In the Marvel comics, it was revealed that Tony Stark's parents, Howard and Maria Stark, were killed in a car crash caused by a man named Vasily Karpov, who was working for the Soviet Union at the time. However, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was revealed that the true culprits were the brainwashed Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes) and HYDRA, who orchestrated the incident as part of a larger plot to destabilize the world. This revelation was uncovered by Captain America and Iron Man, leading to a major conflict between the two heroes in Captain America: Civil War.