Anthony Stark (Earth-1955)

"Everything I've done, everything I'll do today, everything I'll tomorrow, I do to protect this world. Someone once told me that with great power comes great responsibility. That's usually thought of as a lesson for children. A simple injunction to do the right thing. But there's nothing simple about it. When I put on this armor, I took on more power than any human was ever intended to have... and maybe more responsibility than my heart can truly bear. But today... I will do my job. I will protect you. No matter what it takes..."

- - Iron Man

Anthony "Tony" Stark is the CEO of Stark Industries and one of the smartest minds on Earth, only behind Mr. Fantastic and Lex Luthor. When Tony was captured by the terrorist cell known as the Ten Rings on the Syria, his heart was severely damaged, the only thing allowing him to live being the arc reactor, a device built by Tony's fellow captive, Professor Ho Yinsen. Alongside Yinsen, Stark developed a suit of armor from scratch which would allow the two to escape. During the escape, Yinsen died, but Tony managed to escape with the armor. Returning to the United States, Tony decided to close the weapons development of Stark Industries after seeing the horrors of war and instead focused on acting as the public vigilante Iron Man.