After 11 years, and nearly as many films, Robert Downey Jr. gracefully retired from the role of Tony Stark with Avengers: Endgame. His exit was emotionally resonant, heartbreaking and completely earned, as Iron Man's journey came to end in a manner so few superhero stories do. In comics, superheroes die with some frequency only to return a few years, or issues, later. In contrast, Tony's sacrifice possessed a rare sense of finality With that arc complete and Downey finished with his Marvel Studios contract, why are some fans clamoring for Iron Man to be brought back from the dead?
Fan petitions have become a shining example of claptrap arguments and half-baked demands for fictional works that are consumed passively, and they have, sadly, become all too frequent. The fallout after Star Wars: The Last Jedi led to many “fans” demanding the film be remade to better fit their expectations, complete with online pledge drive (another quagmire in itself). A similar campaign was launched targeting the final season of Game of Thrones. Now, the resurrection of Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become a cause for nearly 35,000 supporters of a Change.org petition. And while these fans’ hearts may be in the right place, they are clearly missing the point of Tony's death in Endgame.
None of us really wanted Iron Man to die. If Steve Rogers was the heart of the MUC, then Tony Stark was, quite appropriately, its architect. This is, after all, the house that Iron Man built. He was our guide through this brave, new cinematic world for its first decade, so naturally his presence will be missed. But here’s the thing: Iron Man is not a security blanket, and demanding he return speaks volumes to how important the character is to so many people. However, it also speaks volumes to how terrified some fans are of finality.
Unlike the petitions against The Last Jedi and Game of Thrones, the one begging the MCU to bring back Tony Stark feels as if it comes from a place of mourning, as if it’s trying to return a beloved family member from the grave. There isn’t an air of entitlement, or malice directed at the filmmakers for a perceived slight against fandom. Instead, there's a lot of desperation and melancholy. The petition uses phrasing like “he deserved to live and see his daughter grow up,” which is something we’d say about a person who passed away prematurely. That's far more effective and heartbreaking that screeds like “Rian Johnson ruined Star Wars.” However, it’s just as misguided, only for different reasons.
Tony Stark may go down in cinematic history as having one of the greatest hero’s journeys. He began as an arrogant arms dealer, became a paranoid genius desperate to protect the world, and died as a man who was willing to give up everything (and we mean everything) to be something greater than the man behind the mask. That may sound similar to the arc depicted in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, and that’s because it basically is. However, where the Batman films came up short, the MCU followed through in closing the loop. And yes, we are aware that a hero’s story can end without the hero dying, but Iron Man is different.
All of his wealth, charm and genius could never reach the same apex as his will; nothing was impossible for Iron Man. There was always a way to fix things and to do what’s right, even if it meant great sacrifices would be required. He was addicted to being a hero. And while there is a tragedy of Tony dying doing something he couldn’t kick, like an adrenaline junkie who miscalculated a base jump, it made sense for the character. There was no way this version of Iron Man was ever going to ride off into the sunset and retire when cosmic forces threatened the world. Until he knew Pepper, Morgan, Happy, Peter and everyone else on the planet would be safe, he couldn't give up. “We're gonna be OK," Pepper said in Endgame, comforting Tony in his final moments. "You can rest now.”
The MCU doesn't rest on the shoulders of Iron Man; it only feels that way sometimes. The truth is, the universe we’ve watched develop over the past decade no longer depends upon any one character. Iron Man is no longer the linchpin. It’s like growing up and realizing you can get by without your parents there to catch you. The death of Iron Man should be seen as a moment of growth and maturity for fandom. We can let go of the things we love and, more often than not, we’ll be better for it. Tony is gone, but that doesn’t mean we still can’t love him 3,000. Hell, we love him 4,000. Maybe more.
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Avengers: Endgame stars Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Don Cheadle as War Machine, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Danai Gurira as Okoye and Bradley Cooper as Rocket, with Gwyneth Paltrow Pepper Potts, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Benedict Wong as Wong, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie and Josh Brolin as Thanos.