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[b]Ultimate One Universe: Year One [/b]

[color=#2a73b2][b]Character: [/b][/color]  Tony Stark // Iron Man

[color=#2a73b2][b]Powers And Abilities:[/b] [/color]

[color=#2a73b2] [i]— Genius:[/i][/color] Tony may be a lot of things, but no one will argue the fact that he’s brilliant. As far as technology goes, there’s literally almost nothing that the man can’t build or even fix, given enough time and the right tools. From a young age Tony was blessed with a quick mind and the heart of an inventor -- always wanting to challenge the status quo of the world and make it better. Admitted to MIT’s (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) undergraduate program for electrical engineering at just the age of 15, Tony went on to complete two master’s degrees before he hit the age of 20, and then earn his PhD in physics and electrical engineering. 

[color=#2a73b2][i]— Money: [/i][/color] Billions. No, literally. Tony Stark's bank account has more zeros than any single person has a right to have. This obscene fortune allows him to effortlessly fund any projects that happen to interest him, as well as pursue his own hobbies at his leisure. (Women. Parties. Expensive cars. And, of course, technology.) After Tony’s abduction in Afghanistan, he closed the weapons division of Stark Industries, the company he had inherited upon the death of his parents, and announced the company would be moving in a different direction — no longer comfortable profiting from making weapons (as his father had before him), Tony chose to focus the company on creating technology that could potentially improve the world, rather than simply destroy it. While the stock for Stark Industries initially took a hit with this change, profits have begun to rise again as new products and inventions have begun to roll off the assembly line. As far as anyone can tell, Stark Industries has a bright future ahead of it, which means Tony should be financially set for life, barring any terrible misfortunes.

[color=#2a73b2][i]— Arc Reactor in Chest:[/i] [/color] Sure, it looks sort of cool to have a glowing circle of light in the center of your chest, but the arc reactor residing there on Tony is a functional necessity. After sustaining a life-threatening injury during his stint in Afghanistan, Tony was able to retrofit some existing technology into a means of prolonging his life. Shrapnel — [i]inoperable and deadly[/i] — was threatening to pierce his heart. With the help of a fellow hostage, who was luckily a very talented doctor, Stark managed a way of magnetically repelling the shrapnel away from his vital organs. As it turned out, the power of the magnetic field generator in his chest not only saved his life, it provided the key to unlocking the future of who he would become...

[color=#2a73b2][i]— Iron Man Suit:[/i] [/color]The suit. At first, a very clunky design made out of scraps, odds and ends, and sheets of metal that Stark was able to cobble together under harsh working circumstances. A design necessary to facilitate his escape from his captors, taking them down with a strength they simply could not match. Upon his arrival back home in New York City, designing a better version of the metal suit became an obsession. Tony sometimes stayed up for days at a time, refusing to quit or even eat until he had perfected the mechanisms he was tinkering with. Many months passed before a workable prototype was finally ready for testing. With his latest A.I. installed, J.A.R.V.I.S., there was nothing left but to put the suit on and see what it was capable of. Sure, there were some bugs, which JARVIS dutifully catalogued for Tony, so that he could continue to refine the design after each test, but Mark II was significantly more refined than the Mark I suit had been — it was sleek, maneuverable, and (dare he say it?) downright sexy by comparison. While it still needed some tweaking, Tony could now take it out for a spin at his discretion — rocketing through the skies with speeds only matched by military jets and, if the situation arose, perhaps do some good with it... After all, a virtually impenetrable metal suit that housed advanced weaponry and created superhuman strength was certainly a force to be reckoned with. And, it could be said, in this time when rumors of heroes beginning to rise were running rampant, perhaps it appealed to his (massive) ego that he could be one of them. [i]Perhaps.[/i]


[color=#2a73b2][b]Origin And Backstory: [/b][/color]

Born into privilege, Anthony ’Tony’ Edward Stark never really wanted for anything. He attended the best schools and, due to his high intelligence level, he easily mastered anything that was thrown at him. At the early age of 15, Tony was accepted to the undergraduate electrical engineering program at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) where he managed to complete two master’s degrees before the age of 20. While earning his PhD in physics and electrical engineering, Tony’s parents were killed in an automobile accident. While the details around their ‘accident’ were highly suspicious, no one was ever able to put forward enough evidence to point the finger at anyone specifically, so the case ultimately was closed. Somewhat bereft by the sudden loss, but not wanting to show weakness, Tony Stark squared his shoulders and took on the mantle of CEO of his family company, Stark Industries, filling the void left by the the death of his family with any manner of distraction he could manage to turn up — parties, alcohol, women, fancy cars, vacation homes, and traveling to every exotic location that could possibly be thought of. As a result, the young man’s reputation began to grow into something of ridiculous proportion, especially in the media -- the paparazzi never turned down the chance of headlining a story featuring one of New York City’s favorite (a.k.a richest) and most eligible bachelors. More interested in entertaining himself than running a company, Tony largely left the details of work to his dutiful assistant, Pepper Pots, and the various board members of Stark Industries — he was well-supplied with money to keep up his questionable habits, so the company was comfortably relegated to his back burners. Everything worked fine with the company and so he was quite happy to be the face of things (i.e. do ribbon cutting ceremonies, attend noteworthy demonstrations, and meet with high-profile clients), but leave the boring aspects to others better suited for jobs Tony considered to be ‘boring’. (Basically, anything not directly worthy of his brilliant mind or anything that might interfere with his penchant for living it up.)

