They likely return to the Sanctum Sanctorum. ", "Robert Downey Jr. Talks Iron Man 2, The Dark Knight and Colin Farrell", "Downey Jr., Favreau & Cheadle Suit Up for The Avengers! In the comics, Stark becomes Iron Man following an experience in the Vietnam War, which is changed to the War in Afghanistan. Variety noted that Downey would receive $40 million-plus backend for his participation, as well as an additional payout if the film outperformed Captain America: The Winter Soldier, as Marvel would attribute that success to Downey's presence. [54][55] Anthony Russo said that Stark's egomania allowed the writers "to bring him to a point in his life where he was willing to submit to an authority, where he felt it was the right thing to do." [14], Robert Downey Jr. portrays Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Iron Man (2008),[15] Iron Man 2 (2010),[16] The Avengers (2012),[17] Iron Man 3 (2013),[18] Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015),[19] Captain America: Civil War (2016),[20] Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017),[21] Avengers: Infinity War (2018),[19] and Avengers: Endgame (2019). Stark saves the surviving passengers and crew but cannot stop Killian from abducting Ellis and destroying Air Force One. One of the most shocking moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was when Iron Man sacrificed himself to save the world. However, they are followed by an alternate version of Thanos and his army, who are summoned to 2023 by an alternate version of Nebula. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of commercial success later in his career. [5], On December 16, 1991, when Stark was 21, his parents went away to the Bahamas, but planned to stop at the Pentagon to deliver Super Soldier Serum Howard had redeveloped. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. plans to harness the Tesseract to develop weapons. After successfully freeing Strange and killing Maw, the trio proceed to Thanos home planet Titan, where they meet members of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian arrive to retrieve the Time Stone, prompting Strange, Stark, Wong, and Parker to confront them. 3 will center on the Guardians hunt for this old Gamora and Star-Lord starting up a romance with her, again. InInfinity Gauntlet, Terraxia ripped Iron Man's head off his body and presented it to Thanos. However, Stark began to delete the information while Osborn was after him, and this caused him to begin to wipe his own brain as well. has made a habit out of killing Tony Stark's Iron Man repeatedly, but finally does the MCU hero justice at the fifth time of asking. "[18] On following up The Avengers, Downey said they "tried to be practical, in a post-Avengers world. Happy Hogan: Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) will probably play a mentorship role to Tony Stark and Pepper Potts daughter. Thanos crushed Visions (Paul Bettany) skull in order to gain the Mind Stone in that movie, and Vision does not return to Avengers: Endgame. Black Widow: When Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) go to Voramir, they learn from Red Skull that they will have to sacrifice something they love in order to attain the Soul Stone. but only after killing off Tony Stark a total of 5 times. RELATED:10 Smartest Characters In Marvel Comics, Ranked. This causes Dare to get more and more unhinged and leads to her shooting Tony in the chest in Iron Man #242. Star-Lord tries to look for her on his ships navigation system, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. That seems very much in keeping with who that character is. Nick Fury and Maria Hill: S.H.I.E.L.D. Restless, he builds several dozen Iron Man suits, creating friction with girlfriend Pepper Potts. is eventually uploaded by Stark to an artificial body and becomes Vision. So I think there's probably a bit of an imposter complex and no sooner has he said, 'I am Iron Man ' that he's now really wondering what that means. "[9] The character's original costume was a bulky gray armored suit, replaced by a golden version in the second story (issue #40, April 1963), and redesigned as sleeker, red-and-golden armor in issue #48 (Dec. 1963) by Steve Ditko. Still from 'Avengers: Endgame' featuring War Machine/James Rhodey (Don Cheadle) and Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner). After Norman Osborn became a national hero when he killed the Skrull Queen in Secret Invasion, the former Green Goblin gained more and more power. Anthony Edward Stark Alias (es) Tony Stark Codenames Iron Man The Mechanic Nicknames Shellhead Organizational Names The Starkster In-Universe Media The New Kid The Da Vinci of Our Time The Merchant of Death The Mysterious Bodyguard The World Greatest Hero Undercover Aliases Howard Potts Species Human Citizenship American Gender Tony Stark: Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) sacrificed himself in order to save the universe at the end of Avengers: Endgame. The 2014 Gamora helps to stop Thanos and his minions. At a New Year's Eve party for the new millennium, he attended a conference in Bern where he met scientists Maya Hansen, inventor of the Extremis experimental regenerative treatment, and Aldrich Killian, rejecting an offer to work for Killian's Advanced Idea Mechanics.