9. Tony Reveals His Identity To Save A Dog
Iron Mans success in the movies has not exactly mirrored his success in the comics. With the notable exceptions of Kurt Busiek in the late 90s and Matt Fractions recent run on The Invincible Iron Man, Tonys comics in the past twenty years have ranged somewhere between sub-par or mediocre at best to just freaking terrible. The first film broke the trend of many superhero movies when, instead of going with the cover story that Iron Man was just a bodyguard, Tony revealed himself to the world, with the memorable line of I am Iron Man. In the comics, however, Tony
did use the cover story that Iron Man was an employee of Stark Enterprises and Tonys personal bodyguard, and he would frequently have friends don the armor for public appearances (such as Happy Hogan and Jim Rhodes) or the suit would have a form of artificial intelligence (more on how
that bit Tony in the ass a little later). With the exception of Marvels Ultimate line of comics, Tony and Iron Man were two separate people in the eyes of the denizens of the Marvel Universe until 2002. Following a story where Iron Man went up against the threat of Temugin, the son of the Mandarin, he returned home, spinning yet another story to the press about being detained while on vacation. And then, when some criminals nearby were making a getaway, Tony jumped from the roof of the building where his press conference was being held, summoned his Iron Man armor in full view, and saved a dog who was in danger of being hit by the getaway car. Keep in mind that this is a secret Tony kept by lying countless times to his then-girlfriend, Rumiko, and as seen in the above scene, her reaction is about what youd expect: You kept this from me all the time we were together and gave away your secret for a
dog? Id be pretty pissed off, too. Its one thing for a superhero to reveal his secret identity, its another to do it in such a stupid fashion.
Likelihood: Nonexistent. Thankfully, Tonys identity is already public knowledge.