discussion post: could they retire? would they?

[crimsonquills.livejournal.com]

Between the fact that I'm very much a happily-ever-after type of reader and writer and the fact that I find older (and by older I mean in their 50's) men hot, I've found myself frequently wondering how life would work out for Steve and Tony as they grow older. Which inevitably begs the question:

Could these two men ever actually retire from superheroing?

Eventually--even if the actual time is delayed by moderate healing factors--they are both inevitably going to get too old to do this stuff. They'll start slowing down, they won't heal as well or as quickly, they won't be able to maintain as much muscle mass...it's the natural progress of age for two guys who, despite their bizarre histories, are still human. Experience will make up the gap for awhile, but eventually they'll get to a point where it'll be retire or choose to die in the saddle, so to speak.

So, would they retire? Either of them? What would it take for them to actually give up "active duty" and take on a purely mentorship/advisory role? ('Cause you know that even if they left active duty, they'd never get out of the game 100%.)

I have a scenario in my head that I'm rather fond of, though I don't know how "realistic" it is. *g* Basically, the new breed of Avengers--to whom Steve and Tony are very much mentor/parent types--realize that Steve and Tony really are getting too old for this game and that they're going to get themselves killed if they don't take a step back. But the newer, young Avengers also realize that neither Steve nor Tony will ever take that step back for their own sake.

So they cook up a plan: Tell Steve that they're very worried about Tony, blah blah blah, but they know he'd never even consider retiring if anyone suggested it to him. But if Steve were to tell Tony that he, Steve is retiring, and that he's feeling kind of odd about it, and they've done everything together for decades, and would Tony consider coming with him, just to, you know, keep him company? Then maybe Tony would actually do it. And, of course, Steve has been worrying about Tony, too, and Steve realizes that he is getting older and maybe he does only have a couple of years left in him, and if he has to give up a couple of years to keep Tony safe, well, that's worth it, right?

And then they live happily ever after. *g*

Comments

[crimsonquills.livejournal.com]

You're right, I totally didn't think of that!

It doesn't seem fair that Tony could fight by remote control while Steve had to retire, though. And he'd be sort of zoned out at those times, I expect, not concentrating fully on the fight. We did see in Civil War that Tony can fight with the suit by remote control while doing something else (he was recording a public service announcement, I think), but he did get a bit distracted from the PSA.

I love the idea of Tony being the Marvel version of Oracle though! *g* Partly that's just because Oracle is awesome all by herself. *bg*

I mean, look at Fury. He´s over 100 years old (said wikipedia) and is still going on.

Have they ever actually explained why Nick Fury is perpetually the same age despite still having a history in the second world war? Or is that just handwaved with the rest of the inconsistencies generated by the telescoping timeline?

[tavella.livejournal.com]

Infinity Formula. I forget who dosed him, but him and the rest of the surviving Howling Commandoes all have it.

[crimsonquills.livejournal.com]

Ahhh, kay. Since Nick has his own title I figured there was probably a reason, but I'd never heard it referred to ever, so I wasn't sure.

[runenklinge.livejournal.com]

And he'd be sort of zoned out at those times, I expect, not concentrating fully on the fight

I´m not so sure about that. In the last part of the Execute series numerous superheroes chased an empty suit while Tony was looking for the hacker. He seemed to manage that multi-tasking just fine.

It doesn't seem fair that Tony could fight by remote control while Steve had to retire, though
Tony could build Steve a suit he can control by a joystick or controller pad^^
But you´re right, it´s unfair.

Have they ever actually explained why Nick Fury is perpetually the same age despite still having a history in the second world war?
I read on wiki that he was once captured in WW2 and was forced to take an experimental medicine which halted his aging. He had to take it strict intervals for years (I think decades) until he had such an amount intus that he didn´t need the medicine anymore and stopped aging.

[crimsonquills.livejournal.com]

I´m not so sure about that. In the last part of the Execute series numerous superheroes chased an empty suit while Tony was looking for the hacker. He seemed to manage that multi-tasking just fine.

True, but looking for the hacker wasn't a task that required a lot of careful thought, and the suit didn't need to do a lot, just stay ahead of the jets. I think the scene with the PSA and then fighting with the suit by remote control, where he does get a bit distracted from the PSA, is a bit more comparable.

I read on wiki that he was once captured in WW2 and was forced to take an experimental medicine which halted his aging. He had to take it strict intervals for years (I think decades) until he had such an amount intus that he didn´t need the medicine anymore and stopped aging.

Ahhhh, good to know. And hey, they actually explained it instead of just hand waving a lot! *g*