I’m sure we could spend the rest of the day discussing all the talking points that came out of Avengers: Endgame, but it’s arguable that the death of Tony Stark had the biggest emotional impact on moviegoers. After all, Robert Downey Jr.’s take on Shellhead has often been regarded as the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since kicking things off in 2008’s Iron Man.
That being said, it’s no wonder how a percentage of True Believers want to overturn Stark’s demise. In fact, a petition to do so has already been established over at Change.org. At the time of this writing, it’s amassed 15,953 signatures, with the intended goal being 25,000.
Here’s an excerpt from the page making a case for Iron Man’s resurrection:
“He has helped so many people (in the mcu and in our world), he has helped people to live (including me) to overcome their problems, to accept themselves, to face life. He’s so important. He saved our lives and it’s our turn to save him.
“We love him so much. We love him 3000. Without him, now, we are totally lost. For many people, he was their reason to live and hold on in life.”
Extreme as that final sentence was, I can at least see where the author was coming from in the rest of the statement. Downey’s Iron Man did indeed touch a lot of hearts, and firmly established the character as a household name.
That being said, I don’t see this petition influencing Kevin Feige or anyone else over at Marvel Studios, as Stark’s sendoff in Endgame seemed pretty definitive, but we could never rule out Tony reappearing as an artificial intelligence in, say, an Ironheart movie or something comparable. Comic book readers will know what I’m talking about.
Speaking of which, if you truly love Iron Man, then it’s recommended you do your part to keep the brand going. Buy his comics or any films you don’t already own on DVD or Blu-ray. If you let the character fade away with Downey’s take, then we’re less likely to see him rebooted for the silver screen down the line. As long as we can keep a superhero in continuous publication, then they’ll never really be gone. Just ask Spider-Man.