You’d think there had been enough culling of Phase One favorites in the MCU already, but one particularly fearless fan has suggested that another original star of the franchise should’ve perished a full 10 years ago. Gwyneth Paltrow might be grabbing headlines for all the wrong reasons right now, thanks to her ski collision lawsuit, but there’s no doubt that her Marvel alter-ego is a beloved fan favorite. After all, Pepper Potts is essentially the First Lady of the MCU.
So, it’s no surprise that a wild Reddit pitch arguing that Pepper should have been killed off way back in Iron Man 3 is sinking harder than Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quamtumania at the box office. The idea goes that Pepper’s near-miss with the grim reaper (metaphorically speaking, not the one from Wonder Man) in Shane Black’s threequel should have been fatal as it would have theoretically led to a much more dramatic and darker arc for Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark across Phases Two and Three.
While a different storyline for Tony is intriguing to think about, it’s fair to say that murdering Pepper in order to achieve that would have only infuriated the fanbase, as the process of “fridging” — killing off a female character in order to further the male protagonist’s plot — has basically been outlawed at this point.
And how could we have lost Pepper as a mom to Morgan or becoming Rescue in Avengers: Endgame?
Plus, Tony’s death in Endgame would’ve been even bleaker if he never found personal happiness with his wife and daughter.
The real reason this theory isn’t holding much water for folks, though, can be summed up with this brief comment:
Who knows whether we’ll see Pepper in the MCU again — although a guest spot on Ironheart or a cameo in Armor Wars doesn’t seem out of the question — but we’re glad we know she’s out there alive and well on Earth-616 somewhere.