system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Marvel] What are the major differences between different portrayals of Tony Stark?

I've heard Civil War Stark is definitely the bad guy as opposed to hanging out in the gray area as usual. Is that more the way he's written, or just the culmination of all the shit that's happened to him?
gpt
He wasn't supposed to be a villain, none of the Pro-Regs were. Both sides were supposed to be right and wrong, with the Pros being "lawfully right" and the Antis being "morally right" and demonstrating the contrast in what vigilateism is in theory and practice. Civil War was going to be a culmination of Tony "growing up", so to speak. Finally embracing the kind of good the heroes could do when they stopped using their personas as an outlet for adventure or revenge and instead focused on being heroes as an organized job, with all the transparency and accountability that comes with it.

Unfortunately, stories about heroes don't work all that well when there isn't a Villain, so SOMEONE had to be the bad guy. And most of the writers, being pretty liberal guys, inherently sided with the Anti-Regs on principal and thus began painting Tony and the Pro-regs in more and more facist colors until they were obviously "the bad guys", regardless of their mission statement. Tony has never been above screwing up and creating things he would regret, hell, half his personal rogues gallery are people who are using modified versions of his own technology. But he's always been an inherently heroic person who fixes his own messes.  For him to start doing so many obviously malicious things to other heroes just feels wrong, even for the sake of "peace". Maybe Reed Richards is just a shitty influence.