University of Panels

10: Iron Man

(Anthony "Tony" Stark)

 

While I haven't read that many Iron Man comics (I definetly need to in the future though), I absolutely enjoyed his character in the Robert Downey Jr. films! Unlike most heroes, Tony Stark would be the last person one would percieve as heroic. He drinks, sleeps with random women, and is all around a billionare playboy. Despite him being irresponsible, Stark is a man determined to protect the world from weapons. As the owner of the weapons manufacturing Stark Idustries, he was captured by terrorists who demanded him to build them a weapon of mass destruction, and ended up with shrapnel lodged in his heart in the process. Instead, he built a suit of  armor to keep the shrapnel from fully reaching his heart, and used it to escape his captors. Changed by the experience, Stark has since shutdown the development of weapons in his company, and uses the Iron Man armor to protect and serve the community. Though still retaining some of his previous irresponsible tendencies, Stark is determined to prevent the misuse of technology when it falls in the wrong hands.