“One of Robert’s big things is he always wants to be damaged by the things that happen to his character and he wants to show the damage done. There should be a grittiness about showing the cost of the life he is living. It shouldn’t be a Schwarzenegger lack of consequence, where he fights through a war zone and doesn’t have a scratch.” (source)
This is one of the many things that draw me to Tony’s character: The consequences of his actions and experiences that he carries with him from movie to movie. Robert’s brilliant acting and insistence on showing the darker side of the reality of being Iron Man have kept this character alive, interesting, popular and very real.
While my heart absolutely shatters just thinking about Tony mourning Peter, I’m also glad that the MCU and the Russos addressed this explicitly on screen. With other characters we are left guessing, with Tony, we are shown.