Summary
Warning: contains spoilers for Avengers: Twilight #6!As theAvengersface a dark future, Marvel Comics just set up the perfect way forIron Manto appear in one more movie after his death in 2019’sAvengers: Endgame. Tony Stark’s sacrifice to defeat Thanos was one of the most iconic moments in the MCU, with many fans arguing that Robert Downey Jr. should never return to the role in order to safeguard the Infinity Saga’s ending. However,Marvel’s latest depiction of Iron Man offers the perfect way to thread the needle, giving the hero one more adventure without undoing his narrative arc.
InAvengers: Twilight, Captain America’s future Avengers go up against the Red Skull, wearing his own Ultron-designed Iron Man armor and commanding a brainwashed Hulk. In the final battle,Thor makes the decision to drown the Hulk, while Tony sacrifices himself to save the life of his son James, who has a change of heart after fighting on the Red Skull’s side. Tony dies getting the Skull’s booby-trapped armor away from innocents, howeverthe comic’s ending ultimately shows him meeting up with Bruce Banner in the afterlife.
The comic shows Bruce and Tony awakening in Valhalla after their deaths, each wearing ornate armor as guests among the fallen Norse warriors. Tony speculates that Thor - now ruler of Asgard - has bent the rules to give his friends an everlasting paradise.
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Avengers Twilight Shows Tony Stark’s Afterlife in Valhalla
The MCU Set Up the Same Fate in Thor: Love and Thunder
Avengers: Twilighttakes place in a possible future where the Red Skull and Ultron managed to destroy public trust in the Avengers, causing the team to disband after a Hulk rampage that killed several heroes. One of the major twists of the series was that Tony Stark - who had been presumed dead - had actually been imprisoned by his son James and a disguised Red Skull, with his mind strip-mined for new inventions. James' rage at his parents for leaving him blinded him to the Skull’s evil, however in the final battle he at last sees the light, attempting to sacrifice himself as penance. Thankfully, Tony is able to convince him to hand overthe Red Skull’s armorand dies in his stead, leaving James behind to rebuild the Avengers' base and stand alongside the reconstituted team.
The image of Tony Stark partying in Valhalla is a great ending, at least in the context of his Avengers history. Tony, Bruce and Thor were all founding Avengers, so the idea of Thor honoring them as fellow warriors and giving them a way to ‘live on’ draws on his deep respect for his teammates. In Marvel lore (as in Norse mythology), Valhalla is a place of celebration for those who fell in battle and exists cut off from the mortal world, meaning that the move doesn’t reverse Tony’s death - it simply finds a way to continue his story.However, in extreme cases in Marvel’s mainstream continuity, Thorhasbeen able to briefly summon the souls of Valhalla to fight immense evils.
The MCU Can Replicate Avengers: Twilight’s Ending
Tony Could Even Suit Up Again, Without Being Resurrected
Withthe introduction of Valhallain 2022’sThor: Love and Thunder, the MCU is equipped to implement the same twist asAvengers: Twilight- extending Tony’s story by allowing him to continue existing in Valhalla, and possibly even unleashing his armor one more time if the moment is dire enough.Avengers: Twilightshows how Tony’s ‘life’ continuing in Valhalla can be done without undercutting his heroic death, offering fans a compelling model for howIron Mancould fly one more time in the MCU.
