YMMV / A Man of Iron

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Mr. Chaos views Doom as being the most interesting as a character when he's morally grey and the hero of his own story who's merely viewed as a villain by others. Thus, his presentation here as a man who wants to make Qarth truly great by upending its status quo by force.
  • Jamie reflects on this thanks to the way Meera talks about Gerold Lannister and his wife's visit to Aegon the Unlikely. That after the intimidation and fear of the 7 he put into them, was Tytos just naturally crushed by the unexpected responsibility, or was it a lingering fear of what the Targaryens could do to them that kept him so amiable and "weak"?
• Broken Base:
  • The Foreshadowing of Unexpected Characters. Some are excited by it and actively suggest who else should be added, others think it detracts from the story and they'd prefer Chaos to focus on established characters.
  • The shifting from a pure Iron Man crossover to the greater Marvel Universe. While many love the move and understand it as the story is using the MCU as its basis, others feel that it takes away from the story and makes it too complex.
  • Thor telling Stannis that he shouldn't try to take the Iron Throne. Some readers agree; but others claim that, while Stannis isn't perfect, he'd still be a much better king than Joffrey or Renly.
• Catharsis Factor:
  • It doesn't matter that he was framed, watching Jane frame Joffrey for trying to attack someone and seeing him get spanked with a belt will never stop being a great scene.
  • Thor causes the most brutal violence yet seen in the story upon three of Melisandre/Amora's men who were going to rape Jane. The author notes that his going so shockingly far in their punishments was quite necessary for his own peace of mind after reading actual testimonials from unrepentant rapists to research the scene.
    • Similarly, seeing Melisandre suffer a gruesome fate as she's horribly mutilated is satisfying given that she tried to kill Shireen, murdered Selyse and sent three men to rape Jane.
  • Joffrey’s death. He had it long time coming.
• Complete Monster: Gregor Clegane, aka The Mountain That Rides, is the most psychopathic of Westeros's hired killers, and Iron Man's first serious enemy. Introduced trying to have his men beat a peasant to death and rape his wife, Clegane is outraged by Iron Man's interference and attempts to kill him. Later killing one of his own men for the crime of attempting to joke with him, Clegane fights "Iron Man" again (actually Jon wearing the Iron Man armor). Against the orders of his liege-lord Tywin Lannister, Clegane then attacks Iron Pointe, killing Obadiah Stane and taking Lady Virginia Stark hostage, threatening to rape and kill her and then destroy Iron Pointe if Iron Man does not come to face him by midnight. Upon Tony and Jon coming to rescue her, he attempts to kill her anyway, boasting about his plans to wipe out the Starks and claiming that Joffrey will support him. An unapologetic rapist and murderer, Gregor Clegane represents the very worst Westeros has to offer.
• Crosses the Line Twice: Daenerys herself can only find amusement in Kraznys' constant crude insults that he assumes she can't understand.
• Genius Bonus:
  • Thor reveals that the Drowned God is actually a friend of his named Ægir, and that the Drowned God is a nickname he got after Sif dropped him in a puddle for trying to bed her at one of his famous parties. In Norse Mythology, Ægir (which means "ocean") was a sea jotunn associated with the ocean, who was friends with the gods and often hosted parties for them.
  • Loki adopting "Davos Seaworth" for his human disguise is surprisingly well-thought since Davos is canonically a great parent to his seven sons. Loki was notoriously known as willing and able to bed anything with a pulse, which lets him be the father (and sometimes mother) to many children he genuinely loved and doted on.
  • Thor mentions he was King-Beyond-the-Wall when he helped to fight the Others. The Free Folk remembered the then-leader in the era of the War for the Dawn to be named Einridi — it happens to be a poetic name for Thor that translates to "the one who rides alone" in Old Norse.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Jon, in the first book, shares a story of how he once witnessed his father comforting a man who was dying, and said man's last words were "I don't want to go." This was posted before Avengers: Infinity War had a different Stark cradling and comforting another dying person whose last words were similar. The author, in chapter 32 of A Crack of Thunder, confirms that he haven't seen that movie yet, interestingly enough.
