#anti howard stark

[fotibrit]

Howard saying that Tony is his “greatest invention” has always rubbed me the wrong way and i think it’s because it implies that everything Tony does is the result of Howard’s actions. Howard managed to keep Tony in the company for long enough that Tony would have the resources to make Howard’s element. Howard controlled who Tony would be in contact with enough that he KNEW Tony would see that video, and get it from SHEILD personnel. Howard knew that Tony would still be running the EXPO, and thus have access to the old board where Howard outlined the element.

By Howard saying Tony is his “Greatest invention”, he so means it litterally. Tony was handcrafted, customized to be the person Howard wanted and needed. Howard uses Tony as nothing more than a time machine, a dependable future entity which will do Howard’s bidding.

[gay-jewish-bucky]

"everything special about you came from a bottle" says the nepo baby who got everything he had from his asshole, nazi employing father

[luna-rainbow]

I've let my thoughts on What If marinate and I now come back with full annoyance.

Peggy: It looks just like him, Howard, just like Bucky. Howard: I heard the rumours, but even if they were true, the man we knew is long gone, Peg. And we have bigger fish to fry.

Later on, when Bucky is ordered to fire on Peter Quill, it's interesting that Bucky doesn't shoot until the Russian gives order to shoot several times, which suggests to me that Bucky is still in there even before Howard came on.

After Howard intercepts the transmission, this exchange happens:

Howard: It's just you and me, pal. Bucky: There is no me. Howard: Bucky, when you see that kid all you see is a target, but I see a future. The life he can lead, the good he can do. And I see it in you too. Bucky: You don't know me. Howard: Steve Rogers does. The man he knew, the friend he loved, would never take that shot.

Firstly, Bucky saying "there is no me" is big ouch. Secondly..."who the hell is Bucky?" or are we going to retcon that iconic line too?

Thirdly...and the bit that really annoys me, is that it's mighty rich of Howard to come in and say, "I see a future...the life you can lead, the good you can do" when just a few hours prior (in canon time) he said not to intervene because "the man we knew is gone".

So which is it, Howard? That Bucky is still in there and has always been a good man, or the man is long gone and isn't worth saving?

And I feel like it annoys me because this has been the MCU's approach to Bucky the entire time. This dehumanisation of him, not just from the bad guys, but from the "good" guys too. Remember when Sam said to Steve "he's not the kind you save, he's the kind you stop" and "(he'd do the same for you) in 1943 maybe"? Everyone recognises that Bucky had his humanity stripped away from him, but no one recognises the man underneath is still human and still suffering, and very few people (i.e. only Steve and maybe at a stretch T'Challa) considers that man worth saving. It's utterly vital to note that Howard only called upon Bucky's humanity because it was useful for him in the moment.

God knows why Howard couldn't have just reasoned with him like a normal person and explained they needed Peter to come back and fight against Ego because that was their only chance at defeating the Celestial. Actually, I do know, it's because they want to make Howard (and by extension Peggy) seem like the good people who still cared for Bucky. Except they didn't! They only cared when their own asses were on the line!

It's just such an...upsetting view point to me, that a victim was only worth saving based on how useful they could be, and not based on the fact that they were a victim and needed help; that a victim was only worth saving if they weren't too broken, because it was too much effort to give them a chance to put their humanity back together.

And...I don't know. It just seems like an extraordinarily bleak world view.

[ircn-dad]

Sometimes I think about Tony's life before Iron Man and I just feel bad for that man.

He spent his entire childhoods in a house where he wasn't loved for who he was. His dad didn't payed attention to him and mentally abused him (idk if in the MCU he was physically abused too, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was), his Mother- even if she wasn't bad and was lovely- always tried to justify Howard's action towards him (during the BARF scene we can see an example of her actions). Living in a house like this, where you feel no one is at your side is exhausting. Where everyone expect from you the best, and even if you try it, you won't ever be enough for your parents.

He entered at MIT at only fourteen, so that means (I guess) he never went to school with his peers. At seven years old he enters at the Philips Academy and it's a secondary school. Despite his outgoing behaviour, I don't think a little kid is comfortable around people much older. I don't think he even had real friends before going to MIT because even if he was more mature than his age, I don't believe a lot of teenagers or pre teens were ready to befriend with a kid.