[b]. Still from 'Avengers: Endgame' featuring Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Paul Rudd). 2014 Nebula: When Nebula (Karen Gillan) and War Machine (Don Cheadle) travel from 2023 to 2014 to retrieve the power stone, 2023 Nebula accidentally sends a message to her 2014 self revealing their mission. In the mid-2000s, with a number of movies having been made from other Marvel properties licensed to other studios, Kevin Feige realized that Marvel still owned the rights to the core members of the Avengers, which included Iron Man. Every Time Iron Man Died In Season 1 (& How) By Sage Ashford. Why does Iron Man have the arc reactor? We see her parents, Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Hank (Michael Douglas), returned to life at Tony Starks funeral. After narrowly saving Pepper Potts from a self-destructing drone, they start a relationship. 3. Since Gamora fought alongside the good guys, she presumably survived. Tony wanted to save America's superheroes so he deleted the identities from the Superhero Registration Act, storing them in his brain. [20], In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Stark is Peter Parker's mentor and is the creator of the U.S. Department of Damage Control. The Collector: Its unclear what happened to the Collector (Benicio del Toro), who possessed the Reality Stone back in Avengers: Infinity War. Following his failed Ultron Program, the internal conflict within the Avengers due to the Sokovia Accords, and Thanos successfully erasing half of all life in the Blip, Stark retires, marries Pepper Potts, and they have a daughter named Morgan. Write to Eliana Dockterman at eliana.dockterman@time.com. series on DIsney+, although he did die practically every time he showed up. Thats complicated by the fact that Captain America returned the Mind Stone to its original timeline, and Tony Stark (who is now dead) is probably the only person who could understand how to recreate Visions mind. Traveling to 2012, Stark fails to retrieve the Space Stone following the Battle of New York and instead goes further back to the 1970s to steal it from a S.H.I.E.L.D. Their heroics, which are complicated by the mechanics of time travel, mess with the already confusing Marvel timeline: As the Avengers change the past, new, parallel universes branch off, creating new spinoff possibilities for once-dead characters. This led to a complete reboot of the Avengers and Fantastic Four on an alternate Earth in Heroes Reborn. At the Expo, Stark's rival Justin Hammer unveils Vanko's armored drones, led by Rhodes in a heavily weaponized version of the Mark II armor. That's a change we'll make. This instead embittered Stark, who felt that his father was taking more pride in his creations than in his family. "[34] To prepare, Downey spent five days a week weight training and practiced martial arts to get into shape,[12] which he said benefited him because "it's hard not to have a personality meltdown after about several hours in that suit. Novi Grad is destroyed along with the complete meteor. He once again encounters Killian, who has . "It's down to Kevin [Feige] and Ike [Perlmutter, CEO of Marvel Entertainment] and Disney to come to us with what the proposal is, and thats on us to agree or disagree," Downey said. That is the power of a screenwriter. (2021), voiced by Mick Wingert. to remotely destroy all of the Iron Man suits as a sign of his devotion to Potts, and undergoes surgery to remove the shrapnel embedded near his heart. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) [1] is an American actor and producer. This. Avengers: Endgame writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have been pulling back the veil in the wake of the MCU movie's record-breaking. All the other Guardians Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Groot (Vin Diesel), Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) return for the final battle against Thanos. He still may play a role in future Guardians movies. Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) suggests that Vision is permanently dead at the end of the film when she and Hawkeye reminisce over the loss of Vision and Black Widow, respectively. Wong: Wong (Benedict Wong) and Doctor Strange reunite during the battle against Thanos. His sacrifice was a key part of saving the universe in Avengers: Endgame, and the universe may have had no other choice - Iron Man may have been the real threat all along. Wanda sneaks up behind him and uses her mind manipulation powers to give him a haunting vision: the death of all the Avengers except him. Stark competes in the Monaco Historic Grand Prix and is attacked mid-race by Ivan Vanko, who wields electrified whips powered by a miniature arc reactor. Instead . Aldrich Killian reveals himself to be the real Mandarin and captures