attacks Stingray in Armor Wars

One of Iron Man’s most ominous events was called “Armor Wars,” and it started out from a point of him trying to do the right thing. When Tony Stark realized someone had sold Stark Tech around the world and it was being used by villains and foreign governments, he set out to get it all back. He started by going after criminals and using tech to shut down their armor.

However, he stepped over the line when he decided to go after heroes, and even the U.S. government as well. The first attack that turned the U.S. and even his friend Captain America against him was when he attacked the hero, Stingray, only to learn he wasn’t wearing Stark armor. When Iron Man started attacking the U.S. government’s Guardsmen, he had to fake his own death to keep from going to prison.

6) Iron Man Betrayed Captain America Before Time Runs Out

“Time Runs Out” is the Marvel storyline that will play out in Avengers: Doomsday as the world closes in on ending in the Incursions, which will lead to Avengers: Secret Wars. This event was something Iron Man and the Illuminati knew about long before it came to Earth-616. Captain America knew it was coming as well and tried to stop it with the Infinity Gauntlet, something that failed.

Since Cap was not willing to destroy any other Earth to save this one, Iron Man had his memory wiped. Right before the Incursions, Cap realized his mind had been altered, and he and Iron Man fought as the world ended around them. It showed a lot about this long-time relationship, that two of Earth’s greatest heroes fought each other while the world died.

5) Iron Man Betrays Thor’s Trust, Twice

Out of all the bad things Iron Man did over his life, creating a clone of Thor and watching as it murdered Goliath was among the worst. Maddeningly, this wasn’t even the only time that Iron Man betrayed his friend, the Asgardian God of Thunder. The first time that Iron Man betrayed Thor was when Thor gave him a gift as a friend and ally, and Iron Man then used it to create a weapon that could kill Thor if needed.

That showed that Iron Man is the Marvel Universe’s answer to Batman, someone who doesn’t even trust his closest allies. However, the betrayal during the Civil War was even worse. Thor was dead following Ragnarok, and Iron Man took a strand of Thor’s hair that he had taken once and used it to create a Thor clone to fight on his side. When the clone killed Bill Foster, Iron Man destroyed Thor’s reputation.

4) Iron Man Betrays Spider-Man in Civil War

During the Civil War event, Iron Man did everything he could to convince other heroes to join his side. He used his sway to even convince Spider-Man to side with him and had Peter Parker unmask on television to show his loyalty to the government’s side of the war. This was the worst thing Spider-Man could have done. He hid his identity to protect his loved ones, and unmasking got Aunt May shot.

When Spider-Man showed his regret and left Iron Man’s side, Tony never once felt any real remorse and sent the government forces after Spider-Man to arrest him for “betraying” them. Peter Parker got away with it because he made a deal with Mephisto, one of the worst moments in Spider-Man comics, and Iron Man was ultimately to blame.

3) Iron Man Betrays Hulk with the Illuminati

Not only did Iron Man betray Captain America as part of the Illuminati, but he also betrayed the Hulk. The Illuminati convinced Hulk that they needed help with an off-world threat, and he agreed to help them. It was all a lie because the Illuminati decided Earth would be better off without Hulk, and felt Hulk would be happier on an uninhabited planet, where he could live in peace. They decided all this without caring what Hulk thought.

It all went wrong when Hulk’s ship didn’t land where they expected and crashed on Sakaar, where Hulk became a gladiator and eventually a champion. However, when Hulk’s bride died in a terrorist explosion, he returned to Earth in a rage and decimated the Illuminati members who betrayed him. It was one of the best times that Iron Man got what was coming to him.

2) Iron Man Betrays Captain America in Civil War

Iron Man didn’t just betray Captain America with the Illuminati, and he didn’t just betray Spider-Man and Thor in the Civil War event, but he betrayed Cap during Civil War as well. Honestly, both Iron Man and Captain America were to blame, as neither man was willing to compromise. Cap wanted freedom for all heroes, and Iron Man wanted all heroes forced to become government employees.

Iron Man had a good reason for his side, but when he began to lock genuine heroes in a prison in the Negative Zone because they weren’t willing to comply, had a clone of Thor murder Bill Foster, and took a more authoritarian attitude toward the world, it was hard to cheer for his side. This war also ended with Captain America dead, and that was partially Iron Man’s fault as well.

1) Iron Man Betrays The Avengers in The Crossing

The worst time that Iron Man turned against other heroes was in the 1990s when he admitted that he had always been a double-agent for Kang the Conqueror. This was in the Crossing storyline, and it was a shocking moment that many fans consider the worst in Iron Man’s history. It all starts when Iron Man murders the time-displaced Yellow Jacket, Rita DeMara, when she slipped through time and saw what Tony was about to do.

Next, Iron Man killed Marilla, the Inhuman nanny of Luna Maximoff, when she saw something she shouldn’t have. After murdering Gilgamesh, the Avengers realize what is happening, and then Tony frames Hawkeye. The Avengers learn the truth, bring in a time-displaced teenage Tony Stark to help them, and eventually, Iron Man sacrifices himself to save the world. It destroyed Iron Man’s legacy forever. While the post-Onslaught reboot retconned this, no one ever trusted Iron Man again.

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