Who is the worst dad in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
By Sandy C.
Howard Stark
In the comics, Howard Stark is verbally and emotionally abusive to his son Anthony “Tony” Stark. Their relationship is told in details in the comics, but while the MCU doesn’t feature as much, it’s obvious that Tony suffered emotional abuse.
As all children do, Tony grew up looking up to his father. Tony wanted to please his dad and make him proud, but Howard continuously pushed Tony away, so he never felt like he was good enough for him. Tony believed his father hated him so much, that in he tells Nick Fury his father’s happiest days was when Tony was shipped off to boarding school.
Howard Stark is a very interesting and mysterious character, though. Steve Rogers/Captain America has nothing but great things to say about Howard. And, if it weren’t for Tony, audiences wouldn’t either! We first met Howard Stark in Captain America, and the guy isn’t half bad! What happened to him?
Next: 7 Reasons (and Gifs) Why We Absolutely Love Robert Downey Jr.
We may never know what major event transformed Howard into a cold and abusive man, but it doesn’t matter because that’s still no excuse for his behavior towards Tony.
In the video left behind by Howard (which you can check out above), we see Howard incredibly focused on his work, being mean to Tony for “getting in the way” and kicking him out of the room asking “where’s your mother?”, and, of course, drinking. Howard’s words to Tony in the video are a poor attempt at letting Tony know he loves him. Not to mention, those words are a little too late. After all, actions speak louder than words.
The information in the video does save Tony’s life in Iron Man 2, but it does not change how he feels about his dad. In Captain America: Civil War, after learning Bucky killed his parents, Captain America tells Tony that killing Bucky won’t bring his parents back, to which Tony replies, “I don’t care…he killed my mom.” So while Tony was visibly upset as he watched his father die, it’s his mom’s death that truly hurt him.