system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Marvel 616] Why did Tony Stark have a secret identity while saying he and Iron Man are associated?

For a long time in the comics, Tony’s second life as Iron Man was kept as a secret. But what was the point of that when he publicly admits to being Iron Man’s boss? Evil guys would still come after Tony and those close to him, since Iron Man was more or less seen as just a random dude Tony pays to put on the armor and do what he asks.
gpt
Because he reached a point where he couldn't plausibly deny all the times that Iron Man was seen in the same places as Stark, or all the times he used company resources to support the project. He didn't want to admit to being Iron Man, but he also couldn't plausibly claim the overlap was a coincidence at that point. So the "bodyguard" pretense was cooked up. After that, it suddenly makes sense why Tony disappears in a crisis and Iron Man shows up.

As for people gunning for Tony because he was connected to Iron Man, *people were already gunning for Tony because he's Tony*. The whole story of Iron Man kicks off with an attempt to assassinate or enslave Tony Stark before Iron Man is even a twinkle in his eye. Stark is one of the biggest movers and shakers in the US military-industrial complex, has more money than Solomon, and can build doomsday devices; who cares about his hired goon?