The Many Deaths of Tony Stark

By DarkestSight

Tony Stark dies in a spectacular explosion which takes out half his lab.

He was trying to build something bigger, better, more amazing than he had ever built before.

There isn't enough left of him to fill a coffin.

~.~.~.~.~

Tony Stark dies quietly without anyone noticing.

They're in the middle of a meeting and no one realizes what's happened until ten minutes later when Fury's yells fail to wake him up.

"It was his heart", Banner explains afterwards. "The strain from the shrapnel and the arc reactor was too much."

Some heart attacks happen like that: sudden, and quiet, and deadly.

"Maybe it was his way of saying he didn't want to be there," Clint says two weeks later at the funeral.

~.~.~.~.~

Tony Stark dies of old age at 142.

More than half of his body is mechanical by this point but even biotech can only hold off death for so long.

He lies peacefully in his own bed. His great-granddaughter and two of his greatest friends keep vigil as he takes his final breath.

~.~.~.~.~

Tony Stark dies alone from a single gunshot to the head.

No one ever finds out how or why.

~.~.~.~.~

Tony Stark dies saving the world.

He doesn't do it for love or glory.

He doesn't do it because someone told him to do it, or because someone told him he couldn't or wouldn't do it.

He does it because it's the right thing to do.

He's rewarded with a tragic death scene where all his friends gather around his broken body and say their tear-filled goodbyes before he passes from this world.

~.~.~.~.~

~.~.~.~.~

Tony can see the missile heading his way. He knows he can't get away in time, knows his armour won't withstand the impact, knows he's going to die.

And then a pair of strong arms yank him out of the way.

The missile passes so close he can feel the heat even through his armour. The building behind him vaporises.

"Are you alright?" Steve asks once the debris has settled.

"I think my life just flashed before my eyes," says Tony as he tries to catch his breath.

Steve smiles. "Was it a good show?"

Tony gives an evasive shrug. "I'm just the glad the show's not over yet," he says.