Heres why the death of Robert Downey Jr.s Iron Man was the downfall of the MCU

Let’s be honest, ever since Avengers: Endgame, MCU fans have been drastically divided. The loss of a Marvel legend has severed ties, torn apart families and turned friends into mortal enemies. There are those who aren’t too overly concerned with the passing of Tony Stark, whereas others can’t seem to let it go, even four years later. Wow, four years. Let that sink in. The MCU was born from Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man back in 2008, but in 2019, Marvel execs made the risky decision to cut him loose from the MCU’s future. Why this happened is still up for debate; some believe that Iron Man’s time had passed as the longest-standing Avenger (chronologically), whereas online rumors (as yet unconfirmed) state that RDJ himself wanted to be killed off so he could move on from the MCU altogether. We can’t say we blame him, especially after Avengers: Endgame marked the eventual downfall of the MCU as we know it today.

Let’s also bare in mind that RDJ is 57 and about to be 58, so he’s been put through the wringer for the past 10+ years. If he chose to leave of his own accord, there isn’t much that can be done. If Marvel chose to let him go, it’s proven to be the biggest mistake the franchise has ever made. We might never know for certain, at least not until RDJ’s departure is long in the rearview. But how did this decision (whomever’s it may be) harm Marvel’s reputation? It wouldn’t be a stretch to call Robert Downey Jr. the ‘face’ of Marvel, so cutting ties with the actor doesn’t seem like the smartest call.

Iron Man’s premature death faced severe backlash

There were suspicions long before Avengers: Endgame hit theaters that RDJ’s Tony Stark would perish at the hands of Thanos. We might not have expected the outcome to be as drawn-out and heartbreaking as it was, but bidding farewell to such an iconic character was bound to harm the franchise’s future. As we know, Iron Man manages to procure the Infinity Stones from Thanos, contain them within his nano-tech armor and use them to snap Thanos (and his armada) out of existence, just as the Mad Titan had done to half the population in Avengers: Infinity War. The Iron Man armor, however, couldn’t withstand the combined power of all the Infinity Stones and it fatally wounded the wearer.

We couldn’t know for sure that Marvel would kill off Tony Stark. There had been plenty of speculation that pointed fingers at Chris Evans’ Captain America as well, plus Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, another Avenger that did in fact die in Endgame. It turned out that those initial rumors were right on the money, but as much as they predicted it, Marvel fans were outraged that Endgame actually went through with it. Even Jon Favreau had a hard time accepting that Tony Stark was gone forever. If it wasn’t his funeral that jerked some tears, it was the holographic message to his daughter Morgan and wife Pepper. God, even just thinking about it gets us all choked up, doesn’t it?

But that didn’t make the blow any less harsh; a lot of us grew up on RDJ’s Iron Man, so seeing him go was never going to be easy. There were mixed reviews after Endgame had run its course. Some fans agreed that it was one of Marvel’s greatest feats yet, whereas die-hards couldn’t come to terms with Stark’s death and found the whole thing unnecessary. At one point in time, it was the most talked-about event in the entire world, otherwise called “the end of an era” — and that couldn’t be more accurate.

Ironheart can’t compare as a replacement

After Tony Stark’s passing, Marvel sought to ‘replace’ him in the most subtle way possible. At first, there was a buzz around Tom Cruise, who was seemingly in talks to take on the mantle of Iron Man, but Cruise himself addressed the rumors recently by saying “I love Robert Downey Jr. I can’t imagine anyone else playing this role and I think it’s perfect for him.” Before that theory was well and truly put to bed, the trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever dropped, revealing Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams – known as Ironheart in the Marvel Comics. Williams is somewhat of a protégé to Iron Man, whom she greatly admired and respected. A gifted inventor herself, Williams crafted her own interpretation of the Iron Man armor and began fighting crime under the alias Ironheart.

Now, all due respect to Dominique Thorne, we can’t discount her incredible acting and there’s no doubt that she’s a perfect fit for Riri Williams. That being said, bringing Ironheart into the mix just wasn’t good timing on Marvel’s part. If Iron Man and Riri Williams had co-existed, meeting one another as they do in the comics, and then Iron Man had died, that would have made more sense. The fact that Riri was introduced on the tail-end of Tony’s death just felt as impersonal as it was unrealistic. She wouldn’t have just shown up out of nowhere, plus it made Tony Stark’s death seem like an oversight in the grand scheme of things. We can’t doubt Thorne’s talent, nor can we rewrite the past, but RDJ and Dominique Thorne as the on-screen duo of Tony and Riri would have been legendary, plus — as much as we can speak highly of Thorne — Riri just doesn’t compare to RDJ’s Stark.

The MCU has dipped in quality

After Endgame, when was the last outstanding Marvel project? No, seriously – if we’re being honest with ourselves, it was Spider-Man: No Way Home, which realistically could have worked as a stand-alone film along with the other two installments in the trilogy. So that doesn’t count. What’s next? Shang-Chi? We’ll bite on that one, it was pretty good. But again, it could have worked just as well by itself, so does that do Marvel any favors? And then there’s the many Disney Plus endeavors. Those were a mile better than the films, we’ll say that much, but how much do they add to the bigger picture?

We won’t even mention Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, nor Thor: Love and Thunder. Let’s just move on. We’ve essentially proven a point here that — generally speaking — the MCU has metaphorically crashed and burned since Endgame. It won’t be just myself who admits to falling off the MCU bandwagon and watching no farther than No Way Home, as the fare offered has been lackluster to say the least. What has the MCU offered us since Endgame? That’s the main takeaway here, which speaks volumes on RDJ’s importance to the MCU. Tony Stark was the glue that held it all together, and without him, we’re left with whatever Quantumania was. Let’s just say that Marvel have a lot of explaining to do and a lot to make up for.

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