Stark. Sure, most of them are about time travel, but one of them is what happened to Gamora? If you're changing something because you want to double-down on the spirit of who the character is? He engineers a time travel device and the Avengers successfully restore trillions of lives across the universe. Likely, hell try to convince her to stay there. Eventually, he slipped into a coma with his brain technically dead. The missile detonates, destroying the Chitauri mothership and disabling their forces on Earth. Agents possessed by Loki attack the Helicarrier, disabling one of its engines in flight, which Stark and Rogers must work to restart. Luckily, all of their dusted compatriots have returned and the group defeats Thanos and his minions. And what sort of threat would have him, as usual, ignore those limitations? Tony Stark didn't need to die to prove he was a hero. Later, after Tony Starks funeral, we see Peter return to school and wave to his friend Ned. Thor returns to help activate the body, explaining that the gem on its brow was part of his vision. The Avengers establish a new base in upstate New York, and Stark leaves the team. Credit: Marvel Entertainment. She will likely have a major role to play in Black Panther 2. As 2012-Stark and 2012-Thor argue with Alexander Pierce and S.H.I.E.L.D. After all, characters like Black Panther and Spider-Man had to return for scheduled solo sequels and the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Luckily, by the end, both Tony Stark and James Rhodes returned with new artificial bodies. [59] Watts noted that after Stark's actions in Civil War, introducing Parker to life as an Avenger, there are "a lot of repercussions to that. Loki escapes, and Stark and Rogers realize that for Loki, simply defeating them will not be enough; he needs to overpower them publicly to validate himself as ruler of Earth. Thanos was about to snap out all life but realized too late that Iron Man had stolen the Infinity Gauntlet. Stark intercepts the missile, and in an apparent sacrifice of his own life, takes it through the wormhole toward the Chitauri fleet. Ruffalo still has two movies left on his Marvel contract. Tony realized he needed something drastic sohe"died" in order to go into cryostasis. The Ancient One: The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) died during Doctor Strange. Stark escapes in an Iron Man suit and crashes in rural Tennessee. Its possible that if another major threat hits Earth, she would take up Thors old mantle to protect her people. "[48] Screenwriter Drew Pearce compared Stark in Iron Man 3 to an American James Bond for both being "heroes with a sense of danger to them, and unpredictability" even if Stark was a "free agent" instead of an authority figure like Bond. This has no effect on her 2023 self: Tony Stark explains earlier in the movie that changing actions in the past doesnt have a butterfly effect in the present but rather creates a new, totally separate timeline. [86], For The Avengers, Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journaldespite complimenting Downey's performancefavored his work in Iron Man over his acting in The Avengers: "His Iron Man is certainly a team player, but Mr. Downey comes to the party with two insuperable superpowers: a character of established sophisticationthe industrialist/inventor Tony Stark, a sharp-tongued man of the worldand his own quicksilver presence that finds its finest expression in self-irony". Thanos is able to overpower Stark before attempting another snap but discovers that Stark has transferred the Infinity Stones to his own armor. Published Apr 29, 2021 Tony Stark had to die to complete his character development, but Steve Rogers' death doesn't make sense. [33] Downey explained, "What I usually hate about these [superhero] movies [is] when suddenly the guy that you were digging turns into Dudley Do-Right, and then you're supposed to buy into all his 'Let's go do some good!' We tried it and it didn't work, because this is a different sort of thing, the story and the idea and the theme is the theme, and everybody is just an arm of the octopus. The entireAvengers: Infinity War storyline came straight from the comic books with one major change. The character and Downey's performance have been credited with helping to cement the MCU as a multi-billion-dollar franchise, with Stark's evolution often being considered the defining arc of the series.[4]. Alternate versions of Stark from within the MCU multiverse appear in the animated series What If? Stark is one of the central figures of the MCU, having appeared in eleven films as of 2023. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has reached a new stage with the incorporation of television into its stories. They form a plan to confront Thanos and remove the Infinity Gauntlet, but Thanos overpowers the group and stabs Stark in the abdomen. [62] Also in March, Downey said he was open to extending his contract, stating he feels "there's a couple other things we've gotta do" with the character. In the Ultimate Comics, Stark and Parker do not go past the normal trainer-trainee relationship. In the final scene of Avengers: Endgame, Iron Man sacrificed himself to save the Earth. [56] Downey's personal trainer Eric Oram stated that the trick to pitting Rogers against Stark, "is to show Iron Man using the 'minimum force' necessary to win the fight". I'm calling up every therapeutic moment I can think of to just get through the day. RELATED:10 Wildest Alternate Realities In Marvel Comics. And, of course, their mission involves some sacrifice real sacrifice. Stark summons his Iron Man suits, controlled remotely by J.A.R.V.I.S., to provide air support. This event saw all the different Earths in the multiverse die one by one, and all the characters who lived in those universes died along with it. [21][58] Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group chairman Thomas Rothman noted that, beyond the commercial advantage of featuring Downey in the film, the inclusion of Stark was important due to the relationship established between him and Parker in Captain America: Civil War. 2018 Loki: In the opening scenes of Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos killed Loki (Tom Hiddleston), promising no resurrections this time. (The trickster god has a tendency to die only to reveal later he faked his death.) He decides to stay back in time and live out a quiet life with Peggy. Stark chooses Peter Parker as a successor. Introduced in 2016, Riri is a teenage genius from Chicago who reverse-engineered Stark technology and built her own suit of Iron Man armor using material that she'd stolen from MIT, where she was. This started with the devastating X-Men storyline with Onslaught, a being created after Professor X shut down Magneto's mind. "[88], In 2015, Empire named Tony Stark the 13th greatest film character of all time. In the comics, however, Ultron is created by a different member of the Avengers, Hank Pym, and aspects of Pym's personality are integrated into this version of Ultron, such as a desire for peace. Hope Pym, Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne: Hope Pym, a.k.a. Initially the chief weapons manufacturer for the U.S. military, he has a change of heart and redirects his technical knowledge into the creation of mechanized suits of armor which he uses to defend earth. The Avengers are divided: Stark supports oversight because of his role in Ultron's creation and Sokovia's devastation, while Rogers has more faith in their judgment than that of a government. One of the most shocking moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was when Iron Man sacrificed himself to save the world. December 16, 1991 Status Deceased Appearances Movie Iron Man (newspaper) Iron Man 2 (mentioned) Captain America: The Winter Soldier (mentioned) Captain America: Civil War (illusion & footage) TV Series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (flashback) Comic The fight ends in a stalemate, so Rhodes confiscates the Mark II for the U.S. Air Force. So 2023 Nebula is killing a parallel version of herself, not an earlier version of herself. [24] Archival footage of the character also appears in "Glorious Purpose", the first episode of the Disney+ television series Loki. Circumstances lead to Rogers and fellow super-soldier Bucky Barnesframed for a terrorist attackgoing rogue, along with Sam Wilson, Wanda Maximoff, Clint Barton, and Scott Lang. Shuri: Shuri (Letitia Wright) returns alongside Black Panther and is flanked by the Wakandan army for the final battle. . [22], In Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), Stark appears in archival footage from Captain America: Civil War,[23] and also appears via archive footage in the Marvel One-Shot The Consultant (2011). facility, Fury activates the Avengers Initiative and Agent Phil Coulson visits Stark to have him review the research of Erik Selvig on the Tesseract. After a confrontation with Stark and Rogers, Thor agrees to take Loki to S.H.I.E.L.D. Jun. Let's Compare", "Does 'Iron Man 3' Stay True To The Comic Books? In an alternate 2015, Ultron successfully uploads his consciousness into a new vibranium body, becoming powerful enough to kill Stark and most of the Avengers, eradicating all life on Earth. Afterwards, Nebula survives the fight against her father and presumably will play some role in the Guardians future adventures. Tony's problem is that he's a playboy who can't commit to one woman. Marvel Studios' Avengers: Endgame writers explain why Tony Stark aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) had to die instead of retiring in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie and Steve Rogers aka Captain America (Chris Evans) had to live. After the funeral, shes left to raise their daughter alone. Now that his family is back, hell probably return to a relatively peaceful life with them though hell briefly star in a Disney+ television series in which he trains a new Hawkeye and passes on the name to an aspiring hero. Iron Man (teen Tony Stark) sacrificed himself along with a reluctant Doctor . 