Hello and a happy 2024 to you! Hope you managed to enjoy some of the things I recced last year - I'd love to hear what you thought of them <3
This year I come to you having read the ultimate cosy hopepunk (which I'm guessing you know since I never heard the phrase till I read Becky Chambers' books, but just in case!): The two Monk & Robot Books - A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy.
Also, A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T Kingfisher was a pretty cosy fantasy read (if you are okay with the ~14 yr old gotta save the city, which T Kingfisher very much acknowledges, and this one has a MUCH better support system than most of the teen saviours you read about). If you like that one, then Minor Mage and Illuminations should also be just your cuppa, and if you liked Kingfisher's writing style but want more (mostly hetero, one m/m pairing) romance, then try her Paladin series (including Swordheart and the Clocktaur Wars duology, which don't follow the Paladin's X title convention that the rest do, but are part of the same universe).
And now.
I read your villain!IM prompt and had two immediate reactions: 1) I WANT IT TOO! and 2) I've read a couple great ones of this prompt, give or take a few details!
So, by dint of some looking up, I've got some "villain" Iron Man secret identity shenanigan fic recs for you, and I'm hoping that you haven't read them all... but if you have they're worth a re-read haha. And I'm hoping that you will inspire a couple more being added to the ranks!
Tony is the villain known as Iron Man. Steve is Captain America. Outside work, Steve and Tony are married and do not know each other's secret identities. Some revelations, though, do not come with a happy ending.
(this one's probably closest to yours?)
Also AvocadoLove's Enemy At The Gates, 23K, excellent meet-cute (or is it?!) to identity reveal fic.
By the time Captain America was found and defrosted, the Chitauri had wiped out the entire state of New York, and Iron Man was the world’s most wanted villain.
(in fact, just saying, if you haven't read AvocadoLove's work, it's all worth a try! Lots of great fic).
On a different real!villain vein, there's the fantastic Bad Reputation by gottalovev, 14K.
Obadiah Stane, CEO of Stark Industries since Howard’s son died before Steve even woke up, isn’t happy that the Avengers haven’t caught the villain Iron Man yet. The mysterious man in the armor keeps destroying SI weapons, and even though they tried to arrest him, he always slips through the Avengers’ fingers. It doesn’t help that Steve enjoys their bantering a bit too much, and that he’s starting to think that Iron Man has a worthy cause.
Slightly different again, in that this fic opens with the identity reveal, is Supervillain Origin Story by QueenOfALotOfDifferentWorlds, 34K
Glaring at the cafe, Tony tried not to panic.
Because in that cafe sat Steve Rogers aka Captain America. Leader of the Avengers. The superheroes celebrated by the world for winning against an Alien Invasion and protecting the fine people from catastrophes and villains.
Quite successfully, he might add.
The only one they did not seem to be able to nail down was Iron Man. An international terrorist. A flying weapon that left a path of destruction wherever he went. A hacker that every government trembled before.
In other words, Tony’s side business.
This is an "Iron Man is a Supervillain AU" and an "Iron Man and Captain America are forced to plan Rhodey and Sam's wedding AU".
And different again, in that Cap's not a super soldier here and erm, Tony and Steve were fiances who became estranged, rather than being married already: My heart in your hands by itsallAvengers, 34K.
Agent Rogers' mission is simple: seduce his way into Tony Stark's life, find enough evidence to prove he's the man behind SHIELD's Most Wanted supervillain, otherwise known as Iron Man, and then use said evidence to lock him up in a prison cell for the rest of his life. It's a mission only he can do, and the safety of the world is depending on it. Because Iron Man has a plan, and the consequences of it could prove catastrophic.
Of course, though, things are never as easy as they look on paper. Especially not when it comes to Tony. Steve knew that better than anyone.
After all- only a year ago, he'd been going to marry the guy.
Some recs <3
This year I come to you having read the ultimate cosy hopepunk (which I'm guessing you know since I never heard the phrase till I read Becky Chambers' books, but just in case!): The two Monk & Robot Books - A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy.
Also, A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T Kingfisher was a pretty cosy fantasy read (if you are okay with the ~14 yr old gotta save the city, which T Kingfisher very much acknowledges, and this one has a MUCH better support system than most of the teen saviours you read about). If you like that one, then Minor Mage and Illuminations should also be just your cuppa, and if you liked Kingfisher's writing style but want more (mostly hetero, one m/m pairing) romance, then try her Paladin series (including Swordheart and the Clocktaur Wars duology, which don't follow the Paladin's X title convention that the rest do, but are part of the same universe).
And now.
I read your villain!IM prompt and had two immediate reactions: 1) I WANT IT TOO! and 2) I've read a couple great ones of this prompt, give or take a few details!
So, by dint of some looking up, I've got some "villain" Iron Man secret identity shenanigan fic recs for you, and I'm hoping that you haven't read them all... but if you have they're worth a re-read haha. And I'm hoping that you will inspire a couple more being added to the ranks!
AvocadoLove's Every Villain Is a Hero (in his own mind), 10K, has some angst fair warning! But a happy ending :)
Tony is the villain known as Iron Man. Steve is Captain America. Outside work, Steve and Tony are married and do not know each other's secret identities. Some revelations, though, do not come with a happy ending.
(this one's probably closest to yours?)
Also AvocadoLove's Enemy At The Gates, 23K, excellent meet-cute (or is it?!) to identity reveal fic.
By the time Captain America was found and defrosted, the Chitauri had wiped out the entire state of New York, and Iron Man was the world’s most wanted villain.
(in fact, just saying, if you haven't read AvocadoLove's work, it's all worth a try! Lots of great fic).
On a different real!villain vein, there's the fantastic Bad Reputation by gottalovev, 14K.
Obadiah Stane, CEO of Stark Industries since Howard’s son died before Steve even woke up, isn’t happy that the Avengers haven’t caught the villain Iron Man yet. The mysterious man in the armor keeps destroying SI weapons, and even though they tried to arrest him, he always slips through the Avengers’ fingers. It doesn’t help that Steve enjoys their bantering a bit too much, and that he’s starting to think that Iron Man has a worthy cause.
Slightly different again, in that this fic opens with the identity reveal, is Supervillain Origin Story by QueenOfALotOfDifferentWorlds, 34K
Glaring at the cafe, Tony tried not to panic.
Because in that cafe sat Steve Rogers aka Captain America. Leader of the Avengers. The superheroes celebrated by the world for winning against an Alien Invasion and protecting the fine people from catastrophes and villains.
Quite successfully, he might add.
The only one they did not seem to be able to nail down was Iron Man. An international terrorist. A flying weapon that left a path of destruction wherever he went. A hacker that every government trembled before.
In other words, Tony’s side business.
This is an "Iron Man is a Supervillain AU" and an "Iron Man and Captain America are forced to plan Rhodey and Sam's wedding AU".
And different again, in that Cap's not a super soldier here and erm, Tony and Steve were fiances who became estranged, rather than being married already: My heart in your hands by itsallAvengers, 34K.
Agent Rogers' mission is simple: seduce his way into Tony Stark's life, find enough evidence to prove he's the man behind SHIELD's Most Wanted supervillain, otherwise known as Iron Man, and then use said evidence to lock him up in a prison cell for the rest of his life. It's a mission only he can do, and the safety of the world is depending on it. Because Iron Man has a plan, and the consequences of it could prove catastrophic.
Of course, though, things are never as easy as they look on paper. Especially not when it comes to Tony. Steve knew that better than anyone.
After all- only a year ago, he'd been going to marry the guy.
__
Enjoy!!