When Robert Downey Jr. kicked off the MCU as Tony Stark in Iron Man, released in 2008, fans were unsure where this universe would go. One thing they did know, however, was that Robert Downey Jr. had done an excellent job getting things started. However, Iron Man started to pop up with more and more frequency in the MCU after this.
It seemed that he started appearing in every movie, even when it was unnecessary. While Iron Man is an important character, many Marvel canon characters deserved some screen time, too. Iron Man is beloved, and he sometimes overstayed his welcome in the franchise; both statements can be true at the same time.
10 When He Showed Up At The End Of The Incredible Hulk
After Iron Man, the first entry in the MCU came The Incredible Hulk. This movie was all about Bruce Banner struggling to come to terms with the Hulk side of himself. The film ended with Bruce deciding he wants to learn to control the Hulk, not cure himself.
However, the film got the second ending in an additional post-credits scene featuring Tony Stark and Thunderbolt Ross. Even though Hulk is the real hero here, Tony goes to Thunderbolt to talk about the Avengers team. Bruce’s ending to the movie was far better, though the film saw the need to somehow tie it into the MCU.
9 When He Immediately Got His Own Sequel
Once Marvel had introduced Iron Man and the Hulk, they decided to return to Iron Man immediately. Rather than giving another character a movie at this point, Iron Man got the second movie in his trilogy right away. The third movie in the franchise was Iron Man 2, released only two years after Iron Man, coming out in May of 2010.
There are so many characters in the Marvel canon that could have gotten a movie sooner. Even the Avengers didn’t all get solo movies before being united. In fact, Iron Man 2 introduces Black Widow as a side character, rather than giving her her own origin film.
8 When He Needlessly Stood Off Against Captain America
When Loki attacks the planet and the Avengers need to unite for the first time, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers waste countless needless time posturing. Even Thor gets involved in this, delaying the team from helping the world as they are supposed to.
Iron Man is supposed to be the hero defending everyone right now, but he lets himself get all caught up in standing off against Cap. He has issues with the guy, but the problems began with the way Howard would treat Tony in his childhood.
7 When He Got A Third Movie Before Anyone Else Even Got A Sequel
As if Tony got a sequel before everyone except Bruce got their origin movie wasn’t bad enough, he got a third film before anyone else got a sequel. Still, by the time Iron Man 3 came out, most MCU characters had not had origin movies.
Black Widow and Hawkeye still had not had their own movies, and Cap, Thor, and Bruce had only one movie, each dedicated to their solo stories. In the span of five years, three Iron Man movies were placed in the MCU canon. There was certainly more space for other characters, even if fans did like seeing Tony again.
6 When He Destroyed Everything The Avengers Fought For By Creating Ultron
Tony Stark, understandably, had a hard time after watching such destruction in the movies before Avengers: Age of Ultron. As a result, he and Bruce Banner wanted to develop a program that would help the Avengers keep the peace on Earth. However, Tony went too far in his attempt to prove himself.
He most obviously overstayed his welcome by making everything that happened about him and his failings. Tony Stark unleashed Ultron on the world, making things much worse than they already had been, and causing even more problems for the Avengers than ever as a result.
5 When He Confronted Captain America And Divided The Avengers
The third movie in Captain America’s trilogy, Captain America: Civil War, was not really a Cap movie. It was more of an Avengers movie than anything else, especially with how prominently Tony Stark is featured. The movie is about Cap and Iron Man and their falling out, which divides the Avengers team.
However, Iron Man already got his trilogy; Cap should have had the space to finish his own without becoming a team movie. Iron Man is so heavily present in this film that Cap doesn’t really get as much space as he deserved here.
4 When He Decided To Step In As Peter’s Father Figure
One of Peter Parker’s main motivators and inspirations in becoming Spider-Man was Uncle Ben's influence over him. When Uncle Ben died, his words, “With great power comes great responsibility,” forever embedded themselves into Peter’s self and his actions as Spider-Man.
Unfortunately, Uncle Ben is practically a non-entity in the MCU. Rather than having his uncle, Peter has Tony Stark step in to become his father figure instead. Tony pretty much handed Peter equipment and tech, and he took these things away when he felt Peter had misused them. Peter needed to navigate this on his own, not get all tangled up in Tony’s mentoring complex.
3 When He Bearly Let Everything Fall Apart Because Of His Animosity Towards Cap
When Bruce Banner came back home after Thor's events: Ragnarok, he found an Earth much different from the one he left behind. One of the most shocking things he discovered was that Tony and Steve had had a huge falling out in his absence.
Not only were they no longer speaking, but they had divided the Avengers over this fight. Even worse, Tony didn’t even want to call Steve to prevent the incoming catastrophe. Bruce had to tell him to do it; in fact, he had to convince Tony to do it because Tony still didn’t want to at first.
2 When Peter Felt So Much Guilt Over Losing Tony That It Nearly Consumed Him
Although Peter is still just a boy struggling to understand the world around him, Tony’s influence over him — and the guilt Peter feels over Tony’s death — nearly consumed him. Tony died and was no longer in the MCU, and yet Iron Man still haunted Spider-Man’s every waking moment.
He felt an obligation to take over the space Tony left behind, and all the stress and pressure being put on him is just too much. Iron Man’s continued presence in the MCU is simply overwhelming by this point in the continuity for in-universe characters and real viewers all.
1 When He Died And Immediately Reentered The MCU
Avengers: Endgame saw Tony Stark making the ultimate sacrifice to stop Thanos once and for all. In gathering the Infinity Stones in his own Gauntlet and snapping his fingers, he stopped Thanos, but he also signed his own death warrant. Tony Stark died in that movie, just for the news to be announced soon after that Robert Downey Jr. would appear in the MCU soon again anyway.
He had been cast in Black Widow; while the film is a prequel, it just goes to show that Iron Man clearly has no intentions of leaving the MCU. Hopefully, if he continues to appear, he will give other characters the proper space they deserve after so many years of him taking center stage.
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