Iron Man and writing Tragic Flaws

Tips for adding hindering traits and habits to your characters

For any Marvel fan that follows more than just the movies, the most iconic Iron Man story is "Demon in a Bottle," which was the first series of stories to chronicle Tony Stark's alcohol addition. It wasn't the first time a comic character having a very real-life problem and dealing with it in what as the time the most realistic way (that honor belongs to Green Arrow sidekick Speedy, who battled a heroin addiction a few years prior), but it was groundbreaking in that it was a prominent, headlining character directly dealing with the problem for longer than just one issue, with him being put in dangerous situations directly as a result of his alcoholism. it actually became a defining trait of Tony Stark's character for future stories.
Giving your characters tragic flaws is a great way to humanize them and make them relatable. We've all either seen or been through situation where our habits, personality traits or issues have gotten in the way of making good decisions. And it's hard to make a character that doesn't have any faults engaging, especially as a protagonist. Normally these flaws lead to the character's downfall, or at the very least becoming nagging issues they have to continually deal with and overcome, or deal with the fallout of what bad decisions those flaws are the root of. When developing your characters, here are some factors to consider for adding these kind of flaws.

Finding the Flaws
The best way to find your character's tragic flaw is by first establishing your character's personality. Having an understanding of who they are and how they behave will help guide you in determining what aspects of their personality can hinder them the most. You can take a y aspect of their personality and turn it into a flaw. Are they a natural leader? They can be turned into an Alpha who never believes they are wrong. Maybe they are a natural hero. That can turn into a narcissistic hero complex where they feel obligated to save everyone they meet, whether those people feel they need saving or not. Do they like to clean and organize? Maybe it's because they are OCD. You can also use trauma to introduce a character flaw. Maybe they're anti-authority because a figure abused that authority on them in the past. Maybe your character developed an eating disorder as a response to being violated and might feel a need to make themselves "unattractive" and less of a target for predators. Maybe they have vision issues and are too proud to get glasses or surgery for fear of appearing weak. Get to the root of who your character is and what they've been through, and it will help a lot in determining what flaws you can exploit in their story.

Use Their Flaws Against Them
In a recent Magic: The Gathering story, a warrior with a constant need to prove himself as a hero was led away from his primary mission and into danger by a distant call for help, which happened to be a trap set especially for him. His flaw directly affected his decision making, which had a direct affect on his goals. Your characters' tragic flaws should have an affect that resonates with their goals for the story. Hubris is a common tragic flaw with top-tier villains (and some heroes). Underestimating opponents and overestimating ones own skills, plans and abilities has led to many a character's downfall. Charles Xavier thinking he could run an entire country and handle international politics led to many questionable or outright bad decisions, which eventually spelled disaster for not only himself but for the entire Krakoan era of mutantkind. Oftentimes Bruce Wayne believes his own "Batman always wins" hype, and is shocked when his foes somehow outsmart or outmaneuver him.
In the critically acclaimed video games Lisa the painful and the last of us both feature men unable to forgive themselves for failing to protect loved ones in the past, making them unable to let go of people currently under their care, even for the greater good. You want to show how those tragic flaws lead to consequences that escalate over time, worsening the character’s situation or leading them into more significant conflicts.

The Mental Toll
Your character could be unaware of their flaw, which could lead to them constantly wondering why they are always finding themselves in certain situations. I once wrote a character for an unfinished story that had a narcissistic hero complex, where her internal need to save everybody kept landing her in no-win situations where she had to make impossible choices. but she never figured out that she had that flaw, or where it came from. In most cases, however, characters are aware of their flaws, and their struggles to cope with, overcome or adapt to those flaws are great fodder for introspection and exploring the mental state of your character as these flaws rear their ugly heads. maybe you check in with them after their flaw costs them to get their rection. or look into their heads as they try to not let their flaw affect a major decision they are trying to make.
On the flipside, your character could embrace their flaw, or maybe they don't see it as a flaw at all. the aforementioned Magic: the Gathering warrior would be the last one to believe that his desire to prove himself is a flaw. on the contrary, it is the fuel that drives him to be the greatest hero he can be, with people singing his praises for eternity. in an invert of Tony's alcohol problem, in The Ultimates, someone asked him about his drinking, to which he pointed at his massive Iron Man mech suit and said "would YOU pilot that thing sober?"

What do Others Think
Your character's flaws are hard to hide, especially if they are affecting their decision making. You want to show how others are reacting to your character's flaws. it could be a loved one living in terror of your character's bipolar outbursts, or their disapproval of your character's gambling addiction. in Memento, at least two characters were able to take advantage of Leonard's short-term memory loss condition, manipulating him into doing their bidding. Someone could bring your character's flaw up in an argument in an effort to shame them, or they could be feeling the aftereffects of the consequences of your character's flaws. You want to take some time to examine the effect your character's flaws - and the actions caused by those flaws - affect the other characters in your story.

Conclusion
when a character has a recurring issue that hinders their progress, it makes them more human and relatable to the reader. it also provides a built-in source of conflict and drama for you to mine. Be sure to add this to your writing toolbox as you craft your stories.

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