9. Harley Keener (Iron Man 3)
In Iron Man 3, following an attack on his luxury home by the Mandarin, Tony Stark escapes, unconscious, in one of his suits, which his artificial intelligence JARVIS pilots to rural Tennessee by following a flight plan from Stark's prior investigation into the Mandarin's attacks. The experimental armour lacks sufficient power to return to California and the world believes him dead. He drags his suit along the ground in the snow to the nearest unoccupied building a garage and takes refuge there. Harley Keener, the child who lives in the household that the garage belongs to, becomes aware of an intruder in the garage and, armed with a potato gun, confronts him. He finds that the intruder is Stark and he is highly impressed by the presence of Tony's latest prototype Iron Man armour, which is sat upright on a couch. Although Tony wouldn't admit it, he and the boy quickly develop a rapport. It's actually a very heart-warming relationship that sees Tony and Harley fending off an attack by Extremis soldiers, Harley supplying Tony with equipment to create makeshift weapons and Harley helping Tony with his anxiety issues. In the end, Tony gives Harley a garage full of new equipment, from computers to robotics and the youngster is overjoyed. Also, on a table is a more personal gift with a placard saying "Potato Gun Mark II" and regards from "The Mechanic", Stark's alias. It would be nice to see this relationship at least referred to in future movies - to completely forget about Harley after what occurred between him and Tony would be a shame.