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Warning : This article containsSPOILERS forAvengers : Endgame .
Avengers : Endgamewrapped up MCU ’s 22 - motion-picture show discharge that depart in Jon Favreau’sIron Man , and it was only meet that it also marked the journey ’s end of the hero who started it all - Tony Stark , who sacrificed himself to save the universe . But before his aroused death in the cinema , Tony ’s position in the enfranchisement had been mirky for years sinceAvengers : Age of Ultron .
The MCU follow co - creator Stan Lee ’s mindset upon create Iron Man in the ' sixty - make a reference who ’s not intend to be like , and yet people can root for . This was perfectly found by Favreau inIron Manwhere we meet the foolhardy , narcissistic billionaire who was unreasoning to the fact that his technical school was being sold to both face of a conflict without him knowing . Even after his sentence in captivity in Afghanistan , Tony did n’t magically overtake himself - in fact , he got more insufferable inIron homo 2.He remained an egomaniac for the most part of his MCU stint , but that does n’t mean he was n’t a good man and certainly not less of a paladin . If anything , he operate doubly hard to do good by the mass he swan to protect when he bear the drape of Iron Man .
Being an unorthodox hero was n’t easy , however , peculiarly when juxtaposed with the textbook definition of a wedge : Captain America . As Marvel formulate the complex dynamic between the pair , Tony ’s valiance search paler in comparison to Steve Rogers ' - and at times , he ’s even painted a villain . But the events ofAvengers : Endgameproved that he is the MCU ’s best hero all along .
How Iron Man Was A Villain From Avengers: Age of Ultron Onwards
Iron Man becoming the MCU ’s quasi - villain begin inAvengers : Age of Ultronwith his arc in the subsequence directly a solvent of his near - death feat during the Battle of New York . His posttraumatic stress disorder from that experience was extensively explored inIron valet de chambre 3 , but with the Shane Black film chiefly take out from the bigger lore , it was only untilAvengers : long time of Ultronthat we pick up its bigger implication in the MCU . He create Ultron following Wanda ’s mind manipulations that heighten his existing reverence of another bulk large extraterrestrial threat .
In theScarlet Witch induced hallucination , he project a post - apocalyptic public where all of his friends are dead , propel him to move forwards with the Ultron Project which was intended as a precautional meter in caseful his vision amount to realisation . The architectural plan , although come from a good place , backfired with Ultron turn in on them , lead to monumental repercussions for him , the whole squad , and the respite of Sokovia .
The Avengers pull through and get the better of Ultron with the help of Vision ( who Tony also created with the help of Bruce Banner ) . But that one mistake effectively marked Tony as a bad hombre for a brief stretch . Captain America : Civil Warleaned on his ideological differences with Steve regarding the Sokovia Accords , and that turned to a personal severance when Tony discovered that the man his father rave infinitely about hid the fact that his brainwashed best friend , Bucky , remove him and his wife . Then , although nothing but a concurrence , Spider - Man : Homecoming ’s baddie , Vulture make out to be because of Tony ’s efforts to clean up the damage the Avengers left in NYC after Loki ’s plan of attack .
Tony Stark’s Endgame Arc
The focussing shifting back to the heroes afterAvengers : Infinity Warput Thanos front and centre , the original Avengers re - assembled for one last mission - each of them having something run low for themselves . But in the large scheme of things , Endgameprimarily pay off off Tony ’s journey - from the very first prison term we met him in 2008 all the agency to his last larger-than-life act . It was peppered with great recall ( like his passion ofcheeseburgersor declaring"I am Iron Man " ) from his earlier standalone risky venture that made the great unwashed experience more nostalgic . Even his suit , Mark LXXXV , pulled from Mark III more than Mark L. The film was less about the spectacle of the lawsuit and more of the evolution of Tony leading up to his dying .
