identity play and self-worth in Iron Man
I've wanted to write this post for a few days now, but I was determined not to post meta that could potentially generate long replies until I was caught up on my comment replies. Having just finished catching up on comment replies, I finally feel able to indulge in some meta. :-)
As some of you know, I've been (very) slowly working my way through the Iron Man back canon. I've just finished #77 (volume one), which came out in August of 1975, and I've noticed something really interesting in the 70's issues: there's identity play.
Identity play, in case anyone out there isn't familiar with the term, is a phrase used to describe writing (in fic or in canon) in which the author explores what it means to have two (or more) identities and what repercussions having multiple identities can have. Identity play is relatively common in Superman and Batman fandom: Who is Clark Kent vs. Who is Superman? Is Bruce Wayne the "real" person, or is Batman? Or is there an amalgamation of the two who is more "real"? That sort of thing.
Up until now, I hadn't seen much, if any, identity play for Iron Man. It makes sense; secret identities are very important, although not necessarily essential, to identity play, and in current canon everyone knows that Tony Stark is Iron Man. Even before current canon, his identity had been revealed and made secret and shared by so many people (i.e., the many, many Avengers) that it's been a long time since it really felt like his identity was any secret at all.
Nor did identity play seem to crop up in the 1960's canon much. The focus was all on the action and the villain-of-the-issue and not so much on characterization, although there was a bit of romance and associated minor identity play ("But how would she feel if she knew Tony Stark and Iron Man are one and the same?!?").
But as I got into the 70's, I started seeing more characterization and some real identity play. I don't know if this is a change in style/approach or if it just developed then because they'd finally built up enough depth of back canon to make it work, but for the purposes of this discussion it doesn't really matter.
The identity play crops up mostly in relation to Tony's love interests, but where it really seems to kick into gear is when Happy reveals to Pepper that Tony is Iron Man in an attempt to derail what Happy fears are deepening feelings on Pepper's part toward Tony (#65). Pepper summarizes the building theme: "Tony's warm-- while Iron Man's cold! Tony's close-- while Iron Man's distant! Tony's open-- while Iron Man's encased in steel!" and "T-Tony--? That callous, iron-clad adventurer?"
But what really made me sit up and take notice was this line from #73: "Believe me, Pepper. It makes me feel schizophrenic sometimes... Then again, there's always the thought that I am two different personalities...who knows?"
It's said very nearly casually, but it damn near made my eyes roll out of my head. It was so dismissive! But after I finished goggling at the fact that Tony could be that flip about something that's potentially a mental health issue, I thought about how that line made it obvious that the division between Iron Man and Tony Stark isn't just one of outside perception; Tony obviously feels it pretty strongly himself.
It's interesting to think about. I've always previously thought of his actions as Iron Man kind of propping up his fragile sense of self worth, but consider: In his moment of greatest weakness and helplessness, when his heart was originally injured, Tony created another "personality" to be strong for him. For years he's dependent on "Iron Man" to live. He never really gets to take the chestplate off and be wholly Tony Stark. Under his clothes--under his surfance--Iron Man is always there. Tony Stark is weak and Iron Man is strong and that's the way it is. His sense of strength and of self worth gets deeply attached to the Iron Man identity.
So if his dual identities start to make him feel as if Iron Man is another personality, then Iron Man takes all of Tony Stark's self-worth and strength with him. What, then, is left for Tony Stark?
In these early issues, on the occasions when, for one reason or another, he is able to do without the chest plate Tony often describes it as liberating. He feels like now he can have a real life, a real romance, now that his heart--his weakness--has been cured.
But he always ends up going back to being Iron Man. Iron Man is always stronger, in the end.
