10 Movies That Wanted You To HATE The Hero
7. Tony Stark - Iron Man
The entire point of the original Iron Man is that Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is presented as a smug, self-centered sleazeball who profits off of war, only for his subsequent experiences to forever change his life path.
As undeniably charming as Downey is in the role, Stark also starts out the movie as an arrogant, casually sexist, ultra-wealthy blowhard who makes money from misery and is only humbled when he very nearly loses his life.
Tony of course becomes more likeable once he adopts the Iron Man persona and grows considerably over the course of his subsequent MCU appearances, but make no mistake, he's a legendary d*ckhead from the outset.
One suspects the caustic Tony Stark of 2008 wouldn't fly in the present climate were he introduced today. Black Panther co-writer Joe Robert Cole certainly agrees:
"Think back to Tony Stark, him being douchey and being okay. If that character, Stark, was created in a movie today, I wonder if the response would be like, 'Oh, it's cool that he’s douchey and disrespectful to women… That's fine.' I think we're at a different place. I think it's a better place."