Marvel Doesn’t Need To Bring Back RDJ’s Iron Man Anymore

This article contains spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.Marvel has no need to bring Robert Downey, Jr. back again after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It’s impossible to imagine the MCU succeeding without the casting of Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, star of 2008’s Iron Man. Downey left the MCU in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, with Iron Man sacrificing his life to defeat Thanos. Since then, there’s been a notable Iron-Man-sized hole in the MCU, leading to constant calls for Marvel to find a way to bring him back.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever means that’s no longer necessary. The latest MCU blockbuster introduces viewers to the character of Riri Williams, played by Dominique Thorne, and it doesn’t take her long to suit up in her prototype Ironheart armor. Riri has everything that made Stark a success; she’s quick-witted, intelligent enough to reverse-engineer Stark technology while studying at MIT, and the first two different iterations of her armor are seriously impressive. Ironheart’s origin in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever deliberately mirrors Stark’s, complete with an amusing scene in which she flies too high and falls unconscious – reminiscent of Iron Man’s first flight. The Iron Man gap has now been filled.

Related: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Ending Explained (In Detail)

RDJ’s Iron Man Returning Would Be Too Big A Risk To His Endgame Death

Iron Man’s return would risk insulting his death in Avengers: Endgame. This was one of the most emotionally powerful scenes in the MCU to date, in large part because viewers have come to care so much about Tony Stark. The two themes of family and sacrifice wove together throughout his character arc, and they built to a climax in the crowning film of the MCU’s Phase 3 slate; Stark finally received his “Happily Ever After,” a family of his own, settling down and raising his daughter. He chose to risk all that by trying to save the world, ultimately going up against Thanos once again, and it’s important to remember he was the only Avenger to understand what could go wrong. “Told you,” Stark noted to Captain America and Thor when he saw the returned Thanos. “We messed with time. Time messed back.“

It’s easy to see why some viewers want Iron Man back. The character was tremendously popular, and it’s impossible to imagine any actor playing the part as well as Robert Downey, Jr. What’s more, death is nothing but a temporary inconvenience in the comics. But the cinematic medium is different to comics, in that change and evolution are baked into the format; actors age and move on, meaning characters are either recast or – in the case of Tony Stark – must die. This means the MCU can realize the potential of legacy far more effectively than the comics themselves. Ironheart, whose technology is identifiable as reverse-engineered Stark tech, is perfectly suited to accomplish this.

Will Robert Downey Jr. Ever Return as Iron Man?

Avengers: Secret Wars affords Marvel the best opportunity to bring Downey back, albeit as a cameo rather than a recurring character. The final film in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, this is based on a major comic book arc in which various different universes collided to form a single Battleworld. It’s easy to imagine a version of Tony Stark who didn’t make the snap – but it’s important to note this would be a very different character. Those themes of sacrifice and family are satisfying precisely because they come to a conclusion, and any other ending leaves Stark’s story feeling as though it lacks a resolution. This makes the Tony Stark of the main MCU timeline, Earth-616, feeling like the best of them all. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘s Iron Man replacement, Ironheart, means that can remain true.

Next: How MCU’s Ironheart Is Different From Marvel Comics’ Version