  • Shireen's jokes about Jane and Thor being her second parents take a darker turn after Amora murders Selyse and brainwashes Stannis into fighting Thor, a fight that leads to the former's death and Jane and Thor officially taking the role.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Shortly after this story presented Gendry fighting with a hammer like his father, it happened in the actual show.
  • The fic also appears to have set up a possible romance between Arya and Gendry... and in season 8, the two do indeed sleep together.
  • At one point, Thor asks if Tyrion, being a dwarf, makes things like weapons and toys and devices. Jane realizes that in Thor's world, such things as dwarves actually exist, instead of just being an insulting name for short people. Then Infinity War comes around, and Peter Dinklage, the guy who plays Tyrion, actually shows up as one of the Dwarves that made the Infinity Gauntlet. And is 20 feet tall.
    • Furthermore said Dwarf in Infinity War lost the use of his hands to prevent him acting against Thanos, while Tyrion's hands are badly burned during the battle of the Blackwater.
  • In-story, the revelation that Davos is actually Loki makes all of Davos' interactions with Thor in the story notable... and means Thor has basically been romancing his own niece.
  • Jon Snow as Tony Stark's heir is rather amusing when you consider that his actor Kit Harington joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the Black Knight in Eternals, a film that takes place after Iron Man's sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame. Likewise, his fellow co-star Richard Madden is Ikaris.
• Informed Wrongness: Some feel that Ned's argument towards Stannis is misplaced and that expecting him to speak up or save him would have been foolish, as it's doubtful that Stannis would have been able to bail him out.
• I Knew It!:
  • A lot of readers suspected that Syrio Forel was actually Mystique. They were right.
  • Some predicted that Ned Stark would become the Punisher, due to how the weirwood tree on his breastplate could resemble a skull.
  • While the hints weren't that subtle, a lot of readers also guessed that Maxell, the Maester of Harrenhall, was actually Magneto.
  • Many readers also already figured that Melisandre was Amora the Enchantress.
• Inspiration for the Work: The author has stated to reviewers that part of the inspiration for this fic was, of all things, a RipT shirt design. The cover art for the fic is said design, a direwolf done in the style of Tony's armor.
  • For chapter 41 of A Crack of Thunder, Mr. Chaos went through the testimonials of real life rapists to get an understanding of how the rapists would act when they attempted to assault Jane. He states that it was very disturbing to read, and that Thor's brutal massacre of them was much needed catharsis for him.
• Moral Event Horizon:
  • Joffrey kills Sansa specifically to prevent Tony and Ned from rescuing her.
  • Not only was Renly behind the attack on Tony, but he has also paid Vanko and Asha so they will kill both Tony and Robb - all because he thinks this will make Eddard bend the knee to him.
• Rooting for the Empire: Thanks to Adrian being a POV character, being a good boss to his men, and being very much a lesser evil when compared to the Lannisters or the Others, many fans have stated that they are rooting for Adrian to pull off his jobs.
• Signature Scene: There's quite a bit of small finagling in the fic starting with Tony's arrival. However, the point of no return for the story is when instead of rerouting storylines, the author does a blend of ASOIAF/GOT cynicism clashing with Marvel superheroics when Iron Man rescues Ned Stark from King's Landing, changing the course of the series forever, but still exacting a price for changing the script through Sansa's death.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Multiple readers note that Daenerys displayed no reaction to learning the truth about both her father and family. Later, she learns the truth and has a breakdown over it off-page. Mr. Chaos states that he couldn't figure out how to make a whole chapter about the matter and that this was the next best thing.
• Unexpected Character: Aside from the Iron Man supporting cast, numerous other Marvel characters have appeared or been referenced in later chapters:
  • Logan shows up as a Dothraki bodyguard to Daenerys.
  • Arya's second chapter hints at Magneto, Mystique and presumably other mutants somewhere in Braavos, which is confirmed in her third. Her fourth reveals that "Syrio" is just an alias of Mystique.
    • Syrio also alludes to the existence of Norman Osborn, in the form of a Pentos merchant whose servants called him a goblin and who taught Syrio that "the only thing people love more than a hero is to see a hero fail, fall... die trying". He's also the one who gave Shireen her greyscale-infected doll.
  • Tyrion's third chapter has Hawkeye, going by Clynt appears as a sellsword working with Bronn.