So, no friends at school and not a good relationship with his family. He must have felt lonely for 14 years, and when he goes to MIT he decides to change. He puts a mask on and begins his new behaviour. He starts going to parties, to drink and to act cool around people to be liked and appreciated. I remember reading some fake testimonials that Marvel made to honorate the release of Iron Man 3, testimonials about how some ex students remembered Tony at MIT and two of them said:

“No one really knew him, he was just a rich kid. Everyone wanted him around, though, because he'd always bring something fun for the party.”

“I remember him at after-parties on Thayer Street. He was up later than anyone else. But you could always get a ride home with him, because he always had a car.”

No one knows the real him because that's what he does: he hides him self behind parties, fun and this kind of stuff to just be noticed by someone. Some people might say that he just wants to be at the centre of the attention, and yes that's true and it is a bad thing, but ever wondered why? Imagine being a kid, who has no friends, who's father hates you and you feel like no one will ever love you, until you find a way to be finally appreciated. You found a way to have someone who notices you after years of loneliness. I can't speak for everyone, but I would have done the same thing.

He keeps doing this for years and years. He lost his parents, he lost Jarvis and he has to take responsibility for his father's company at 21. He doesn't want that, he just wants to have fun and to distract him self from the reality because half of his life, at the time, was just empty, with no one taking care of him. So he practically leaves the company to Obadiah and he just spends more than 10 years trying to fill that void.

Why do you think he was a playboy?

Now... I don't know if that could be possible in the MCU, but in the comics he was assaulted at fourteen by a woman who was way older thank him That was the first time ever he was touched by someone like that, and even if he was a genius I wouldn't be too surprised (again) to find out he was taking refuge from his problems in s*x. He probably thought that was love, that the only reason someone could really love him was to make s*x with them and to make them feel pleasured (we could apply this logic even if he wasn't assaulted). I can think of other fictional characters who are Playboys (Barney Stinson from "how I met your mother" for example) in which is heavily implied that the only reason they act that way is because they need to feel loved.

Ten years of doing this, and you think he would be able to recover? Ofc no.

He has Rhodey, He has Pepper, He has Happy (and he has Obadiah but we don't talk about that man in this house), He has moneys, fame, he can finally have fun, he can drink and have all the women he wants. His life seems perfect, but we all know that's a lie.

He has everything, but he still has nothing, as Yinsen said.

And Tony, after being kidnapped for three months knows that. He knows his whole life was empty at that point. He said it him self when Yinsen asked him if he had a family out the cave. He just said no, he thinks no one is waiting for him to come back. For 38 years of his life he had nothing to live for, and even though we know how much his friends cared about him, he's not aware of that because he thinks they care for the mask he created for him self when he was young. At the age of 38, he still thinks no one could ever love the real him, because he doesn't love him self.

That's why I hate when people says he's immature, narcissistic and egocentric. Is he aware he is a genius? Yes. It's not bad to know that, especially when everyone expected him to be one since he was born. But that doesn't mean he's narcissistic. He acts like he's better than everyone else, but in reality he feels like the worst person ever. How can a narcissistic person think how their girlfriend deserves so much better than him? (As he said in Iron man 3). How can someone be egocentric and then puts other's life before him every single time, or when he's one of the few who cared for everyone, and who was ready to sacrifice himself for a world who never loved him? How can people even assume he thinks he's better than everyone when he admits himself he's just a man in a tin can?

If you can't see that during all the movies that he covers him self with an armour- not iron man, an INVISIBLE ARMOUR made of humour, sarcasm and fake self-esteem- to protect him self from further pain, then I suggest you to rewatch the movies.

Tony Stark is one of the most human and well written characters in the MCU, it's sad that not a lot of fans (and almost everyone in the marvel universe as well) can't see that.

[bayzadas]

So I met this person who said "if only his (Tony's) dad was ever actually developed to be actually abusive" and that's bullshit. Howard clearly abused Tony in a lot of ways- emotionally, mentally, physically.

He made Tony drink alcohol when Tony was a literal child, told him he had to be a man. That's how Tony's drinking problem started. Howard forcing a child, his own child, to drink. He told him that drinking will put hair on his chest, and that he had to stop being a sissy. He hit Tony when he saw him playing with toys. He physically abused him for acting his age. Because of Howard, Tony stopped playing with toys. There were only weapons. Tony literally promised him "No toys, just weapons."

