10 Things Everyone Always Gets Wrong About Iron Man
3. Civil War Destroyed His Relationship With Steve Rogers
Back to Civil War again now, and it's probably fair to say that it's the most impactful event Tony Stark has had to deal with since the turn of the century. It fundamentally altered his role in the Marvel Universe and made people reconsider if this superhero was actually that - a hero.
The actual comic did a pretty poor job of delving into Stark's motivations and painted him as a reactionary authoritarian hellbent on curtailing civil liberties, exemplified by his transition to Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. after the conflict's ending, and it pushed Tony and Steve Rogers further apart than ever before. Tony was there for Steve's eventual surrender, and he was there for his death, but this didn't spell the end of their friendship - far from it.
After Rogers is assassinated on the way to his own trial, Tony stands by him and probably even grieves the most out of all Cap's friends past and present. He regrets the entire conflict, concluding that the cost wasn't worth it, and spends the next couple of issues begging Bucky Barnes to assume Rogers' mantle, so desperate is he to ensure Cap's legacy isn't forgotten.
He goes from Steve's biggest critic to becoming his biggest champion, and though they would come to disagree in the future too, Tony has always been one of Cap's closest friends.