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In the first Iron Man film (2008), Tony Stark is betrayed by someone close to him and it takes him (a demonstrable genius) several months to realize it. Why does he not realize as soon as he gets back that the conditions of his imprisonment were unusual (to say the least)?

Spoilers below:

Firstly, Obidiah Stane is the worst name for a villain that we are supposed to initially trust, but that is from the comics so it's understandable.

Secondly, he remembers being videotaped for the kidnapper's demand video but when he gets back the video is not mentioned by anyone close to him (like Pepper, Rhody or Happy) nor is it mentioned in any news program or on youtube or anything, which for someone as famous as Tony Stark, one would think it would be around for him to see.

Thirdly, why doesn't he put together earlier that neither Pepper nor Happy had time to tell Obidiah about the miniature Arc reactor in his chest? Obidiah asks when he firsts arrives in LA and has been driven to Stark Industries to give the press conference?

Finally, why didn't anyone at Stark Industries give Tony the heads up that Obidiah was trying to force him out of the Board of SI? Doesn't he interact with anyone else at the company he is the head of?

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  • this is one of those questions that invites speculation but I suppose simply put: Being a genius does not automatically make you into a great detective (nor do you have to be a genius to be a great detective either)
    – user001
    Sep 17, 2015 at 13:45
  • Stark is a genius, but not a good detective. in other hand, Bruce wayne, he is both. in the story, Stark is so driven with getting his weapons back, he didn't had any time to think otherwise or about any other thing
    – Vishwa
    Sep 20, 2017 at 4:47
  • 2
    But Iron Man is also Sherlock Holmes?
    – GordonBennett
    Jan 7, 2019 at 8:07

2 Answers 2

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Mostly the answer can relate to simple plot device, while one point strikes at me that you make. You mention him talking to people in his company, but to me, it is vividly displayed that Tony Stark is essentially a playboy asshole, and not many people would be friendly to him. Maybe a take-over was known, but not to the extent of trying to kidnap him in the middle of the desert during a demonstration was company-wide knowledge.

Also, just being a mechanical genius doesn't mean he is a people genius. In his logical brain, thinking villain was actually against him the whole time would not cross his mind because he regards villain as a personal and family friend.

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    plus Tony Stark had not gone through the Iron Man transformation. So him being betrayed was a wakeup call to become more vigilant, and not a playboy asshole. Plus Tony Stark, pre Iron Man had his head in the sand about supporting terrorists with their weapons. He didn't know anything, becoming Iron Man is Tony's way of making the world right again.
    – Connor Leech
    Dec 8, 2015 at 7:39
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Putting aside plot device for a minute, realize also that a lot of his reaction had to do with shell-shock (no pun intended) at what happened to him. One minute he's drinking scotch in the back of "the fun car", the next minute he's got multiple holes in his chest and is whisked away to some remote place.

As for not knowing who betrayed him, keep in mind also that the more powerful you become, the more enemies you get. There could have been any of a number of people who would stand to benefit from setting him up (how about the head of Stane International, for example?), and thinking of the person who represented if not a father-figure then at least an older brother figure as the person who turned you in is not necessarily the first person he would think of.

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    TLDR: It happened all too quickly for him to go into analysis mode.
    – Sayan
    Jan 30, 2013 at 14:41

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