Pepper Potts

"I do anything and everything Mr. Stark requires. Including occasionally taking out the trash."

- Pepper Potts

Virginia "Pepper" Potts is the former Personal Assistant turned Executive to Tony Stark and Stark Industries.

Originally working as Tony's PA, she would take care of his schedule and do pretty much any task he wished. When Tony returned from captivity in Afghanistan, she was trusted enough by Tony to see his Iron Man Suits and his workshop. She helped Tony defeat Obadiah Stane who tried to kill Tony by overloading the Arc Reactor killing Stane. After Stane's death, Tony made Pepper his business partner taking Stane's place.

Early life
Pepper worked in finance at Stark Industries when she found an error in Tony Stark's calculations. She rushed to Tony to correct the mark forcing her way to see him past bodyguards using pepper spray. Tony was impressed and hired her has his Personal Assistant naming her Pepper as a joke.

After Tony had a one night stand with Christine Everhart after a party to celebrate Tony, Pepper greeted her the next morning with her clothes, coldly escorting her out. When Tony returns from Afghanistan after his capture and escape, Pepper along with Happy Hogan are there to greet him off of the plane. She expresses her gratitude that he has returned having not liked looking for a new job shedding a sly tear. She accompanies him to get a Burger King and to a press conference where he announces that Stark Industries will no longer produce weapons where she is approached by Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. for an interview with Tony Stark. Later on she goes to Tony's workshop to bring him a cappucino and baegel and he asks her to help him replace his Mark I Arc Reactor with a new one before telling her to destroy it. She actually has it put in a glass frame before revealing it is her birthday and realised Tony would forget and brought herself something. At Tony's annual charity ball, Pepper is already their wearing her "birthday present" when Tony asks her to dance. Both realise some hidden feeling and go to take some air where they nearly kiss before Pepper asks for a martini. Tony leaves to get the drink but then leaves after Christine Everhart provides him with pictures and information of The Ten Rings, leaving Pepper. When he returns, Pepper is angry but after Tony tells her he needs to destroy the weapons and stop the people, Pepper agrees to help him. He gives her a USB to copy all the files from Stark Industries realising that Obadiah Stane ordered to kill Tony. Leaving to arrest Obadiah with Agent Coulson and other agents, they are confronted by Obadiah in his Iron Monger suit. Tony arrives in a depowered Iron Man Armor: Mark III and battles Obadiah where he tells Pepper to overload the main arc reactor, which kills Obadiah charges up Tony's Mark I arc reactor saving his life. She is later present at a press conference where Tony announces he is Iron Man.

Six months later, Potts was promoted to Stark Industries' CEO while Tony was getting his affairs in order. Unbeknownst to her, he had developed terminal complications from the poisonous side-effects of the arc reactor's palladium core. As a result, he began to spiral out of control and eventually his increasingly reckless behaviour pulled them apart entirely.

Their reconciliation came on a night when Stark's arch-rival, Justin Hammer, unveiled his latest military marvel, a series of humanoid combat drones. When the drones activated and attacked Stark, apparently of their own accord, Pepper and Natasha Romanoff confronted Hammer and demanded they be shut down. When they found that Hammer had lost control of them, Romanoff departed to deal with them while Potts remained at the expo. Stark swooped in and saved her when she strayed close to one of the damaged drones right before it was about to explode.

Pepper Potts is seen having a romantic date with Tony Stark at the top floor of the Stark Tower, but they're interrupted by the sudden arrival of Phil Coulson, who has to crash J.A.R.V.I.S.'s systems in order to get in the tower, since Stark is trying to close him outdoors. Pepper has befriended Coulson during their previous meetings, and asks him about his personal life, as well as convincing Stark to listen to him and to read what documents he's giving him. Pepper is well aware of The Avengers Initiative, due to Stark's inability to keep a secret (especially a government-related one that he cares little for), and she manages to convince her boss and boyfriend to help S.H.I.E.L.D. save the world from Loki Laufeyson.

Later, when the Chitauri have started their invasion, Pepper is on a private plane, safe from the battle. Stark, before sacrificing himself to destroy an atomic bomb sent on Manhattan, tries to call her on the phone, but she doesn't hear it and doesn't call up.

After the battle, when the Avengers are disbanded and everyone comes back to his normal life, Pepper rejoins with Stark, helping him redesign Stark Tower.