The drinking arc is about a hundred issues in the future of the period of time I'm reading now, but I nevertheless read it awhile ago and these issues of identity and self worth bring it back to mind. After Tony drags himself out of the bottle and moves to the west coast you can see a very real, gradual recovery in the character. He's learning who he is again. He often describes being Iron Man as a weight that was dragging him down, that contributed to his descent into alcoholism. I didn't really understand that, before, but reading these 1970's issues, I feel like I understand. Even if this isn't quite what Tony was referring to (there are, after all, about 100 issues between the 70's and the beginning of the drinking arc), it fits: if Iron Man is the locus of all self worth and strength, and if Iron Man is a seperate personality from Tony Stark, then it must be damn hard to be Tony Stark at all.
I wonder, now, if becoming Iron Man after Tony sobered up and started getting his life under control was mentally and emotionally healthy for him. I feel like he might have really conquered his self worth issues. He had, after all, just managed a major triumph of strength of character in getting off the booze and starting a new life for himself, and he did it as Tony Stark and no one else.
But despite Tony's protests and resistance and unwillingness, Iron Man takes over his life again. (Tangentially, I have some issues with Hawkeye in this development. Tony tries desperately to explain that being Iron Man isn't good for him, mentally and emotionally, and Clint just schemes to suck him back into being Iron Man. I don't think Clint was being deliberately destructive for anything. I think he just genuinely didn't understand how being Iron Man--a hero, from his POV--could be bad for Tony. But his lack of understanding and his apparent unwillingness to listen still frustrated me.) It's rather interesting that it is anger and the desire for vengeance that does pull Tony back into being Iron Man, rather than altruism.
All the rambling is essentially just exploring the idea of whether or not it's actually good for Tony Stark, from a mental and emotional perspective, to be Iron Man. Put aside for the moment the benefits to other people/humanity/the world--it is healthy for Tony Stark to have this other life? Could he ever give it up? If he ever really learned to cope with his self worth issues and maybe resolve them, at least partially, would giving up Iron Man be a natural outcome? Or would the healthier outcome be for him to merge the two "personalities"? If yes, is publicly and permanently acknowledging that he is both Tony Stark and Iron Man a necessary step towards that merge?
Just a few of the questions that have been burbling around in my brain lately, thanks to the 1970's issues.
As some of you know, I've been (very) slowly working my way through the Iron Man back canon. I've just finished #77 (volume one), which came out in August of 1975, and I've noticed something really interesting in the 70's issues: there's identity play.
Identity play, in case anyone out there isn't familiar with the term, is a phrase used to describe writing (in fic or in canon) in which the author explores what it means to have two (or more) identities and what repercussions having multiple identities can have. Identity play is relatively common in Superman and Batman fandom: Who is Clark Kent vs. Who is Superman? Is Bruce Wayne the "real" person, or is Batman? Or is there an amalgamation of the two who is more "real"? That sort of thing.
Up until now, I hadn't seen much, if any, identity play for Iron Man. It makes sense; secret identities are very important, although not necessarily essential, to identity play, and in current canon everyone knows that Tony Stark is Iron Man. Even before current canon, his identity had been revealed and made secret and shared by so many people (i.e., the many, many Avengers) that it's been a long time since it really felt like his identity was any secret at all.
Nor did identity play seem to crop up in the 1960's canon much. The focus was all on the action and the villain-of-the-issue and not so much on characterization, although there was a bit of romance and associated minor identity play ("But how would she feel if she knew Tony Stark and Iron Man are one and the same?!?").
But as I got into the 70's, I started seeing more characterization and some real identity play. I don't know if this is a change in style/approach or if it just developed then because they'd finally built up enough depth of back canon to make it work, but for the purposes of this discussion it doesn't really matter.
The identity play crops up mostly in relation to Tony's love interests, but where it really seems to kick into gear is when Happy reveals to Pepper that Tony is Iron Man in an attempt to derail what Happy fears are deepening feelings on Pepper's part toward Tony (#65). Pepper summarizes the building theme: "Tony's warm-- while Iron Man's cold! Tony's close-- while Iron Man's distant! Tony's open-- while Iron Man's encased in steel!" and "T-Tony--? That callous, iron-clad adventurer?"
