In this comic strip we are seeing Tony Stark being praised for donating a large sum of money, $100,000 to be exact, to the hospital to help build their new wing. As a long time fan of the Iron Man series, I know that Tony Stark is a good-hearted individual and often means well, even if he doesn’t always think before he acts. Stark also happens to be very arrogant. He is often seen to be flaunting his wealth, as seen here in this comic. Instead of making an anonymous donation he is being awarded for his charitable contribution. This is the definition to conspicuous compassion- the use of charitable donations of money in order to enhance the social prestige of the donor, with a display of superior socio-economic status.
Conspicuous compassion is a form of consumerism. According to Dalton Conley, consumerism is the steady acquisition of material possessions, often with the belief that happiness and fulfillment can thus be achieved (2017, p. 107). Mr. Stark did in fact use his money for the acquisition of the hospital wing, though not for himself. Doing so made him feel some happiness and satisfaction.
The second frame we see Tony Stark announcing, presumably to either a crowd or camera, that he had ‘contacted’ Iron Man to entertain the children on live tv. Stark is planning to use the platform of television as his media- any formats, platforms, or vehicles that carry, present or communicate information- to show to the viewer that Iron Man, too, is charitable.
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Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist (5th core ed). New York, NY: W.W. Norton.