At a time when most Gotham citizens who can afford to are finding a way out of the city, there are still those who choose to move in. Maybe not the wisest of decisions. Impulsive, even. About par for the course when the man in question is Tony Stark.
For a several months a construction project has been putting up another skyscraper in Gotham's towering downtown, adding to the sharp and spiked Gotham skyline. What's completed is shining and bright in tones of chrome and brushed aluminum and made up largely of massive windows in one-way mirrored glass with a blue hue to keep it from being totally blinding when the sun hits it. Rather than the usual rectangular structure of such buildings, the tower looks more like three spokes off of a central hub. A triangle which has it's sides pinched in or an incomplete astrix. Simultaneously organic in appearance and decidedly..not.
For a while, since the exterior began being put in place, there has been speculation over the purpose and ownership of the building. The only signs around it only indicated the companies contracted for the construction. Now, however, large "Stark Industries" signs have gone up on each side of the surrounding fence. Local media were quick to make a story out of it and, within the same day, Tony Stark himself called a local press conference to answer questions.
Mr. Stark has chosen to establish an East coast extension of his business, feeling it's too limiting to have the single factory and development center. Most work in Gotham, for the time being, will be in the areas of concept development and marketing.
"I could go into more detail, but this is already getting boring. Contacting our HR department should get you more information than I'm qualified to ramble about."
He's asked if rumors of his moving to Gotham to run the new branch are true.
"Yes. Well...Partially. I'm staying here now and having a penthouse built into the tower. I don't know if I'll live here full time, though. My blood's too thin for this kind of cold. I've been spoiled by Southern California's absence of seasons. Looks like I'll be toughing out one winter in Gotham, though."
When asked if the criminal element in Gotham played a part in his decision to keep his primary residence in Malibu, Tony laughs. "No. I'm sorry, I'm not making light of anyone's loss, I'm just not intimidated by the city's violent minority. If anything, that's part of why I'm here. The brave and resolute citizens who love this city and stay here, despite the dangers, deserve as much support as they can get, don't they? I can't go around personally beating up Gotham's criminals like your Batman, but --less useful as I may be-- I can bring more jobs and an economic boost to the city and bring attention to the problems here. .... Or maybe my friends are right and I just like living dangerously."
"Are we done here? I'm done. Thanks for coming and any further questions can be answered by Stark Industry CEO, Pepper Potts. Pepper?"
And he leaves the redheaded woman at the dais to field the remaining questions and close out the conference. Somehow, being promoted from personal assistant to CEO of Stark Industries still leaves Pepper with the job of cleaning up after Tony on a regular basis. She isn't happy about being sent back to California to oversee business there while Tony is in Gotham. She's terrified he's going to get in trouble with no one watching him. As indestructible as he might feel, Gotham is dangerous, and she doubts charm will be enough to keep him safe.