Answer to my own question
I just thought this would be easier than dropping a comment in among the comments...
(How old is Tony supposed to be, anyway?)
One of the things I thought I saw was Tony's tendency to brush Obadiah off. There may be deference in it. That wasn't what I saw. I saw Tony with his own agenda, presenting things as a fait accompli without consulting anyone. He doesn't call Obie for assistance with the arc reactor. Admittedly, Pepper was in the house, but he said to her, "I don't have anyone else," and that effectively cuts Obadiah out of the closeness bracket, doesn't it?
In fact, I got the impression that Tony was just slightly contemptuous of Obadiah. More because he didn't think Obadiah could understand what Tony had in mind--Tony's always been the smartest person in the group, and that, I think, makes him a little patronizing to those who aren't as smart as he is.
I didn't see Obadiah's arm around Tony as creepy, just--patronizing. Tony's always the kid. Tony's supposed to come up with the ideas, Obadiah's supposed to do the boring stuff of running the company day-to-day. (It must have really fried him when Howard died and he found out that the whole enchilada was in the kid's lap after he hit twenty-one.) And I think that patronizing air irritates Tony, so for all the trust and the belief in Obadiah's good will, Tony doesn't tell his Dutch-uncle everything.
And when Tony's deciding to make the armor, he doesn't tell Obadiah what he's doing. He tries to tell Rhodey, but Rhodey's not interested. He doesn't tell Pepper--and I'm not sure whether that's because he doesn't think she'd be interested or he doesn't think she'd understand or he doesn't think it's necessary for her to know.
I think I'm starting to confuse myself. I'm going to shut up.
(How old is Tony supposed to be, anyway?)
One of the things I thought I saw was Tony's tendency to brush Obadiah off. There may be deference in it. That wasn't what I saw. I saw Tony with his own agenda, presenting things as a fait accompli without consulting anyone. He doesn't call Obie for assistance with the arc reactor. Admittedly, Pepper was in the house, but he said to her, "I don't have anyone else," and that effectively cuts Obadiah out of the closeness bracket, doesn't it?
In fact, I got the impression that Tony was just slightly contemptuous of Obadiah. More because he didn't think Obadiah could understand what Tony had in mind--Tony's always been the smartest person in the group, and that, I think, makes him a little patronizing to those who aren't as smart as he is.
I didn't see Obadiah's arm around Tony as creepy, just--patronizing. Tony's always the kid. Tony's supposed to come up with the ideas, Obadiah's supposed to do the boring stuff of running the company day-to-day. (It must have really fried him when Howard died and he found out that the whole enchilada was in the kid's lap after he hit twenty-one.) And I think that patronizing air irritates Tony, so for all the trust and the belief in Obadiah's good will, Tony doesn't tell his Dutch-uncle everything.
And when Tony's deciding to make the armor, he doesn't tell Obadiah what he's doing. He tries to tell Rhodey, but Rhodey's not interested. He doesn't tell Pepper--and I'm not sure whether that's because he doesn't think she'd be interested or he doesn't think she'd understand or he doesn't think it's necessary for her to know.
I think I'm starting to confuse myself. I'm going to shut up.