my greatest creation is you.
Oh god oh god oh god, okay. So earlier I saw this gorgeous photoset; I reblogged it, and you guys should click and check it out, it’s SO PRETTY OH MAN. letsallcry, YOU ROCK. In case you cannot click, here is what is shown: it’s two images, the top one being Howard in Captain America leaning up against a piece of his tech, and the bottom one being Tony in IM2, staring at the projection of his father’s new element. Beneath the images, there’s this Howard quote from IM2: “I’m limited by the technology of my time, but one day, you’ll figure this out.” AND BECAUSE OF THIS I’VE REALIZED SOMETHING I WISH I DIDN’T KNOW, which, now, we must talk about.
Just for a second, try to imagine you’re Howard Stark. You’re the best engineer America has to offer, so you’re a genius—hell, for all intents and purposes, you’re the genius. In your relative youth, you are exposed to weapons created by a power source so far beyond the scope of modern technology that it’s staggering; a few years later, you locate that power source, which is still far too advanced for you to make heads or tails of. You do what you can; you help found an agency dedicated to dealing with situations such as these, you learn and design absolutely as much as you can, you apply all of your considerable genius to the problem. You do all you can, but it’s not enough. You are limited by the technology of your time. You have seen war, lost a soldier (and a friend) who you thought to be invincible—you are all too aware of your own mortality. The power source still exists, with so much untold potential it’s almost painful to look at. You could change the world, but you are running out of time. It’s not going to be enough. Even you cannot overcome the barrier that mortality presents. What do you do?
Well, it’s pretty obvious, isn’t it. You have a child.