3 will probably follow his quest to find her. The biggest thing about this is that Tony Stark was not a living human anymore, and was instead a clone with Tony's mind inserted in it. Stark's suit runs out of power, and he falls back through the wormhole but the Hulk saves him from crashing into the ground. In an alternate universe, Stark is a close ally of Gamora after the death of Thanos by her hands. Published Oct 31, 2020 MCU fans saw Tony Stark die in Avengers: Endgame, but Iron Man's death was much sadder in the comics, because it was Captain America who killed him. But half their schoolmates would have stayed on earth, grown up and graduated.). That, you know, there's a bouncer at our planet's rope. he returns the Time Stone to the Sanctum Sanctorum in 2012.) She does have an Iron Man suit though if she wants to use it. Tony Stark didn't have to die in Avengers: Endgame. Simple Answer: it was the only way they won Long Answer: Thanos was a character that completely wiped the floor with the Avengers, Tony's attitude towards how their fight went at the beginning showed just how utterly defeated he was. He dies surrounded by Rhodes, Parker, and Potts. Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff: Scarlet Witch takes out her anger on Thanos for killing her boyfriend, Vision, after she returns. Iron Man was heavily featured in Marvel's What If.? Thanos took the stone from him, but we dont know if Thanos killed the Collector or left him alive. Inside the metal, imperfect humanity grows even more so, as thought-provoking questions of identity meet techno-fantasy made flesh". Hulk/Bruce Banner: During Endgame, Bruce revealed that he has finally reconciled his two halves the scientist and the big, green superhero to create a medium-sized, smart Hulk. Ant-Man/Scott Lang: We see Ant-Man reunited with the Wasp and his daughter Cassie, now five years older, at the end of the film. Stark and Nebula, stranded on Titan, watch as Parker and others are turned to dust. That Eliot Ness-in-a-cape-type thing. Character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, "Iron Man (Marvel Cinematic Universe)" redirects here. In the movie, it was the Avengers slated to save the world, or at least the members who survived the snap. [90], Downey has received numerous nominations and awards for his portrayal of Tony Stark. (He promises her all the cheeseburgers during the funeral.) Stark and the other Avengers capture Loki and Thor takes custody of him. Heimdall: Thanos and his children murder Thors friend Heimdall (Idris Elba) when they invade Thors ship. For Iron Man, Stan Winston and his company built metal and rubber versions of the armors featured in the film,[70] while Iron Man comic book artist Adi Granov designed the Mark III with illustrator Phil Saunders. Answer (1 of 5): Tony Stark then uses them to disintegrate Thanos and all of his forces, saving the universe but fatally injuring himself in the process. [87] In his review of Avengers: Endgame, Morgenstern lauded both actor and character, praising "Robert Downey Jr.'s startlingly smart Tony Stark" who, along with Chris Evans' Captain America and Chris Hemsworth's Thor, contributed to that film's "feeling of family because the debuts of its most prominent members remain vivid to this day. Still from 'Avengers: Endgame' featuring Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). Title(s) . The adopted son of weapons manufacturer Howard Stark, Tony inherited his family's company at a young age following his parents' death. Something tells me that it will not be the case, and [he] will be seen in a fourth, or fifth." (N.B. Stark and Yinsen secretly build a small, powerful electric generator called an arc reactor to power Stark's electromagnet and a suit of powered armor. When the Ten Rings attack the workshop, Yinsen sacrifices himself to divert them while the suit is completed. For the first time in his life, Tony Stark was happy. 2014 Nebula then travels back to 2023, masquerading as 2023 Nebula, and pulls Thanos and. When Hawkeye returns to Earth, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) suggests they use the Time Stone to bring her back. In an alternate 2012, Stark and the Avengers are victorious over Loki during the Battle of New York, however the time traveling Stark and Scott Lang from 2023 alter 2012-Stark's history when they attempt to steal the briefcase containing the Tesseract. On making a third Iron Man film, Downey said, "My sense of it is that we need to leave it all on the fieldwhatever that means in the end. Why did Iron Man have to die? Guardians of the Galaxy: Rocket (Bradley Cooper) was the only Guardian left after Thanos snap. As a result of his injuries . The heroes from each Earth tried to fight to save their own world, and it was all for naught. Considering that Gamora was fighting on the side of the Avengers, that means that she is probably still alive. Stark and Nebula are rescued from space by Carol Danvers and returned to Earth, where Stark chooses to retire and raise his daughter Morgan, with Potts. Caution: spoilers ahead for What If.?