Smile It Won't Suck Forever

one-piece-of-harry:

starkravinghazelnuts:

fandom-rants:

FOR THE FINAL TIME, TONY IS NOT A WAR PROFITEER.

HIS FINANCIAL GAINS ARE VALID AND REASONABLE FOR THE MERCHANDISE SOLD.

HE DOESN’T FUCK OVER HIS FELLOW COUNTRYMEN FOR PROFIT.

HE DOESN’T SELL TO OPPOSING FACTIONS. (OBADIAH DID THAT, AND TONY SHUT HIM DOWN.)

H E  I S  N O T  A  W A R  P R O F I T E E R

I agree that he doesn’t fit the strict definition of a war profiteer, but he still embodied the spirit of it. He didn’t blink when he heard one of his nicknames was the “Merchant of Death.” While he honestly believed he was selling to only the US Military, and his weapons were “protecting” American troops, he was still manufacturing incredibly lethal and dangerous weapons, which destroyed many lives (including the lives of Ho Yinsen’s family and the Maximoffs). He turned a blind eye to it; and, by his own admission, was “comfortable” with zero accountability. His naivety, ignorance, and general sloppiness as a CEO led to Obadiah Stane having the means to deal under the table (and ultimately that does fall under Tony’s purview).

What matters is Tony took responsibility even though the actions weren’t his own, worked to fix what damage had been done with the weapons he created, and turned his company (and life) around once his naivety was blown apart (literally!).

So, yeah, Tony wasn’t a textbook war profiteer, but it’s really not a stretch to call his past self one, and in the context of the MCU, Tony himself considered his role that of a war profiteer.

Why I’m saying this is I don’t think it hurts Tony as a character to refer to him in these terms. A lot of the characters have terrible pasts they wish to atone for; and many of them have become better people. Tony is no exception. Hell, Natasha, Clint, Gamora, and Nebula were assassins. Brunnhilde (aka Valkyrie) was a slaver. Bruce was a self-aggrandizing scientist. Wanda unwittingly worked for HYDRA. Thor was a genocidal douchebag.

The problem is when people continue to refer to him as a war profiteer, completely neglecting his character development and transformative journey. Just as it’s wrong to pigeonhole any of these characters for how they used to be when their stories began.

Oh yeah I’m sure op was talking about the gross “he’s a gross white war profiteer lol and you’re a racist for stanning him” like, that kinda flippant dickishness BUT tony being a war profiteer really helps his character. He’s the antithesis to people who embody the definition posted above aka stane, hammer, Killian and works as a means for creators to push the message that the war industry is ALWAYS going to be inherently evil, even if one of the men involved is good (tony).

Yeah, so completely 100% good post op because those people saying that kinda shit are mean and gross bullies but the addition is very good too.