Iron Man is dead. Yes, we know, he died back when Avengers: Endgame released in May 2019, but now reality has caught up with fiction as Oct. 17, 2023 is canonically the date of Tony Stark’s heroic self-sacrifice. The Marvel fandom is missing the Armored Avenger all over again, then, proving that the years haven’t dulled the pain of the daddy of the MCU’s demise. And that’s no surprise given that the Multiverse Saga’s many slip-ups have meant we’ve never been able to forget him.
On top of the character continually being referenced throughout Phases Four and Five, whether that be through Riri Williams taking up his legacy as Ironheart in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever or Loki recalling the events of The Avengers in Loki season 2, multiple MCU outings since 2020 have only made us miss Iron Man all the more because we can’t help but feel they’d have been infinitely better (even Infinity Saga-level better) if Robert Downey Jr. had turned up.
Black Widow
The Multiverse Saga had us crying out for Iron Man as soon as it started in Black Widow. Why? Well, if you can cast your mind back that far, there were some serious rumors when the Scarlett Johansson vehicle was shooting that Robert Downey Jr. was going to drop by for a cameo — BW is set in between Civil War and Infinity War, remember, so it wouldn’t have broken canon. Unfortunately, that didn’t end up happening, but even a walk-on part from Tony would’ve livened up this middling start to Phase Four.
Eternals
Eternals has its fans, for sure, but the fact Marvel seems entirely embarrassed by this enterprise and has been trying to sweep it under the rug ever since says it all. We all know Marvel’s addiction to quippy dialogue is an albatross around its neck at this point, but the 156-minute long mythological epic would definitely have been more palatable if Tony Stark could’ve dropped by to add some charm and levity to proceedings. A bit of Iron Man magic might’ve stopped Eternals from feeling like a Zack Snyder DCEU movie masquerading as a Marvel film.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Spider-Man: No Way Home is spectacular, amazing, and any other superlative associated with Spider-Man you care to mention, I’m not denying that, but it definitely could’ve used some of Tony’s touch. I’m sorry, Doctor Strange, but you seriously pale in comparison to Iron Man in the department of being a good mentor to Peter Parker. If Stark was still around, Spidey could’ve got some helpful advice about how to deal with living in the spotlight instead of leaving a sorcerer, who really should know better, to mess up the multiverse.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Not to steal the limelight from Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang, but imagine how much more epic Quantumania would’ve been if it was Iron Man 4 instead of Ant-Man 3? The previously beloved Ant-Man franchise wouldn’t have been blown out of shape to accommodate the MCU’s new big bad and pitching Kang against the MCU’s number one hero would’ve ensured he was seen as a formidable foe right off the bat. And, honestly, it’s criminal that Hank Pym and Tony never shared any screentime. We needed Hank to realize the Starks ain’t all bad!
Secret Invasion
Well, this one just speaks for itself, doesn’t it? Secret Invasion was an Avengers-level comic book event, so naturally the ultimately dismal Disney Plus series would’ve been a whole lot more entertaining if some of the Avengers had actually shown up. Especially Iron Man. He might’ve been the man who brought together those remarkable people in the first place, but Nick Fury was truly ineffectual in SI, leaving the Skrulls in a much worse place than he found them. Even Tony, not known for his diplomacy skills, could’ve done a better job. And, besides, if Iron Man was around to fight Gravik we wouldn’t have had to endure that awful, nonsensical Super-Skrull battle in the finale.