“I am Iron Man…”

Tony Stark does things his own way. In Iron Man (2008), after defeating Obadiah Stane (Iron Monger) in a rooftop battle he holds a press conference to simply state that Iron Man was his bodyguard. But he couldn’t do that. After a little exchange with a reporter, he puts down his note cards, outlining the bodyguard story, looks directly at the press and boldly declares, “I am Iron Man.”

Why did Tony do that? Have you ever heard of any other superhero doing that? Bruce Wayne didn’t tell the world that he’s Batman. Clark Kent doesn’t want the general public to know that he’s Superman. Having a secret identity is a chief characteristic for the Superhero. They generally value having a secret identity so that they can try to live a normal life when they are not fighting their enemies. Yet, in the very first  Iron Man movie, Tony Stark breaks tradition.

Isn’t he afraid of what might happen? Won’t the villains be able to attack him at any time or worse yet attack those he cares about?

As expected those questions are addressed in the following movies, but Tony Stark revealing his identity as Iron Man fits perfectly with the personality for the character. Tony is more than a little full of himself. When he enters a room, he sees himself as the smartest person in the room and immediately takes on the Alpha role whatever the scenario. He believes that he can use his intelligence and abilities to overcome any situation. Basically, he trusts in Tony Stark above anyone and anything else. In fact he revealed his identity partly because he trusted that he was smart enough and powerful enough to overcome any of the problems he might create by letting people know that he is a superhero.

Is it confidence or is it arrogance which leads Tony Stark to reveal who he is? Either way, Tony Stark is constantly walking the fine line between justified confidence and dangerous arrogance.

Tony does have a right to be confident because he is invariably the “smartest man in the room”, but this creates countless problems for himself and others as he trusts in himself and his power. Tony has such a high trust in himself because it always works for him. His intelligence earned him his wealth and as Iron Man it gives him the tools he needs to achieve victory.

Perhaps his overconfidence is a mask for the fact that he is nervous that someday his skills will fail and he won’t have all the answers.

As I have observed Tony Stark’s arrogance and seen the way that it almost gets him and those he loves killed in Iron Man 2 and 3, I have been forced to take a look at myself and realize that I also arrogantly overestimate my own abilities, strengths, and intelligence. I may not shout out to the world, “Look at me, look at how great I am.” But in my own heart, I can see those same sort of arrogant and overconfident attitudes.

As I think about my own arrogance, I realize that what makes the sin of arrogance an especially sneaky one is that often I don’t always see it in myself or I am afraid to admit it when I do see it. I fail to see the way that I dominate decisions by thinking that my opinion is always the best. As I listen to the sound of my own intelligent words I don’t realize that sometimes I speak so much because I am simply unwilling to listen to others. As I pat myself on the back for how hard I serve at my job or in the home, I fail to realize that my personal praise is actually prideful arrogance. When I think that I am a fine Christian because I am “smart” enough to see Scriptural truths or because I belong to the “right” church, I fail to see that, like with Tony, my intelligence has become the true source of my strength and security.

I wonder too if my arrogance, like Tony’s, might stem from a sense of doubt and fear that resides deep within me, one that I try to hide with my own self-manufactured suit of armor.

As I see the danger and damage brought on by Tony’s arrogance and think about the arrogance in my own heart and life, I am forced to ask myself, “How does my arrogance harm me? How does it harm my relationships? Especially the relationship I have with God.”
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Jesus reminds me in Mark 7:20-23 that arrogance is one of the sins that comes out of my heart and makes me unclean before God. My arrogance is dangerous because it places my focus and my faith on me rather than God.

As the Bible shows me elsewhere Tony Stark and I are not the first to struggle with the sin of arrogance. I am immediately drawn to the Biblical example of Peter. In Matthew 26:31-75 Peter arrogantly boasted that he had the strength to never deny Jesus. Peter thought that he was stronger than the other disciples.  Even though Jesus told Peter that Peter would disown Jesus, Peter claimed that would never happen. But then Peter denied Jesus three times in one night.

Peter probably didn’t realize that he was arrogantly trusting in himself. He thought he could stay strong but he did exactly what Jesus told him he would do and denied even knowing Jesus. Peter was ashamed of what he had done and over the next days he stood back and watched as Jesus was tortured and crucified.

But there in that very torture, crucifixion and death, Peter was shown the true source of our strength and security. There Jesus in contrast with the arrogance of Peter, Tony Stark, and us, confidently trusted in his Heavenly Father. When the soldiers were closing in on him the God man Jesus could have easily used his intelligence and abilities to get himself out of the situation, but instead he allowed his enemies to capture and confine him. When on trail for his life he boldly confessed that he is the Son of God. He then humbly endured suffering and death on the cross because he knew that it was necessary to forgive the sins of the world including my arrogance.

Tony Stark can serve as an illustration of the danger of arrogantly trusting in oneself, but I also see his bold statement about his identity as a good thing. Because of the new identity that I have in Jesus I don’t have to hide my weaknesses or my Christianity like a secret identity. Revealing my identity as a Christian may lead to difficulties like it did for Tony Stark. However, I don’t have to fear the consequences of stating my beliefs. God has forgiven my sins and he gives me eternal life with him in heaven. Similar to Tony, I can throw down my cards and everything I would use to explain myself, I can boldly and confidently say, “I am a Christian!”

My confidence and my confession is in Jesus and what he did to save me.

I humbly acknowledge my sins of self-salvation and self-glorification and look to Jesus for forgiveness. Because of what Jesus did for me, I can boldly and confidently confess both to God and my fellow-man who I truly am, “I am an arrogant man, but because of Jesus, I AM A CHRISTIAN.”

“I am Iron Man” is the first post in a 4 part series on Tony Stark / Iron Man in the Bread for Beggars reoccurring category “More than Superheroes“.

A Little Iron Man History

So far, Tony Stark has appeared in four movies: Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, and The Avengers.

Iron Man first appeared in the Tales of Suspense comic, issue #39, March 1963. In that comic, Tony Stark is a brilliant weapons manufacturer who is mortally wounded while field testing his inventions in Vietnam. He is captured by the enemy and ordered to build them weapons. Instead, he builds the Iron Man armor. The armor serves two purposes. First, it preserves his life so that his near fatal wound doesn’t kill him. And second, it gives him the ability to fight the enemy and escape. When he returns to the United States, he continues to improve on his armor. His armor includes all kinds of tools and weapons. It gives him the ability to fly and his primary weapons are the repulsor rays that fire from the palms of his hands.