Virginia "Pepper" Potts is the CEO of Stark Industries. Originally working as Tony Stark's personal assistant, she would take care of his schedule and perform any task he wished. During this time, Potts became good friends with Stark and soon, they had begun developing romantic feelings for each other. However, neither was able to act on these feelings, as they each feared that the other would not accept them. When Stark returned from captivity in Afghanistan, Potts was trusted enough by him to see his Iron Man suits and his workshop. She helped Stark defeat Obadiah Stane, who tried to kill Stark, by overloading the Arc Reactor, killing Stane. After Stane's death, Stark made Potts his new business partner, taking Stane's place. Believing his death was imminent, Stark stepped down as CEO and appointed her as his replacement. After Stark defeated Whiplash at the Stark Expo, both Potts and Stark finally admitted their attraction to each other and began a romantic relationship. During the crisis surrounding the Mandarin's terrorist attacks, Potts was kidnapped by Aldrich Killian and injected with Extremis. She was freed by Stark during the Battle on the Norco and went on to kill Killian herself. Stark cured her of the effects of Extremis, who temporarily gave up being Iron Man just for her. As the War on HYDRA began, the Avengers needed to be remobilized. Without S.H.I.E.L.D. active to run the team, Stark and Potts took over, allowing Captain America to retain field and team leadership while he designed everything else, including creating new armors and rejoining the team himself as an active duty combatant. Sometime after the Ultron Offensive, he and Potts broke off their relationship, which affected Stark and left him wondering why he could not make it work while his father could. However, shortly after the Avengers Civil War ended, Stark and Potts resumed their relationship, where Stark eventually proposed to her. The two married following the Snap and had a daughter, Morgan Stark. The three of them resided on the Stark Eco-Compound until Stark departed for the Time Heist. Later, Potts joined the Avengers in the Battle of Earth as Rescue, wearing the Mark XLIX armor, when Thanos' forces invaded. After Stark died by her side, Potts was present at his funeral, where she set adrift Stark's first Arc Reactor onto a wreath into their residential lakeside.