Maria Collins Stark (née Carbonell) is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
appearing in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
. She is
Howard Stark
Howard Stark is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as a background character in stories featuring Iron Man and stories featuring Captain America. He is the founde ...
's wife and
Tony Stark
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charac ...
's mother.
Fictional character biography
Maria Stark was born Maria Collins Carbonell into a wealthy family in
Southampton, New York
Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town had a population of 69,036. Southampton is included in the stret ...
. In her adulthood, she became a socialite and philanthropist. She dated
Obadiah Stane
Iron Monger is an alias used by multiple fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first character to use the alias is Obadiah Stane, who first appeared in '' Iron Man'' #163 (Oct. 1982). The Iron Mo ...
. While staying in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
during a flight scale, Maria escaped from her bodyguards at a casino, where she deliberately lost large sums of money at
baccarat
Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game played at casinos. It is a comparing card game played between two hands, the "player" and the "banker". Each baccarat coup (round of play) has three possible outcomes: "player" (player has the higher score ...
and was escorted from the premises.
Howard Stark
Howard Stark is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as a background character in stories featuring Iron Man and stories featuring Captain America. He is the founde ...
(who owned the casino) noticed her being forcefully escorted by her bodyguards and followed her back to their hotel room. Maria was charmed by Howard's sudden appearance, and together they overpowered the guards and drove off.
Maria married Howard sometime later, and together they adopted their son
Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark. Maria was unsuccessful in preventing Tony from seeing Howard's alcoholism, something Tony would later face. Howard secretly programmed the Mistress AI that controlled the
Arsenal robots with Maria's brain patterns.
On the
Ides of March
The Ides of March (; la, Idus Martiae, Late Latin: ) is the 74th day in the Roman calendar, corresponding to 15 March. It was marked by several religious observances and was notable in Rome as a deadline for settling debts. In 44 BC, it became ...
, Maria and Howard were killed in a car accident arranged by the
Roxxon Oil Company. Afterwards, Tony ran his father's company, started a charity in his mother's name (which donated funds to finance various charities and renovation projects as well as the
Avengers
Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to:
Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
**Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...
).
Duplicate of Maria Stark
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
confronted Motherboard and Arsenal on the escape when
Arno Stark
Arno Stark is the name of two similar fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, appearing as a counterpart of the superhero Iron Man from the multiverse. The first of these characters is best known as Iron ...
(Tony's previously unknown brother) went into the escape, discovering that Tony's opponents have the digital engrams of their parents. When the escape shut down, these digital engrams were salvaged by Arno. Arno became acquainted with the digital engrams of Howard and Maria and was able to give the two a holographic form. With
Jocasta
In Greek mythology, Jocasta (), also rendered Iocaste ( grc, Ἰοκάστη ) and also known as Epicaste (; ), was a daughter of Menoeceus, a descendant of the Spartoi Echion, and queen consort of Thebes. She was the wife of first Laius, t ...
's help, bio-restructuring pods Arno created gave physical bodies to the digital engrams.
During the "
Iron Man 2020
Iron Man (Arno Stark) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a superhero appearing as the counterpart of the superhero Iron Man in the (then) future year of 2020 set in the multiverse wo ...
" story line, Arno has breakfast with the duplicates of Howard and Maria following a nightmare about the Extinction Entity. After knocking out Mark One (the artificial simulation of Tony Stark) and the two are at a living quarters, Tony learned what Arno had done to create duplicates of their parents. Tony mentioned how Motherboard killed
F.R.I.D.A.Y.
