Iron Man’s death in Avengers: Endgame is one of the MCU’s most heartbreaking moments, but looking back, Phase 4 had to work.
Phase 4 of the MCU wouldn’t work without Iron Man’s tragic death in Avengers: Endgame. Played by Robert Downey Jr., Tony Stark’s cathartic arc comes full circle as he destroys Thanos and his army of him at the cost of his own life. His sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame is heartbreaking, but it solidifies his place as one of the most memorable superhero characters on the big screen, with his legacy still influencing many story arcs in the Marvel Studios franchise. .
Tony Stark’s rite of passage and impressive finale round off the MCU’s first decade of brilliant storytelling perfectly. It allows Chris Hemsworth’s Thor to overcome his self-destructive spiral, paves the way for a new roster of heroes, and establishes Doctor Strange as a questionable guide figure for Peter Parker. However, given how the franchise now intertwines with multiverse narratives, it’s hard not to think now about speculation about Iron Man’s survival and how it would affect Phase 4 of the MCU.
The entire Iron Man character would have sabotaged the tone of Phase 4
Tony Stark’s penchant for spending more time with his family in Avengers: Endgame determined his retirement was imminent. However, considering how he continued to work on side projects like Pepper Potts’ Rescue Armor and likely experimented with time travel after the Avengers: Infinity War shoot, he likely would have found new ways to get involved in the pivotal events of Phase 4 of the MCU. This, in turn, would have left less room for a new generation of superheroes to develop, or even older ones who had their own cathartic arcs in Phase 4.
If Iron Man were alive after Avengers: Endgame, he would have been involved with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings due to his history with the Ten Rings. Even in Spider-Man: Far From Home, it wouldn’t make sense for Mysterio to trick Peter Parker while Tony was still around, as he would identify the villain as his former employee. As a result, the events of Peter Parker’s Spider-Man: No Way Home would never have happened either, as they’re just the aftermath of his Far From Home arc. Doctor Strange would therefore never open the door to the multiverse, which is a central narrative device to present and future storylines in the MCU.
Iron Man deserved to be the greatest hero of the Infinity Saga
Since both Iron Man and Captain America were key figures for the Avengers in Phase 3 of the MCU, especially after Captain America: Civil War, audiences had speculated that one of them would end up dying. While Captain America’s death is no less poignant, it would be more to be expected since Steve Rogers has always been a virtuous and selfless hero. Iron Man, meanwhile, goes from cocky billionaire playboy to selfless family man, making him worthy of being the Infinity Saga’s greatest hero.
Since Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man was the franchise’s inaugural hero, it’s more symbolic for him to mark the end of the MCU’s first era. Keeping it beyond the Infinity Saga would only lessen the weight of its remarkable timeline in the first three phases of the MCU. Not to mention, unnecessarily reducing Iron Man to a minor role in Phase 4 of the MCU after Avenger: Endgame would almost be an insult to everything Downey has given the character.
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