With the backing of his best friend, Air Force Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Terrence Howard), and his trusty assistant, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), he successfully roots out the man responsible for his kidnapping — his business partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) — and changes the world forever when he announces that he is actually a superhero: the Iron Man.
Of course, as he would learn from S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in a post-credits scene, this was just his first step into a larger world.
Tony finds himself unable to live with the idea of his inventions harming innocent lives, and upon returning home he not only shuts down weapons manufacturing at his company, but begins to advance and improve the armor he invented.