idek
I think my most hated character arc for Tony Stark is, "Tony Learns How To Be A Good Bourgeois Boy," where becoming (upper) middle class in terms of outlook, means becoming normal.
I kind of don't have the energy to fully expand on this idea right now, but the logic seems to be that taking on bourgeois mannerisms and behaviours means becoming a better, more normal person. ie. better living through dish washing, and no longer jet setting but staying home for family time with the team. It's not that I think that Tony's lifestyle is admirable, but that acting out a bourgeois lifestyle when you're one of the richest men in the world, is a bit gross, and could only ever be that--acting. I think Tony is most interesting as an Avenger, when you maintain the distance imposed by class, and influence. It creates a wonderful constant tension.
(Second most hated: Tony leads an unhealthy lifestyle. Let's force him to become a better person by hiding the coffee and forcing him to sleep!)
Just, Tony inhabits a particular super rich bubble, midway between Silicon Valley and New England old money, by way of the military industrial complex. His values and lifestyle are bit wonky even for the super rich. I'm far more interested in seeing how he can figure out to do good, without pretending to be something he isn't. Which is something that, by and large, the comics do well--Tony leverages those incredible (monetary, industrial, social, personal) resources to try to make the world a better place. Very often not successfully, but hey, storytime fun.
Alternate: http://schmevil.dreamwidth.org/313431.html.
comments
I kind of don't have the energy to fully expand on this idea right now, but the logic seems to be that taking on bourgeois mannerisms and behaviours means becoming a better, more normal person. ie. better living through dish washing, and no longer jet setting but staying home for family time with the team. It's not that I think that Tony's lifestyle is admirable, but that acting out a bourgeois lifestyle when you're one of the richest men in the world, is a bit gross, and could only ever be that--acting. I think Tony is most interesting as an Avenger, when you maintain the distance imposed by class, and influence. It creates a wonderful constant tension.
(Second most hated: Tony leads an unhealthy lifestyle. Let's force him to become a better person by hiding the coffee and forcing him to sleep!)
Just, Tony inhabits a particular super rich bubble, midway between Silicon Valley and New England old money, by way of the military industrial complex. His values and lifestyle are bit wonky even for the super rich. I'm far more interested in seeing how he can figure out to do good, without pretending to be something he isn't. Which is something that, by and large, the comics do well--Tony leverages those incredible (monetary, industrial, social, personal) resources to try to make the world a better place. Very often not successfully, but hey, storytime fun.
Alternate: http://schmevil.dreamwidth.org/313431.html.
comments