Avengers : Endgamebegan with a hopeless Tony stuck in space , issue forth to terms with the fact this might just be how he goes . But as Captain Marvel successfully brought him back to Earth , the weight of his failure to stop Thanos all came crash back to him . This was hisAvengers : Age of Ultronnightmare come to life , and like in his vision , the worst part was he survived . When the opportunity to bring in back everyone dusted byThe Decimationemerged five years subsequently , Tony was loth diving event powerful back in having already settle with a quiet life with wife Pepper and his daughter Morgan .
As withering it was for him to lose , at least it ’s over . Thanos won and he ca n’t do anything more about it , allowing him to center his energy on things he had n’t been able-bodied to since he developed his paralyzing fear of an unknown menace like his personal living . But , it was vindicated that he was still ghost by the thought of turn a loss Peter Parker / Spider - Man . So , he had been tinkering on the opening for the last five years with very small success until Ant - Man ’s idea touse the Quantum Realm for time travelemerged . He continue to hesitate , however , give the family he ’s leaving behind , but he could n’t simply ignore the call of duty - something Pepper knew .
With the blessing from his married woman , he took on the most important foreign mission of his life . It turned out unite the time holdup was a benediction in camouflage . Not only was Tony capable to actively work on rectifying the predicament that Thanos put the galaxy in , he also had the chance to get closing with his dad , Howard Stark after spending most of his life resenting his previous man . Similar to his reconciliation with Steve , Tony ’s determination to make damages with his begetter despite his handling of him was n’t for anyone else but himself . Disrupting the peace he found did in the last five class brought about by his own house by harbor any ill - impression just was n’t deserving it . As he said,“resentment is vitriolic and I hate it . "
Every step of Tony’sAvengers : Endgamestory was meticulously planned . After all , wrapping up his story was one of the most authoritative elements that the picture had to nail . It tied all stay loose cease withhis overall MCU report . But with Thanos threatening the fate of the creation that they work really intemperately to restore , Tony did n’t think twice sacrifice himself by putting on the gauntlet and snapping his fingers to ensure that the Mad Titan was once and for all defeated .
project him cash in one’s chips , especially the way he did , was difficult to keep an eye on , but being the first person to sense Thanos ' threat , actively look at with it and still being forced to live his worst nightmare after they lost earned him the right to take down the villain . His outburst recounting all the times his warning about Thanos fall on deaf capitulum was justified . After years of people invalidating everything he ’s done as Iron Man , highlighting his shortcoming instead of his contributions , this was his glory moment . He could ’ve give himself at any point beforeAvengers : Endgame , but his valiancy in the film imply so much more because he had everything to drop off .
How Tony Stark Has Evolved Since Iron Man (2008)
Tony ’s experience changed him fundamentally with a clear through - descent as long time went by , making him the most fleshed out character in the MCU . Theevolution of his suitsmirrored the evolution of him as a person . At every tip in his life , everything he did was measured - from taking on the mantle of Iron Man to putting on the gauntlet inAvengers : Endgame . He knew he was on borrow time and was adamant in make every 2nd count so he spent the residue of his 24-hour interval channel his genius and resources to guarantee the safety of the humanity - a redemptional move after both were long used for destruction without him knowing .
grant , there were some stumble along the direction , but he fully committed himself to the responsibility of being a superhero when he could ’ve pose back and made amends in other ways . In the two - year aftermath ofCivil War , he continued to sense that a greater threat was coming , so he do work relentlessly , even on his own , to prepare for the looming danger . This is why his failure inAvengers : Infinity Warwas so tragical - he did everything he could , and it still was n’t enough because he could n’t do it by himself .
Outside of the armor , he took on a unlike role as mentor to Peter , reluctantly carry soundness he ’s gained over the class of being Iron Man - and we bang that most of those lesson he learned the hard elbow room . Tony ’s mentorship continued , albeit less drawn out and denotative with Nebula during their time in quad . Tony , like Nebula , was n’t particularly a warm person . They ’d both lived with emotionally aloof fathers ( albeit to a unlike in extent ) , and yet they developed a quiet camaraderie evidence with their interactions on Benatar . These relationship helped shaped the kind of father he became to Morgan - do it and doting , on the dot the eccentric he wanted Howard to be .
