10 Times The MCU FRUSTRATINGLY Held Back

3. Iron Man Destroying All His Suits

Tony Stark has always been at the heart of the MCU, in part because the character feels so human. Unlike other members of the Avengers, Stark constantly f***s up in spite of his best intentions, and the drama comes from how he slowly becomes a responsible, accountable team player.

Iron Man 3 is probably the most insight we get into the inner workings of Tony though, showing him dealing poorly after the events of The Avengers. Paranoid and suffering through a wicked case of PTSD, Tony becomes consumed by his work, constructing an army of automated Iron Man suits to protect the world.

It takes Pepper Potts to snap him out of it and talk him down from his unhealthy crusade, with Tony's acceptance of something resembling a normal life brilliantly conveyed by him blowing up all his Iron Man suits at the end of the film.

However, that gesture is made redundant immediately in Age of Ultron, where he's shown back in the suit and helping out the Avengers without an explanation as to why.

It's not until Civil War where Tony details why he went back on his word, and even then it's more of a throwaway thread to explain away a plot hole, rather than a true dive into what it means for his character.