In the comics, Howard literally tried to sell Tony to Dracula in exchange of immortality. He died, became a demon and tried to kill his own son in hell. And people are still saying that he tried his best to be a dad and that he failed? My friend, he didn't even try a little. Imagine being that ignorant.

And no, MCU Howard isn't better. Howard literally scarred Tony for his whole life. He didn't let him be a child. He wanted him to be another version of himself. Iron Man 2 tried to show Howard as a good man by making him say "You were my greatest creation" and that was full of shit. First of all, he didn't even try to show Tony that he appreciated him even just a little bit. That man didn't even bothered to tell Tony he loved him even once. And then he recorded himself saying that? You gotta try a little harder if you want your son to think better of you, Howard. Also, saying that your own son is your greatest creation is weird. Tony is his own person. He isn't a machine that Howard made, that man doesn't own him.

Avengers Endgame also tried to make Howard look better and that made me sick. That was awful. Endgame was so bad for that. Tony hugged his abuser, forgave him, and literally thanked him for everything.

Russo brothers, what the hell? What did Tony thank Howard for, exactly? Ignoring him? Starting his drinking problem? Hitting him? Abusing him verbally? Physically? Not letting him be a child for once? Are those the things Tony thanked Howard for?

And don't even get me started on "The kid's not even here yet, and there's nothing I wouldn't do for him." Everything about this sentence is awful. Horrible. Disgusting. Makes me sick. You know why? Because that is a way of saying Tony is the one to blame.

Knowing how Howard treated Tony, this literally means Tony is the one who failed to meet Howard's expectations. Tony's the one who's at fault for the way how Howard abused him. Because he wasn't good enough. Because he wasn't what Howard wanted him to be. If Tony was what Howard expected, Howard wouldn't be so bad with him. But Tony disappointed him, so Howard gave up on him. That's literally what that sentence means. Tony's playing the victim. He's being ungrateful to his dad. Howard's not wrong for the way how he raised Tony, Tony should've known better.

Did you know that Tony, as a fourteen years old child, was so traumatized to the point he built something he called "Stark City"? He built that as an apology to his father. And you know what he was trying to apologize for? Living. He tried to apologize Howard for living and Howard didn't even see it.

Imagine the feeling. Imagine the way how he felt his whole childhood. Abused. Ignored. Depressed. Maybe even suicidal, since he literally regretted being born as a fourteen years old. But yeah, only if Howard was actually developed to be an abusive father.

Fuck you, Russo brothers. Fuck you, Howard apologists.

[irondad-defensesquad]

howard @ little tony: ugh get OUT, tony!!

howard five minutes later to the camera: tony...... you're my greatest creation........ so sorry i couldn't tell you before.......

[imposterogers]

HAPPY 31 YEARS OF NO HOWARD STARK!!

happy death day to a war profiteering n*azi associating piece of fictional shit <3

[axbxlx]

I actually despise Howard's "what is and always will be, my greatest creation is you" like. the absolute complex that can give Tony. the absolute self centered pat on the back and taking credit for anything that Tony Stark achieves bec he's Tony's father that "created him"

the dude neglected and abandoned Tony. He never gave Tony the attention he needed as a child and its very obvious that Tony has internalized so much of the abuse at his fathers hand based on how he reacts to events around him, especially the beginning of Iron Man One

Tony Stark puts so much self worth into his intelligence, that he uses to help people. He's built so much technology to help. The weapons program was built and put in place by *Howard Stark*. it's shown that Tony tried to divert from the weapons manufactury in Iron Man 1 BEFORE getting kidnapped through clean energy but got shot down by Obadiah Stane, who wanted to keep the power structure in place esp to profit off of war and illegal weapons trade

it's OBVIOUS Tony cares about people and he's also self destructive, likely as a result of being neglected by his father. it was probably through destruction he'd get any attention from the man in the first place and coping mechanisms don't just BREAK when you become an adult. the Brain is a Muscle

and what happens, frequently, when Tony gets close to someone? he's repeatedly let down and betrayed, whether literally or through his own perception, aside from Happy and maybe Pepper and Roddie. He's known nothing but pain and rejection and he's frequently trying to help people and its repeatedly shown in the movies people usually only care about him when it comes to his brilliance and intelligence and how he can help save the day with his technology

he doesn't get to be valued as a friend or as a person. he gets to be valued as what he can give to save the day and make the necessary sacrifices for everyone else to go home