Stark Industries, even as Tony inherited it, was known world wide for their weapon manufacturing — their competition for production was staggering, but Howard Stark, Tony’s father, had always seemed to have a leg up his competitors. Much like his son, Howard was a brilliant engineer and designer. He strove to be the best, and he easily accomplished it in ways that made his would-be rivals envious. It was while attending a weapon’s hardware demonstration near Afghanistan that Tony, now the notorious playboy CEO of Stark Industries, was taken hostage by a terrorist faction known as the Ten Rings. The contingent of American soldiers that had been accompanying him were brutally slaughtered and Tony the only one to (barely) survive the attack, just as the terrorists planned. They kept Stark alive for a single reason — they wanted him to create a high-tech missile that they could use to inflict their hatred upon anyone who did not share their world vision. Clearly they were aware of the exceptional mind that their hostage had and they were damn sure going to take advantage of it. 

Unintentionally injured during the skirmish that the Ten Rings had created to capture him, Tony was near death, so the commander of the terrorist organization ordered another hostage of theirs, a doctor, to save Tony’s life. Complying, the doctor was able to remove the majority of shrapnel that threatened to slice apart Tony’s insides, but there were several shards that were lodged so crucially that removing them would mean instant death. Instead, a way was ultimately devised of using a magnetic field placed in Tony’s chest cavity that would repel the remaining shrapnel away from his vital organs. (Mainly his heart.) Back on his feet, the Ten Rings demanded Tony be put to work building their weapon. Fortunately for Tony, his knowledge and mechanical brilliance allowed him to instead construct a machine that could be used against his captors and allow him to escape - an iron suit, loaded with weapons and other surprises, which he built right under the terrorist’s noses. This suit would be the first of many, though Tony Stark had no idea at the time… it was simply the means to an end.

Once free and back in New York, Tony shied away from the publicity that was hounding him even more than usual. Everyone wanted to hear how he escaped his kidnappers. Everyone wanted his picture and to commend his bravery. Everyone wanted to bother him, but for once, Tony wasn’t interested. Usually more than happy to flash a smile for the press or provide them with just enough titilating details on how his dating life was going, he became somewhat of a recluse. It was in this confinement (to Stark Tower in midtown Manhattan) that the notion of designing another suit began to itch in his brain. The little itch eventually sparked a fire, which quickly turned into an obsession. Day and night for several months, Tony hid away in his workshop. He welded and tinkered, programmed, and finally refined his way to a working prototype — the Mark II. The design was much more sleek than the rudimentary suit he had created in Afghanistan. High tech. Fast. Strong. (And damn sexy, if you asked him.) Initial tests were performed in his workshop, but eventually there was nothing left to do but try the suit out in the real world. Equipped with J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony's latest custom A.I. interface, the suit was capable of rocket-fast flight, taking hits from virtually anything (short of a direct nuclear blast) and withstanding the damage. Oh, sure, it had a weapons system of its own, but that wasn’t his purpose in building the suit. After all, his family had built enough weapons throughout history — this suit would be for protection. Something to help ensure peace, not facilitate war. And, with rumors running rampant of heroes beginning to rise, that old ego of his sparked — why not try to save the world? In a suit like this, he felt like he could at least positively contribute to society… Maybe it was time to re-think what Stark Industries stood for as a whole. There was so much more that he could do than simply waste his life hopping from one party to another, drifting through an endless cycle of flimsy relationships and even less stable stints of sobriety…  There were more important things and, for the first time in a long time, his mind was open to the possibilities.  


[color=#2a73b2][b]What Makes This Character 'Ultimate’?:[/b] [/color]

Tony Stark is largely the same personality-wise in most incarnations of his character and we all know his basic origin story, but no one ever really focuses much on the details of his transition into becoming Iron Man. I think it would be interesting to explore him as a person and how his capture in Afghanistan changed him, which is something I feel like is always quickly glossed over in favor of going straight into him being Iron Man. I want to work in that gap and flesh out who he is as a person and a man, living in his unique circumstances (abundant riches, fame, and being brilliant) and how he handles any inner demons he may have going forward. I think it will be interesting to see how any friendships or even disagreements with other characters from this emerging hero’s universe shape the hero he aims to become.


[color=#2a73b2][b]Supporting Characters:[/b] [/color]

[color=#2a73b2][i]— Pepper Pots:[/i][/color] Tony’s personal assistant. She acts as his general liaison to Stark Industries and carries out any business (or personal) tasks that Tony happens to place in her proverbial hands. Reliable... Smart... Pretty... A real go-to kind of gal, but Tony generally just takes her for granted and lets her handle anything he doesn’t feel like dealing with. Sometimes this is delivering important company info, usually it’s arranging his social calendar and making sure his dry-cleaning gets picked up. Pepper is pretty convinced that her boss couldn’t tie his shoes without her and Tony never does anything to contradict this assumption. Perfect working relationship, as far as he’s concerned.