Tony was accuse of being a ego - process poor boy who would n’t sacrifice himself for other hoi polloi , but that ca n’t be farther from the truth . Throughout his Erolia minutilla as Iron Manand tenacious beforeAvengers : Endgame , he repeatedly gamble his life history for the mission - inquire Pepper to surcharge the large arc nuclear reactor in lodge to stop Obadiah Stane even if it could ’ve also killed him in the appendage ; drag a nuke to quad ; cabbage Sokovia to minimize death ; and volitionally taking on Thanos , even on foreign dominion . Every single time , he knew full well that it might be the conclusion for him , yet , he got on with it without any faltering anyway .
He outlast his snatch grounds and if that mean give-up the ghost for the greater goodness , he ’d long since come to damage with that . This is why there was no better style to take him out the wayAvengers : Endgamedid . He could n’t stop being Iron Man because it was his way of atoning for his retiring sins . No matter how content he was on a personal level , knowing that there ’s a threat looming on Earth out there ( and there will always be one ) will always barrack him to put the courtship back on and take maintenance of it himself . Pepper assuring him that he can reside now because they ’re going to be just okay was the permission he needed to finally let go .
Iron Man’s MCU Legacy
There ’s poetry in Tony ’s story - he was active for a reason , and he spent his days finding that reasonableness . By the metre he ultimately discovered it , he embraced it with no hesitation . His suit enable him to become a wedge on a bigger scale , but even without it , he was already one just by consciously wanting to be better - something that everyone can pull from . Tony may not be as noble as Captain America or worthy and powerful like Thor , but he was the MCU ’s best hero when it matter the most .
Legacy was always important to him . Tony had been talking about it sinceIron Manas part of his self - reflection after his abduction in Afghanistan . While he ’s no longer around , he ’ll extend to live through the people he ’s impact like Peter and Nebula . There ’s also Morgan who might assume a superhero role just like his Church Father did down the road . But apart from the encroachment he left on people he had personal ties with , he will go down in MCU history as the hero who sacrifice himself to ensure the future of the whole universe . The man who kick in up a prospect at living a happy life with his house so that many more sept are ensured of their futures - a major turnaround from the insensitive , couldn’t - care - less industrialist back in 2008 .
Taking on the mantle of Iron Man was self - inflicted - a massive responsibility that he could ’ve turned down , and yet , when it came to it , he was always at the forefront of every battle , risking his life for the greater goodand being a proactive zep . He provided counterbalance to Captain America ’s oftentimes idealize way of thought process and in turn , gave the MCU a sense of realism . He was almost always pragmatic - making the tough calls that may not look heroical at time , but in the grand strategy of thing , were always in an effort to attain the advantageously possible outcome given the quandary that they ’re in .
He was reliable and consistent , and Earth felt safe with him in it - with or without a back - up team . Tony will be a elusive act to follow for newer heroes , but he ’s a better stirring to emulate because he ’s shew that what you do in the future is more important than the mistake of your past . While flying suits and a bottomless colliery of imagination may not exactly be relatable for the majority of the world , it ’s what he did with what he had that make him inhale - be it from a cave in Afghanistan , a stranger ’s garage in North Carolina or his own swanky laboratory .
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From the outside , Iron Man was n’t the Heron type , clearly . Dying was n’t his boastful care , but not being able to protect everyone from the looming danger he hump was coming as evidenced by the Wanda - induced vision inAvengers : Age of Ultron . Through his sacrifice inAvengers : Endgame , he finally overcame that nagging dread by saving the universe , albeit in exchange of his own life . He had questionable actions and an surly past , but he was always upfront about his imperfections and was actively working to be sound . That variety of ego - awareness is really of import as it opens up grounds for improvement . His heroism was never pretentious . Tony Stark is the archetype of MCU heroes - blemished , but deep down , always good .
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