Howard doesn't get to call Tony his "greatest creation". He's the reason Tony Stark only feels valued through what he can give people and Tony deserves better than that

[theplaid-wearingmoose]

Rewatching CA:TFA and literally the part with Howard showing the different shield options makes me so fucking mad. You mean to tell me that you have a sliver amount of the rarest goddamn metal in the whole fucking world and you call it just a prototype? So you're just wasting it??? The Starks really are the worst, this is why the Wakandans didn't want anyone else to have Vibranium like wtf 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼

[spacecowboysfrommars]

I’m so so so sick of the MCU being a Howard Stark apologist. Howard is canonically emotionally neglectful and verbally abusive. Every negative aspect of Tony’s personality was developed from his negative relationship with his father (traits he later overcame and become more open with his emotions). Tony was an amazing father to both his kids in spite of his abuse.

I HATE the scene with Howard and Tony in Endgame because instead of giving Tony closure, like the scene was intended to do, they instead decided to make it about Tony ‘realizing’ his abuse wasn’t really abuse compared to his father’s childhood. The entire scene portrays the (disgusting) narrative that the only ‘real’ abuse is physical, which completely neglects every other MCU writer/directed portraying otherwise (Clint’s mother, Odin, etc).

Howard Stark is an abusive, horrible father. The fact that he claims to care for his unborn son to a stranger doesn’t change this. Even if Howard’s intentions were good like the the writers try to claim (which they weren’t), that doesn’t change the years of neglect and abuse that Tony suffered through and that every other adult in his life allowed.

[salty-ironstrange-shipper]

REAL Tony fans love Bucky for killing Howard (aka #1 Tony anti) go off king ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[fotibrit]

young and religious!tony, who asked the pastor if robots can go to heaven. The pastor asked Howard, jokingly, if he’s been teaching the boy more about the family business than about religion.

howard, embarrassed, decides to teach tony a lesson. When they get home, Howard hands tony a baseball bat and tells him to find out if robots go to heaven. He won’t let tony out until he beats apart one of his beloved creations, holds the pieces, and tells Howard that he knows robots don’t go to heaven.

they’re nothing but pieces.

So later, as Peter Parker broke into pieces in Tony’s hands, tony couldn’t help but pray for the first time in a decade.

[gay-jewish-bucky]

im gonna say it: bucky killing howard's nazi-collaborating-ass is poetic justice

[ifandomus]

Toxic Tony stans really have the weirdest logic

Tony stan: *Starts an argument to defend Tony for trying to murder Bucky by using the same arguments they always use*

Me: *Uses the same counterarguments that most of the people in this corner of the fandom uses, including mentioning Howard’s connection to Hydra*

Tony stan: “you are victim blaming!!”

Me: “Howard freely chose to enable hydra, and one of the most obvious outcomes from joining or at least aiding an organization like hydra is being killed. Howard made his horrible choices and did what he wanted without any type of coercion.”

Tony stan: “You are justifying murder! You are sick! And why aren't you blaming Peggy, Steve, and Bucky for it too?

Me: “How is outlining how organizations like hydra operates when it comes to the people working with them justifying murder? Howard deserved prison and other legal punishments, and so did Peggy and colonel Phillips because they committed the same crimes. But why would I blame Steve and Bucky? They were both ‘dead’ when the shield founders started to enable hydra. So how are either of them responsible? Also, didn't this argument start because you are trying to justify Tony attempting to commit murder? Because that is a double standard, and when you add in the context for both of the situations, your arguments becomes even more hypocritical.”

Tony stan: *Doesn't respond*

[peteypiessuperfamily]

Let me tell you. That kid's not even here yet, and there's nothing I wouldn't do for him. Except tell him I love him, spend time with him, not compare him to a dead guy—

[bayzadas]

i wont ever forgive endgame for not only making tony “forgive” his abuser but also making him hug the asshole