Discussion Question Wednesday! #11: Fear

[salmastryon.livejournal.com]

It is time for another...
Discussion Question Wednesday!
Today we are going to talk about fear.

Fear: What are Tony and Steve afraid of?

We already know some canon fears in both MCU and 616. MCU!Tony gets anxiety attacks when he thinks about New York. 616!Tony is afraid of his tech being used for evil. 616!Steve feared he had a dark destiny where all he cared about were doomed.

In fanon, both 616 and MCU Steve are often portrayed as being afraid of the cold and ice. MCU!Tony has to deal with issues and triggers from his time being tortured in the cave. 616!Tony is shown to be afraid of falling off the wagon. Fear of something happening to the other is pretty common as well.



So let's hear your thoughts. What fears do you think Steve and Tony have whether from canon or fanworks. How do you think they react to them? What do you like to read or write about when it comes to fears? Are there any fears that you wished someone would explore. Or perhaps there are things that you don't think they are afraid of that it is often assumed they are.

Panel from Captain America(1982) v1 #279

Comments

[marinarusalka.livejournal.com]

I forget which issue it's in (I think it was one of the Tyberius arcs), but it's canon that 616 Tony is afraid of cockroaches. Which has always kind of amused me, because it's such a mundane fear for a superhero to have. Galactus trying to eat the planet? No problem! Creepy-crawly bugs? Heeeelp!

I can just imagine him standing there going "Steeeeeve! Kill it!" if one ever gets into the mansion.

[laireshi]

Can you blame him though :D *joins in on yelling for help if any crawling monster appears*

[marinarusalka.livejournal.com]

I totally don't blame him -- I'm terrified of anything with more than four legs, myself.

Plus, I've lived in NYC and seen the roaches there.

[laireshi]

Plus, I've lived in NYC and seen the roaches there.

I've heard people say that and I'm very glad I haven't. *shudders*

This said, I would like a fic where he yells for help after seeing one. Just without many descriptions.

[laireshi]

I don't think 616 Tony's fear of falling off the wagon is fanon only. He even said in the Confession if there was one good thing it was that he hadn't started drinking again.

I think most of recent 616 Tony's fears came true . . . Steve remembered, and Tony learnt his sacrifices were all for nothing.

I'm pretty sure all Tonys and Steves are afraid of losing or hurting people close to them.

What about Ults Tony, who canonically fears all his friends dying? Not that it had happened already, right. *ugly sobs*

[magicasen.livejournal.com]

Speaking from a 616 perspective:

I think Tony's biggest fear is regret, especially from making the "wrong" choice. This is mostly wrapped up in him acting based mostly upon hypotheticals to prevent the "worst case scenario" and the endless justifications of his own actions for this reason. It also relates to Tony's control-freak tendencies and how he blames himself for everything. Some examples to note: Armor Wars (those lives are all on me if someone uses my tech and kills someone when I could have stopped them!) and AvX (the Phoenix Five was all my fault so it's fair/deserving for me to kill myself in order to stop them!). Of course, there are more, as well.

Also this line of thinking makes the Confession even extra sad! And also New Avengers #23 as if that wasn't bad enough already...

I'll do Steve in another comment when I'm less tired but would love to hear other people's thoughts :o

[partytimexelent.livejournal.com]

Woah I totally agree with this. This just makes me think that Tony's probably in constant fear of *everything*.... @_@

[partytimexelent.livejournal.com]

I think Steve's biggest fear is probably failure. His failures are not like other people's failures. People depend on him, and if Steve is harsh on others and expects a lot from the people around him, the pressure he puts on himself must be overwhelming. And after Bucky? He just can't fail anyone ever again, it's just not an option.

Which is probably why he's stubborn as hell and finds it difficult to open up to anyone.

[green-grrl.livejournal.com]

I've read fic with Steve having a fear of losing everybody he loves again. It already happened once—he woke up and the whole world and the people in it were changed. What if he had to go through that again? It led to bouts of insomnia. I don't see it in canon, but it's a plausible characterization.

I've also read MCU Tony specifically triggered by water/choking/drowning fears from the waterboarding, which makes a lot of sense.

[digitalwave]

I've read fic where both MCU Steve and Tony are triggered by the cold. Tony because of the months in the cold, damp cave and Steve from his freezing alive.

[magicasen.livejournal.com]

I don't really know if I'd call it Steve's biggest fear just because I don't think he is consciously afraid of it, but I do think that what shakes him up the most is betrayal. I don't just mean on a personal level, but also in the sense of his world/ideals betraying him. Anything that rattles his sense of self, purpose, and morality (which, as Captain America, are often one and the same) is dangerous. Kind of like how the basis for Nomad was Steve being thrown into despair because he couldn't reconcile his America-as-ideal with America-as-reality.

Trying to live as someone embodying an ideal is hard when you can't have steadfast faith in that ideal, y'know?

[jlightning-wolf.livejournal.com]

In addition to all the other things everyone has said, I have personal fan theories about MCU Tony and Steve fearing becoming their predecessors. Tony doesn't want to be his father, who happily dealed arms and ignored his family in the name of the bottom line. And I imagine Steve fears becoming someone like the Red Skull, a man who was never worthy of the power Erskine handed him and who abuses that power to the detriment of the world.

[ellid.livejournal.com]

I think Steve is terrified that his happiness will somehow lead to disaster - there's couple of pages at the end of "Reborn" where he's thinking of the future he saw, which started with him settling down with Sharon, having kids, and having a happy life, but that put in motion events that lead to catastrophe for the world. He's the leader, he's the strategist, but what if he blows it? What if he's wrong? What if he chooses himself and his wish for a stable life and a family, and it turns out to be a terrible mistake?

As for Tony, he's likely frightened that loving someone will lead to their death. He loved Rumiko and she was murdered in front of him...he loved Happy as a brother and he died protecting Tony...he loved Steve and he was assassinated....