Avengers: Countdown to the Final Phase – How the Iron Man Journey Always Leads to Thanos

By Joshua Yehl

Starting today, we take a closer look at each of the founders of the MCU, the Avengers, and how their stories led them to their final confrontation with Thanos. Today, Iron Man and his trip to Avengers: Endgame were the first to be addressed.

Iron Man launched the Marvel film universe and, although it does not seem at first sight, his whole arc of characters has brought about an epic confrontation with Thanos. It took years for Marvel's first hero and villain to meet in person, but they actually fought for years in what amounts to an intergalactic game of chess where Tony did not even know about it. Identity of his opponent. As we prepare for the release of Avengers: Endgame, here's a look at Tony Stark's journey and how it all came to Mad Titan.

Ironclad Goals

When Tony Stark Revealed To The Press Under The Name Of Iron Man At The End Of His First Film, He Had Not Realized That He Was Declaring To the universe that he badumed the post of first protector of the Earth. In the guilt of his family's family-owned business that sold weapons for profit, he pledged to rid the world of these weapons and put himself in danger rather than leaving the others behind. to be hurt by them.

He did not know that this heroic philosophy would soon be put to the test unimaginable when he would no longer have to fight against guns and missiles that threaten lives, but a set of cosmic rocks Rainbow with the power to affect the entire universe and one that already exists crazy enough to use them.

Thanos' First Contact with Tony

Although Loki was featured as the main opponent of the first Avengers movie, the real villain was the Titan himself, Thanos. Loki was only one performer, similar to the members of the Black Order, who used the spirit stone and the Chitauri army that Thanos had offered him. So when Tony played the sacrificial game and guided the nuclear bomb through the portal to end the battle of New York, he also failed to outwit Loki, but also Thanos.

It was at this point that Tony learned that the threat was greater. while he did not know his name at the time, and that the threat that threatened him would continue to haunt him for years.

Fighting a villain who is not there

While he is dealing with "Mandarin" stratagems in Iron Man 3, Tony was also struggling to wage an internal battle as a result of his traumatic experience close to death. Tony Stark, usually cool, confident and confident, was the shadow of himself, now overgrown with nocturnal terrors and subject to anxiety attacks at the slightest outbreak.

Just like the real-world soldiers returning home after the war, Tony was psychologically scarred and forced to deal with the horrors of what happened to him. Thanos put our hero on his knees without even being on the same planet.

Speaking of Thanos, here's what we can glean from Endgame trailers about his new weapon:

Tony's paranoia and his willingness to be a protector reached an absolute record in Age of Ultron. He had already begun to bring "peace in our day" by creating the Iron Legion, a team of robots to help with emergencies. They were a forerunner of Ultron, a dream project that would ideally put armor around the world. As cold as it sounds, it is the idea of ​​a protective armor that helps Tony sleep, restless and restless, in the night.

It was the first sign that Thanos had forced Tony to see bigger – instead of defending a city or a country. Tony now wants to protect the entire planet. When the Avengers learn that Tony inadvertently created a killer robot, Tony explains himself, addressing the sky, the space, Thanos. "It's up there? This is the final phase.

Worse, Ultron was the result of Mind Stone housed in Loki's staff, and this staff came from Thanos. Once again, even though Thanos was nowhere, the consequences of his machinations continued to touch Tony Stark's heart. The conflict with Ultron caused the Avengers to burst for the first time, pushing them to repress the community shortly thereafter.

The True Instigator of the Civil War

Iron Man changed the world by revealing himself to the public. then many very powerful people started to appear around the MCU. One of them is Wanda Maximoff, who had powers that she could not control completely, thus causing the killing of civilians during a mission.

This is the last straw for Thunderbolt Ross, who is supporting the Avengers in a corner by pressuring them to sign the Sokovia chords in order to make the team somewhat more responsible. As much as Tony likes to resist authority, the blood on his hands was too bloody and he surprised everyone by becoming the face of the movement for the sake of registration.

When the dust cleared from the superhero civil war, half of the Avengers left the gate and Tony lost the partnership with Captain America. Very poignantly, Tony's best friend, Rhodey, was paralyzed from the waist when he was accidentally hit by a Vision blast from the mental stone.

That damn rock again. Had this war even taken place without her? It's a gift from Thanos that keeps Tony Stark suffering.

We had to play Iron Man in virtual reality, and it was as sweet as it sounds. See our impressions by watching the video below:

Along the Road, An Iron Spider

Tony's story of MUC is not so sinister, though. Among the new heroes was Spider-Man, Peter Parker, a young man with a very talented spirit. Tony saw great power in the young man and took his responsibility to help turn him into a true superhero. Throughout Tony's life, he considered his legacy as what Stark Industries, then the Avengers would leave behind, but for the first time, he saw that his heroism could be conveyed through this spectacular and spectacular young man.

Curiously, Infinity War first. Tony finds jogging in the park with his fiancé Pepper Potts, telling him how much he dreamed that they would have a baby together. After raising Spider-Man to the rank of hero, it is not surprising that he wants to have his own child. But all this is put on hold when Dr. Strange arrives with information that will catastrophically change the trajectory of Tony's life.

Match Day

It's inside Sanctum Santorum that all of Tony's horrors over his past years are finally baptized, courtesy of Bruce Banner: "Thanos. It's a plague, Tony. He invades the planets, he takes what he wants, he eliminates half of the population. He sent Loki. The attack on New York, it's him!

Suddenly, Tony's pain, trauma, and pain merge into one being. Thanos. The one who invaded his home, wounded his friends and loved ones, broke his team and gave him so many sleepless nights. Thanos. The one he's built to defeat his darkly advanced nanotechnology armor. Thanos.

And what's the first thing Tony does? He begins to stretch. This is the time he is preparing. Previously, he could not take the wizard with the collar seriously, but he now realizes that it's the day of the match, so it's best to relax and build up his muscles because he wants to take revenge .

Thanos' Curse

When Tony finally meets Thanos face to face, nothing happens as he expected – in more ways than one. Despite all his efforts, he is not able to draw more than a drop of blood from Thanos. But also, this huge purple monstrosity really surprises Tony by calling him by name. "You're not the only one to have cursed with knowledge," Thanos told Tony, offering a bit of twisted respect. But Tony does not want respect, he wants to take revenge and put an end to this nightmare that has been going on for years and he tells Thanos: "My only fate is you."

But the Mad Titan, it's too much for Tony, pricking him with the very weapon designed to kill him. Dr. Strange breaks the protocol and exchanges the stone of time against Tony's life, Thanos escapes to Earth to complete the Gauntlet Infinity and execute the break, and Tony's pseudo-son turns to ashes in his hands. Tony's entire quest crushes and burns. All led to Thanos, and now Thanos has won.

At least for the moment.

At least, until Avengers: Endgame.

Joshua is the chief editor of the features at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you will want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.