Thus he can feel invincible, and experience a life where he isn't a victim. This alter-ego is exactly what Tony Stark is not, and what he wishes to be: courageous. Prior to being Iron Man, Tony is caught up in the fame of being the CEO of Stark Industries; therefore, he uses his time spending money on materialistic acquisitions and creating weapons to maintain his business. Taking on such responsibility ultimately left him unhappy and unfulfilled, hence his alcohol addiction. So instead of producing weapons that could do more harm than good, he becomes the weapon, one that protects innocent people. Being Iron Man is all the reassurance Tony needs to know that he is helping people as opposed to hurting people. Hiding behind this identity and saving people from their problems is perhaps an escape from dealing with his own issues. .
Iron Man 2 focuses on the narcissistic side of Tony which consequently leads to the conflict he and his business faces throughout the movie. Tony starts to realize that the arc reactor is slowly poisoning him shortly after he reveals himself as Iron Man. As Ironic as it may seem, Tony doesn't make the intelligible decision to save his life and back down from being Iron Man. His negligence is likely a result of him being consumed in the publicity and superiority that comes with him being Iron Man. Unfortunately, the publicity is more problematic than Tony realizes. For instance, Senator Stern holds a Senate committee hearing demanding that Tony release his technology of the Iron Man armour for military applications. Tony refuses, therefore Senator goes to great measures in order to make him do so. Although Tony overcomes this obstacle, he still puts his business and life in jeopardy when he entertains the public with his creation. .
In Avengers, Tony exhibits leadership skills and codependency as he works in alliance with other superheroes to create the Avengers team.