Avengers 4 Theory: Does Tony Stark Have A Death Wish?
And is it actually a GOOD thing?!
He might now be classed as one of the dependable old heads of the MCU (and one of the most bankable brands in Marvel's behemoth franchise), but Tony Stark is a bona fide loose cannon. Sure, he's now obsessed with protecting the universe (and his loved ones) from any threat at all, but he's no man of safety: he continues to be a wildcard whose commitment to the cause is no more than an extrapolation of his unique wiring.
In short, Tony has a death wish and that's actually a good thing for the Avengers and the safety of the universe. Without that drive, Stark wouldn't be the same character and he certainly wouldn't be as valuable as an Avenger, even if it has made him make fundamental errors of judgement in the past.
Don't believe that? You might be convinced...
6. The Cause 1: PTSD
The most obvious place to start with this theory is where Tony's death wish initially came from and since both Iron Man 2 and Iron Man 3 have explicitly dealt with PTSD (the latter in more detail) and Tony's other appearances since Age Of Ultron have hinted at it, that's an important step to look into.
In the first Iron Man, Stark was PROFOUNDLY changed by his encounter with the Ten Rings. He came incredibly close to being killed and if it weren't for his own ingenuity (and the assistance of Doctor Yinsen) he absolutely would have died.
He was also a prisoner of war placed under a constant threat of death (more so by his own defiant actions in building the Mk 1 armour) who had to watch his only ally murdered BECAUSE OF HIM. That sort of experience is all textbook for PTSD (as it was designed to be). And despite him talking to Bruce Banner as a sort of stand-in therapist, his commitment to his two jobs stopped him getting any real help.
That sort of negligence of self leads to destructive patterns of behaviour and even more dangerous thoughts. Which is precisely where all of this comes from.