Opinion: Endgame cement the legacy of Iron Man in the MCU

by Jesse Schedeen

Spoiler alert! There are tons of spoilers for Avengers: Endgame, Infinity War and much of the MCU below. You have been warned!

The first 22 films of the MCU are centered around two men – Iron Man and Thanos. When we meet them for the first time, they are both masters of death and destruction. But where Thanos only seeks to increase his powers and realize his dream of a perfectly picked and balanced universe, Tony Stark rejects his destiny as a death trader. The evolution of Tony, from a carefree arms dealer to one who carries the weight of the universe on his shoulders, is one of the most satisfying characters arcs that you can find in a superhero franchise. Although it was a long and sometimes winding road.

Tony Stark's journey helped define the broader tone and direction of the Marvel film universe. Iron Man 2008 was not only the foundation on which all subsequent movies and television series were built, but Tony's story in this first film has become a model for many who followed. "The powerful and self-absorbed man learns the humility and the importance of self-sacrifice" played in films like Thor and Doctor Strange. It could be argued that this is a lesson that even Loki had learned at the time of Thor's appearance: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War.

The three Iron Man movies established a clear and consistent arc of characters that Tony had to follow. In the first film, his comfortable world is overthrown and Tony realizes the consequences of building an empire on destructive weapons of war. In Iron Man 2, he faces his own mortality and wonders if he can allow anyone to share the power and responsibility of being Iron Man. In Iron Man 3, Tony solves a post-traumatic stress problem and finally realizes that he does not need Iron Man to be complete. The process of removing the arc reactor from his chest symbolizes a man finally at peace with himself and his place in the world.

It's there that things started to get a little strange and confusing. After the happy ending of Iron Man 3 in 2013, Tony no longer appeared before Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015. During those two missing years, Tony lost touch with this inner peace and became a man obsessed with "building an armor around the world". Ultron was born from Tony's madness and his belief that a total peace in the world is not only possible, but can be built as any invention of his workshop.

In some ways, it can be difficult to reconcile these two films with the transition. Tony spent in Age of Ultron. This does not help that continuity around characters like Tony and Pepper Potts started to get a little underhanded around that time. Tony and Pepper experienced a break and reconciliation that took place almost entirely off-screen in Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming. Age of Ultron is coming to an end with the Avengers' new headquarters, but two years later, Homecoming is acting as if Tony is preparing to relocate the team to his new home.

In short, it's as if the Marvel Studios have not changed yet. I did not fully understand what he wanted to do with Tony Post-Iron Man 3. Maybe the problem is Iron Man 3 himself. As with the original Highlander, it's hard to continue a franchise after such a definite end.

But whatever blame for the sometimes contradictory path of Tony's bow, Civil War helped refocus the character and set the stage for the Marvel finale. . There, we saw a Tony Stark confronted with middle age and struggling with the notion of his legacy. What would he leave after his death? Who had he inspired on the way? Did the Avengers do enough good to take on the devastation of Ultron? Tony's story in Civil War was about fixing his mistakes in the form of Sokovia's chords and training a new hero in Peter Parker – a boy in which Tony saw the best of himself .

In hindsight, Infinity War and Endgame were always going to be the end of the road for Tony. He had done what he could to prepare the world to face the threat of Thanos. He had mentored a new generation of heroes, thinkers and builders. As we saw in Infinity War, that was not enough. Thanos achieved his terrible goal and Tony's punishment was to see his substitute son die in his arms while he was stuck millions of miles from his home.

Despite this overwhelming defeat, Tony was the only character to have found a happy ending as a result of Infinite War. He had a happy retirement with his wife and daughter while the rest of the world was mourning for lost friends and family members. Tony was the only Avenger who really had something to lose trying to defeat the Snap. Everyone – Captain America, Hawkeye, Thor – had already lost everything. The fact that Tony risked and finally sacrificed his happy ending for the good of the world is the last and most important step in his life-long, billion-dollar playboy journey to a true hero.

As recalled by Endgame's conclusion, Tony ultimately does not have to worry about his legacy. His family, close friends and the heroes he inspired attended his funeral to follow his example and fight. Peter Parker and Harley Keener, two brilliant young men who are destined to follow Tony's example and use their gifts to make the world a better and safer place, attended his funeral.

It's hard to imagine a better legacy than leaving behind, and a better way to usher in the next era of the MCU. He was an Iron Man. Now is the time to move on to something new.

To learn more about Avengers, read our Endgame review, discover the post-credits scene in Endgame or let us explain the endgame's end! C Check out all the Easter eggs of the final phase that we found, our attempt to determine the rules of the trip in the endgame time, the identity of this kid after the l '. Tony Stark's burial or the way Captain Marvel saved Iron Man in space.

Jesse is a sweet fashionable writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket in as a result of @jschedeen on Twitter or Kicksplode on MyIGN.