(Earth-71232 )
EMPEROR STARK
(Earth-71232 )
Real Name: Anthony "Tony" Stark
Identity/Class: Alternate
reality (Earth-71232 ) human
Occupation: Emperor
Group Membership: Unidentified polity
Affiliations: Norman Osborn
Enemies: Mary Jane Watson
Known Relatives: Queen Gwen Stacy (wife)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed
First Appearance: Sensational Spider-Man II#32 (January, 2007)
Powers/Abilities: Emperor Tony Stark has no
superhuman powers.
Whether he uses any advanced armor technology is unrevealed.
Height: 6'1''
Weight: 210 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
History: (Sensational Spider-Man II#32 )
- Tony Stark was the Emperor of a Roman or Roman-like society. Along
with his Queen, Gwen Stacy, he presided over crowd-pleasing games in a
large coliseum hosting thousands of people.
In the arena stood Mary Jane
Watson, and the Emperor noted that it was a good day for the event. The
Queen urged him to start, noting that she had an upcoming appointment
with Norman Osborn. Tony told Gwen not to miss it, and proclaimed that
the main event had already begun.
Mary Jane was offered by Madame Web (Cassandra Webb) to choose between two identical doors, and she opened one to find a large spider monster that attacked her.
(Sensational Spider-Man II#32 - BTS) - These events were seen in a recurring dream by Mary Jane Watson of Earth-616 after Tony Stark convinced her husband Peter Parker to unmask himself as Spider-Man during the Superhero Registration Conflict.
One might be quick to assume that all of the things that looked Roman are indeed just that - Roman. However, other works of fiction - such as the 2024 film Megalopolis - contain examples of societies which are extensively Roman-themed, yet not actually Roman, occupying an alternate present, or even an alternate future. And of course Nova Roma exists in the Marvel Universe.
I
think this story was an homage to "The Lady and the Tiger"--Snood
Courtesy of Wikipedia:
“The Lady, or the Tiger?" is a much-anthologized short story written by Frank R. Stockton for publication in the November issue of The Century Magazine in 1882. "The Lady, or the Tiger?" has entered the English language as an allegorical expression, a shorthand indication or signifier, for a problem that is unsolvable.
A "semi-barbaric" king rules a land sometime in the past. Some of the king's ideas are progressive, but others cause people to suffer. One of the king's innovations is the use of a public trial by ordeal as "an agent of poetic justice", with guilt or innocence decided by the result of chance. A person accused of a crime is brought into a public arena and must choose one of two doors. Behind one door is a lady whom the king has deemed an appropriate match for the accused; behind the other is a fierce, hungry tiger. Both doors are heavily soundproofed to prevent the accused from hearing what is behind each one. If he chooses the door with the lady behind it, he is innocent and must immediately marry her, but if he chooses the door with the tiger behind it, he is deemed guilty and is immediately devoured by the animal.
The king learns that his daughter has a lover, a handsome and brave youth who is of lower status than the princess, and has him imprisoned to await trial. By the time that day comes, the princess has used her influence to learn the positions of the lady and the tiger behind the two doors. She has also discovered that the lady is someone whom she hates, thinking her to be a rival for the affections of the accused. When he looks to the princess for help, she discreetly indicates the door on his right, which he opens.
The outcome of this choice is not revealed. Instead, the narrator departs from the story to summarize the princess's state of mind and her thoughts about directing the accused to one fate or the other, as she will lose him either to death or to marriage. She contemplates the pros and cons of each option, though notably considering the lady more. Finally, the story ends with the question, "And so I leave it with all of you: Which came out of the opened door – the lady, or the tiger?"
This profile was completed 08/16/2026, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th anniversary 's celebratory event to represent Iron Man's 2000s' stories and characters.CLARIFICATIONS:
Emperor Stark of reality-71232 should not be confused with:
images: (without ads)
Sensational Spider-Man II#32, p4, pan3 (main image)
Sensational Spider-Man II#32, p5, pan1 (headshot)
First Posted: 09/15/2026
Last updated: 08/16/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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