  • Ned's third chapter reveals that Jon Arryn had a friend called Viktor who suffered a terrible accident at a blacksmith's that left him horribly disfigured.
    • He finally appears in Chapter 8 of Book 2, covered in metal like his comic self, and a member of the Thirteen that rule Qarth.
  • Logan mentions a woman in the Summer Islands that can control the weather.
    • He also mentioned a man made of stone who wears nothing but a loincloth.
  • Pepper talks to a Lady Morse, who Word of God confirms is Mockingbird.
  • Word of God has confirmed that Captain America will appear despite previously saying he wouldn't.
  • The Night's Queen takes over Sansa's body and restores it.
  • The Book 2 prologue introduces Jane Foster and Thor, and furthermore that the Norse gods are exactly the same as in canon; it's just that none of the world's religions have managed to get them right.
  • In the second chapter of Book 2, Tony mentions a sellsword he met with a flair for the dramatic, a twisted sense of humour, and a penchant for saying "Alright, maximum effort".
    • During Jorah's vision in the House of the Undying, Wade makes an appearance in all his fourth-wall-breaking self, not only knowing about Daenerys and the others watching the vision, but also referencing the author.
  • Tyrion meets a Goldcloak named Jeor Stacey, who also tells him about one of his men named Rickard Parker who was killed along with his wife, while their son was away with his uncle Benjen.
  • Ivan Vanko (a.k.a. Whiplash) is an Ironborn captain who joins forces with Asha Greyjoy in order to destroy the North and the Westerlands, because he wants to take revenge on the Lannisters and the Starks, who killed his family during the Greyjoy Rebellion. They end up killing Ramsay Snow, and try to kill Tony.
  • Phil Coulson (or, rather, Phylyp, son of Coul) becomes the new castellan of Iron Pointe after Obadiah Stane's death. This is especially a surprise as the story is largely based on the comics rather than the Marvel Cinematic Universe where the character first appeared, though he's since become a Canon Immigrant.
  • In Chapter 6 of A Crack of Thunder, Tony mentions a singer named Alyson Blarre. "I saw her perform once in Highgarden... she was dazzling."
  • Oberyn Martell's first daughter (legitimized by Ned as Hand of the King), and Jon's future bride, is Natasha Martell, the Black Widow.
  • Brienne of Tarth has a cousin called Bruce, and she’s the story's equivalent to She-Hulk.
  • The Court of the Others includes The Commander, who seems to be the Red Skull.
  • Considering the fact that Robb hears snippets of "Hooked on a Feeling" by Blue Swede right before Rickon was pulled into a portal, it seems the Marvel Cinematic Universe Guardians of the Galaxy are going to show up. And Earth exists.
  • Doom scoffs at a mention of Illyrio Mopatis, as his son and daughter plus their companions have caused a good deal of trouble for Doom.
  • Ulysses Klaue shows up as a mercenary blacksmith in Tywin's employ.
  • Omega Red is apparently a Northern boogieman.
  • During the archery contest of Jon's wedding, Tony mentions the winner was a young man (who he suspects was a woman), named Byshup, who disappeared as soon as the price was given.
  • Squirrel Girl is a goddess in Westeros who beat up the Drowned God and the Storm God after sleeping with them.
  • It’s confirmed that Renly is Justin Hammer's counterpart.
  • The head jailor of Winterfell is named Jon Walkar.
  • Amora the Enchantress is disguised as Melisandre.
  • Logan's vision of his future shows a little girl who can produce two claws like he does.
  • Amora wasn't the only Asgardian in Stannis' court: Ser Davos Seaworth is actually LOKI.
  • During the Battle of Blackwater, following the massive Wildfire explosion, Tyrion mentions hearing reports of a man turning into a wolf and eating his own men, while another says a squire turned into living ice and that Lord Marcos Specture believed the moon was talking to him.
  • Cersei gets Psylocke/the Shadow King's powers.
  • Euron Greyjoy has become Ronan.
  • The head of House Velaryon is none other than Namor the Sub-Mariner.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Following Catelyn's infamous "it should have been you" line, Tony immediately storms in and chews her out for her failings as a stepmother. Yes, great, very cathartic... except Catelyn is canonically half-mad with fear and grief at this point, and Tony is having his little self-righteous rant literally over the bed where one of her children lies crippled and possibly dying.