F.R.I.D.A.Y. (Female Replacement Intelligent Digital Assistant Youth) is a fictional artificial intelligence appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually depicted as the personal assistant and ally of the superhero Iron ...
where Maria stated that she did it out of love for her son. At Port Authority, Iron Man catches up to the duplicates of Howard and Maria who are instructed to not leave the safety of Brain Tower. Their condition gets worse because they left Brain Tower and Arno had to use his DNA to fill out the missing pieces when creating them. They suddenly stop moving as Arno plans to fix them and Tony. Arno works on reviving his parents by recreating the
Arsenal and Mistress bodies from the escape. Arno heads to the Stark Space Station with Arsenal and Mistress who now possess the memories of Howard and Maria. The two tell Arno that they are proud. When Tony uses the Thirteenth Floor to reach the Stark Space Station and confront Arno, Arsenal and Motherboard fight his allies until the arrival of the Extinction Entity. As everyone engages the Extinction Entity, Tony, Arno,
Rescue
Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an accident or a dangerous situation.
Tools used might include search and rescue dogs, mounted search and rescue ho ...
, Machine Man, Jocasta, Motherboard, and Arsenal push the Extinction Entity close to Earth's orbit as the
Avengers
Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to:
Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
**Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...
,
Force Works
Force Works was the name of different fictional superhero teams appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Publication history
The first version of Force Works first appeared in the comic book series ''Force Works'' #1 (July ...
, and the A.I. Army attack its tentacles. It then turns out that the Extinction Entity was just a simulation and was the result of the disease that Arno thought cured of, revealing that the holographic armor made from the escape is now part of Arno's life support and allows Motherboard and Arsenal to download themselves to shape Arno's virtual world.
Other versions
Ultimate Marvel
The
Ultimate Marvel
Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring re-imagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe. Those characters ...
version of the character is renamed Maria Cerrera, the second wife of Howard Stark. Maria was a brilliant scientist who suffered a genetic accident while she was pregnant with her and Howard's child. After Maria died during childbirth, Howard uses a newly invented biological armor to save the life of their son named after Antonio Cerrera (Maria's brother) who died at a young age. Years later, Howard's first wife Loni tells Tony twice that she wishes she could have been Tony's mother under different circumstances, but Tony still prefers his own mother. While what has been depicted is
retconned
Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...
as an in-universe fictional TV show about
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
's life, the actual Ultimate version of her character is briefly mentioned by her other son
Gregory Stark
Arno Stark is the name of two similar fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, appearing as a counterpart of the superhero Iron Man from the multiverse. The first of these characters is best known as Iron ...
when he jokingly says how he "came out of
aria
In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
before
ony.
In other media
Television
* Maria Stark appeared in the ''
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
'' episode "The Origin of Iron Man", voiced by
Dimitra Arliss
Dimitra Arliss (October 23, 1932 – January 26, 2012) was an American actress.
Early life and education
Of Greek descent, she was born in Lorain, Ohio, on October 23, 1932. She attended Miami University.
Career
Arliss's acting caree ...
.
* Maria Stark is alluded in the ''
Iron Man: Armored Adventures'' episode "Iron Monger Lives". Her image is used by
Madame Masque
Madame Masque (birth name Giulietta Nefaria but legally renamed Whitney Frost) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. An occasional love interest and enemy of Iron Man and the daughter of Count Nefaria, ...
's mask.
* Maria Stark is mentioned in the ''
Avengers Assemble'' episode "New Year's Revolution".
Film
*
Hope Davis
Hope Davis is an American actress. She is known for her performances on stage and screen earning various awards and nominations including a Tony Award nomination, as well two Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Award nominations.
She ...
portrays Maria Stark in the 2016 film ''
Captain America: Civil War''. Producer
Kevin Feige
Kevin Feige ( ; born June 2, 1973) is an American film and television producer who has been the president of Marvel Studios and the primary producer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise since 2007. The films he has produced have a combin ...
revealed that another actress had been cast to appear as the character earlier in the 2013 film ''
Iron Man 3
''Iron Man 3'' (titled onscreen as ''Iron Man Three'') is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Ir ...
'' in a flashback sequence that did not make the final cut.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stark, Maria
Iron Man characters
Characters created by Bill Mantlo
Comics characters introduced in 1977
Fictional business executives
Fictional murdered people
Characters created by George Tuska