Though Iron Man is easily one of the best heroes in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, he isn’t exactly the best moral example. Throughout his entire career in both the comics and films, Tony Stark has made some very questionable decisions.

At times, it would even seem as though he were the villain of the story. While the good he accomplished far outweighed the bad, Tony Stark still made his fair share of bad judgment calls. Looking back at some of his biggest failures, here is our list of 10 morally questionable decisions Iron Man has made in the movies.

Turning Down the Avengers

One thing that was a bit surprising was in Tony’s reaction to the possibility of time travel in Avengers: Endgame (2019). When his former teammates approached him with the concept, Tony was very quick to dismiss it. While he himself came to the conclusion that time travel was impossible, he then turns around and, using the new information he was given, proceeds to invent time travel.

Though Tony has never been the most optimistic of the Avengers, one would think that he would jump at an opportunity to reverse what Thanos had done. Though he thankfully came to his senses shortly thereafter, giving up so quickly is a bit morally ambiguous, especially considering the lives at stake.

Getting Rid of His Armor

At the end of Iron Man 3 (2013), Tony gets rid of all sorts of armor that he had built since he first became Iron Man. Though it is a touching sign of his love for Pepper, it is still a bit of a morally questionable decision. Not only does Tony continue to develop armors after this point, but he doesn’t really seem to trim down his time as Iron Man.

Furthermore, with the millions of dollars of advanced technology that he destroyed in an instant, Tony could have done a lot of good by donating the armor, or using it for other philanthropic purposes. For as touching as his gesture is, the latter films almost make the entire action useless. With all the good that he could have continued to do with those suits, destroying most of them is very questionable from a moral standpoint.

Continuing to Develop Weapons

As explained way back in the original Iron Man (2008) film, Tony Stark used his brilliance to profit by developing highly advanced weaponry. However, after being abducted, Tony swore to use his mind to protect people instead of hurt them. While it is very noble of him, the Iron Man armor is still one of the most powerful weapons in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

While Tony does use the armor to fight bad guys, that is technically what he was developing weapons for initially. Furthermore, Tony has since created all sorts of devastating pieces of equipment that have literally been used against gods. Considering how powerful some of his tech is, it is a bit questionable for him to develop it after swearing to stop making weapons.

Support the Sokovia Accords

One of the most controversial things Tony has ever done was to show support for the Sokovia Accords. In Captain America: Civil War (2016), the accords were proposed in an effort to limit the Avengers’ activity and hold them accountable for their actions. Though not exactly the same as the Superhuman Registration Act from the comics, Tony would come to support both restrictions in both media formats.

While Tony was definitely on the wrong side in the film, he still raised a lot of good points. However, that doesn’t change the fact that he would be restricting himself from helping people. Because of the Accords, many lives could be lost before the Avengers would even be allowed to react. Since a restriction like that goes against what the Avengers stand for, it is easy to see why Tony was morally questionable in this sense.

Drink and Fly

Aside from being Iron Man, Tony Stark is widely known for being an alcoholic. Though his addiction is far worse in the comics, it is still addressed in films like Iron Man 2 (2010). Thankfully, Tony wouldn’t do anything too drastic while in the suit, but his drinking still endangered many people while he was wearing the armor.

As pointed out by Rhodey, Tony’s irresponsible nature was part of the reason the government wanted the suit in the first place. Likewise, in the party scene, Tony endangered many lives while also destroying his home. As someone who is supposed to protect people, he is truly lucky that no one got hurt.

Develop the Hulkbuster Suit

While the Hulk is easily the most unpredictable Avenger, the fact that Tony designed a suit that could potentially kill his friend is a bit morally ambiguous. Despite the damage that Hulk has done on some of his rampages, Tony’s Hulkbuster armor raises a lot of questions as to Hulk’s place on the team.

Considering how the Hulkbuster armor is intended to overpower and subdue Banner, it could potentially be used to kill him as well. Furthermore, the fact that Tony built it in the first place shows a significant lack of trust for his teammate. Though he certainly had a number of good reasons for assembling the armor, it isn’t the best moral decision he could have made.

Fighting Bucky

If supporting the Sokovia Accords wasn’t ambiguous enough, Tony would then go on to fight Bucky Barnes, Captain America’s oldest friend. Granted, Tony did just learn that Bucky was the man responsible for his parent’s deaths. However, as horrific as that was to learn, Tony should have still realized that Bucky wasn’t truly responsible.

Knowing about Cap’s past as well as his experiences following The Winter Soldier (2014) should have led Tony to act a bit more rationally. While it is fully understandable considering his emotions in that moment, acting out the way he did is a very poor and morally questionable decision.

Fighting Cap

Following his attack on Bucky, Tony and cap began to battle things out themselves. Again, though he had a fairly good reason for fighting his friend, Captain America is typically depicted as the ultimate moral example. Typically, going against Captain America in almost any way means that you’re on the wrong side.

Though that hasn’t always been the case, Tony certainly was in this regard. Not only was he attacking his friend, but he did so very impulsively, even though he showed up to try and make amends. No matter how you look at it, it is very hard to see Tony as the good guy in this scenario.

Bringing Peter In

Bringing Peter Parker into the fold of Civil War is one of the most hypocritical and morally questionable things Tony has ever done in the MCU. Despite showing an intense devotion to the Sokovia Accords, Tony impulsively brings Peter in. While it was very exciting to see Spider-Man alongside other MCU characters, Peter himself was a 16 year old at the time.

Not only did Tony throw him in without clearance or permission of any kind, but he endangered an underage kid. However desperate Tony was to win, bringing Peter in at this point was easily one of the most morally questionable things he’s ever done.

Creating Ultron

Though he had the best intentions at the time, creating Ultron is likely the worst thing that the MCU’s Tony Stark has ever done. While Tony intended for Ultron to be a force for good, his very concept is a bit morally ambiguous as well. Giving an A.I. so much power and intelligence was practically guaranteed to have negative consequences.

Even though Ultron was intended for security purposes, he became one of the Avengers’ greatest foes. Likewise, Ultron’s very existence can easily be argued as one of the greatest violations of privacy imaginable. Though he wasn’t created to be evil, Ultron is still one of the most morally ambiguous things Tony Stark has ever made.