No one hired the Paladin to go after Tony Stark after his identity reveal because Tony was never an easy or profitable target. The moment he said “I am Iron Man” he became one of the most protected people on the planet, with Stark Industries resources, government connections, and a suit that could already outfight most conventional threats. A bounty hunter who works for the highest bidder still has to weigh the actual chance of success against the risk of dying or starting a war with someone who can level a building. Tony’s public reveal did not make him vulnerable. It made every serious player aware that attacking him would bring immediate and overwhelming retaliation. The Paladin operates in the shadows and takes contracts that can be completed without drawing the full attention of world governments or the Avengers. Going after Tony in the open would have required getting through layers of security, advanced AI defenses, and a man who had already survived multiple assassination attempts by better-funded enemies. Even groups with more resources than a single bounty hunter, like the Ten Rings or later Hydra remnants, struggled to pin him down for long. A mercenary looking for a clean payday would have seen the job as high risk and low odds, especially once Tony started operating with the other Avengers. The reason the Paladin shows up later in stories involving Vision or other targets is that those situations stay within the scale he is built for. Tony after the press conference was a global figure with armor, money, and allies who could respond in minutes. Most bounty hunters, including ones who take the highest bids, still pass on contracts where the target can fight back at that level and where failure means becoming the next name on someone else’s list. The absence of a Paladin hit on Tony is less a plot hole and more a sign that even professional killers understood the difference between a difficult mark and an unwinnable one.