It is SO MUCH MORE AWESOME that way, because sudden death HELPED before, and so now it's kind of in his mental toolbox even if he hadn't planned on actually using it, y'know?
EXACTLY. I mean, I always hate bringing it back to Tony, because you cannot understand the absolute kick I'm having out of the fact the meta has now turned to Obie (last night it was Christine Everhart which amused me to noooooooo end) but SERIOUSLY. Think of how hard that realization is going to hit Tony, that Obie, his father figure, the only stable relationship he's had outside of Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy (and the last two don't count 'cause he pays 'em), eventually grew to hate him to the point of making a genuine effort in killing him, and maybe the same thing will happen to the rest of the people he calls friends, maybe there's something wrong with Tony, and everyone he loves or looks up to either dies (parents, Yinsin) or will eventually come to hate him.
Re: second time through = golden. i'm thinking about going time #3.
EXACTLY. I mean, I always hate bringing it back to Tony, because you cannot understand the absolute kick I'm having out of the fact the meta has now turned to Obie (last night it was Christine Everhart which amused me to noooooooo end) but SERIOUSLY. Think of how hard that realization is going to hit Tony, that Obie, his father figure, the only stable relationship he's had outside of Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy (and the last two don't count 'cause he pays 'em), eventually grew to hate him to the point of making a genuine effort in killing him, and maybe the same thing will happen to the rest of the people he calls friends, maybe there's something wrong with Tony, and everyone he loves or looks up to either dies (parents, Yinsin) or will eventually come to hate him.
That's going to fucking sting.