[color=#2a73b2][i]— "Happy" Hogan:[/i][/color] Tony’s bodyguard. (And chauffeur.) An all around 'good guy' and very loyal to his boss, Tony Stark. Usually a silent presence, just hanging around and doing his job - protecting Tony. 


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[color=#2a73b2][b][u]Stark Tower[/u][/b] [/color]
[i]Tony Stark -- alone[/i]
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“JARVIS,” called out a voice suddenly, breaking the silence of the room. “Read me back the event log from from that last round.”

“Certainly, Sir,” replied a cool British tone. “Errors in sections 64, 73, and 109. Alignment problem in subsection G, with possible coding conflict in the propulsion system. There also appears to be a glitch in communication between the core section and the power supply. Shall I run further diagnostics?”

“Shit,” Tony mumbled, wiping his greasy hand on a nearby rag. “Yeah, run diagnostics with a focus on the power coupler between sections B and C. We’re no good if the power supply isn’t getting through."

“Of course, Sir.”

Tony Stark passed the now clean hand wearily over his face, annoyed with the latest round of problems that were cropping up. 

[i]How long had he been awake now? Two days? Three?[/i] 

Honestly, who knew at this point?

The stale, half-eaten pizza fermenting on the far side of his desk felt like the only thing that was marking any measure of time passing. Left over pepperoni and pizza grease began to get funky after about three days of sitting out (in his experience), but Tony would have been hard-pressed to smell the funk over the soldering fumes that had been wafting periodically from his workspace. Having kicked a fussing Pepper out of the workshop roughly 24 hours ago, no one was left to shame him for the growing mess. JARVIS, existing in only a virtual sense, was hardly one to complain -- he made the ideal working partner in these instances of unbridled (borderline manic) production. After all, being a mechanical genius was messy from time-to-time and a computer didn't have a nose to offend or turn up in the air. See? [i]Perfect[/i].

Pulling himself into a standing position, Tony stretched and cracked his back with a loud groan. 

[i]Damn, that felt good.[/i]

The mechanic had spent the better part of the last hour hunched over, adjusting the finer interior workings of the metal boots that were currently on his workbench. Sure, they were loaded with tech, shiny, and impressive looking, but they might as well have been bricks for all the good they were doing -- for some reason he couldn't get them to be recognized by the rest of the electrical system wired throughout his project.

[i]No, his obsession.[/i]

The suit was coming along, slowly but surely. With JARVIS working to pinpoint the errors in the main casing of the metal body shell, Tony had chosen to try and address the issues regarding the corresponding foot encasements. They had initially been functioning, but when they'd been hooked up to the propulsion system, something went wrong and shorted out some of the circuits he'd hidden in the heel of the boots. Now the rest of the suit wasn't even recognizing their existence power-wise. But that was sometimes the way it went -- [i]one step forward, two steps back[/i]. Inventing was a game of patience or, well, stubbornness depending on how you looked at it. The challenge was what made it [i]interesting[/i], even if aggravation frequently reared its ugly head during the process.

"JARVIS, what say we order some Sichuan? I'm in the mood for something with a kick to it."

"Ms. Potts has left you several messages, Sir, if you're planning on taking a break," the computer voice replied pointedly. "Shall I continue fielding her calls or would you like to respond now?"

"Nevermind about Pepper, just order the food," Tony said. "And get it from that China Moon place over near 47th and Fifth. I like that they throw in extra sauce without me needing to ask for it." 

"Of course, Sir."

Settling down onto the swivel stool positioned at his desk, Tony glanced at the pizza box situated opposite him with a frown. He was unsurprised to hear that his real-life assistant, Pepper Pots, had left voicemails for him. After he had pushed her out of his workshop rather curtly the day before, he had been sending her calls to voicemail since. He knew she was concerned about him and only trying to check to see if he was ok, but he wasn't in the mood to deal with her worrying. Of course, he knew it was kind of a dick move behavior-wise on his part, but Pepper was a big girl and knew what to expect from him at times like this. He knew she wouldn't take it all personally. 

[i]Maybe he'd tell her to buy herself a nice, expensive gift on his behalf. [/i] She really did put up with a lot of shit from his end, all the while organizing his life and keeping his world running smoothly.

[i]She had even been thoughtful and brought him pizza from his favorite joint uptown, before he'd kicked her out in the name of progress.[/i] 

"You know what?" Tony began, glancing towards his array of computer monitors and thoughtfully scratching at the expertly sculptured goatee on his chin. "Send Pepper a message telling her that I'm stopping for food and a shower. If she wants to catch me, tell her to pick up some of those energy drinks I like and that she has approximately a two hour window before I start up work again."

"Will you be working another full night, Sir?" JARVIS queried in response. "Perhaps it would be best if you added a nap into your two-hour window or, better yet, if you stopped to get an entire night's sleep."

"Just mind your business, JARVIS. I'll be fine after a few pick-me-up's. How long before the food gets here?"

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