But what really made me sit up and take notice was this line from #73: "Believe me, Pepper. It makes me feel schizophrenic sometimes... Then again, there's always the thought that I am two different personalities...who knows?"
It's said very nearly casually, but it damn near made my eyes roll out of my head. It was so dismissive! But after I finished goggling at the fact that Tony could be that flip about something that's potentially a mental health issue, I thought about how that line made it obvious that the division between Iron Man and Tony Stark isn't just one of outside perception; Tony obviously feels it pretty strongly himself.
It's interesting to think about. I've always previously thought of his actions as Iron Man kind of propping up his fragile sense of self worth, but consider: In his moment of greatest weakness and helplessness, when his heart was originally injured, Tony created another "personality" to be strong for him. For years he's dependent on "Iron Man" to live. He never really gets to take the chestplate off and be wholly Tony Stark. Under his clothes--under his surfance--Iron Man is always there. Tony Stark is weak and Iron Man is strong and that's the way it is. His sense of strength and of self worth gets deeply attached to the Iron Man identity.
So if his dual identities start to make him feel as if Iron Man is another personality, then Iron Man takes all of Tony Stark's self-worth and strength with him. What, then, is left for Tony Stark?
In these early issues, on the occasions when, for one reason or another, he is able to do without the chest plate Tony often describes it as liberating. He feels like now he can have a real life, a real romance, now that his heart--his weakness--has been cured.
But he always ends up going back to being Iron Man. Iron Man is always stronger, in the end.
The drinking arc is about a hundred issues in the future of the period of time I'm reading now, but I nevertheless read it awhile ago and these issues of identity and self worth bring it back to mind. After Tony drags himself out of the bottle and moves to the west coast you can see a very real, gradual recovery in the character. He's learning who he is again. He often describes being Iron Man as a weight that was dragging him down, that contributed to his descent into alcoholism. I didn't really understand that, before, but reading these 1970's issues, I feel like I understand. Even if this isn't quite what Tony was referring to (there are, after all, about 100 issues between the 70's and the beginning of the drinking arc), it fits: if Iron Man is the locus of all self worth and strength, and if Iron Man is a seperate personality from Tony Stark, then it must be damn hard to be Tony Stark at all.
I wonder, now, if becoming Iron Man after Tony sobered up and started getting his life under control was mentally and emotionally healthy for him. I feel like he might have really conquered his self worth issues. He had, after all, just managed a major triumph of strength of character in getting off the booze and starting a new life for himself, and he did it as Tony Stark and no one else.
But despite Tony's protests and resistance and unwillingness, Iron Man takes over his life again. (Tangentially, I have some issues with Hawkeye in this development. Tony tries desperately to explain that being Iron Man isn't good for him, mentally and emotionally, and Clint just schemes to suck him back into being Iron Man. I don't think Clint was being deliberately destructive for anything. I think he just genuinely didn't understand how being Iron Man--a hero, from his POV--could be bad for Tony. But his lack of understanding and his apparent unwillingness to listen still frustrated me.) It's rather interesting that it is anger and the desire for vengeance that does pull Tony back into being Iron Man, rather than altruism.
All the rambling is essentially just exploring the idea of whether or not it's actually good for Tony Stark, from a mental and emotional perspective, to be Iron Man. Put aside for the moment the benefits to other people/humanity/the world--it is healthy for Tony Stark to have this other life? Could he ever give it up? If he ever really learned to cope with his self worth issues and maybe resolve them, at least partially, would giving up Iron Man be a natural outcome? Or would the healthier outcome be for him to merge the two "personalities"? If yes, is publicly and permanently acknowledging that he is both Tony Stark and Iron Man a necessary step towards that merge?
Just a few of the questions that have been burbling around in my brain lately, thanks to the 1970's issues.