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If you ask me who my hero is, my instant reply will be: Tony Stark.
Iron man is an international hero, admired by many for his accomplishments in saving the world. The truth is there are a lot of reasons for liking him; he´s charismatic, arrogant in his own way, of course, but he´s a genius, a cool man. I don't have many fond childhood memories, I barely remember my parents kissing and hugging me for the last time; but I do remember that in my darkest days, Iron-man was my light.
What many people don't understand is that Mr Stark and Iron man may appear to be the same person, and they may be a little bit right but they're not. A lot of people don't understand it, they think we´re talking about the same person, that there's no separation between Iron Man and Tony Stark.
Iron man is almost perfect, kind, created for worldly peace; a "metal" human as people call it. Mr Stark is something more complicated to define; for the public, he´s extremely honest, charitable, funny and sociable as hell. But Mr Stark I got to know isn't like that. Mr Stark I know is not honest with his fears; he doesn't like to think of people who don't have enough to eat because it makes him uncomfortable, and he may even be charitable out of obligation "because he has money and others don't". Although he´s considered sociable and funny, every night I see him serious and thoughtful, with no one else, only with himself.
Iron man is special to me, it was my childhood and the world hero we all love, but my hero is Tony, Tony Stark.
Mr Stark is imperfect in many ways, but that imperfection is what makes him unique. They say there are no reasons to cherish a man but there are many reasons to cherish a super-man. They don't see when Mr Stark has to deal with his anxiety attacks or his daily insomnia to then show the world that nothing has happened; that's just being a superman to me. So, when Mr Stark gave his life for humanity, he did it like Tony. Yes, he wore his Iron Man armour and he will always be remembered with that nickname, but when he was taking his last breaths, his shiny eyes reflected the Tony I was able to know: with fear of dying and with a little of guilt and resignation for not being able to see his little girl grow out and to age with the woman he loves most.
With him I learned many things but most importantly of all, life is short and it's up to you how to spend it. I've heard that statement thousands of times in movies and it never struck me, not until I met Tony Stark.
“Thanks to Mr. Stark, we finally won. He will always be my hero.”
Art by 是杂食虎