Tony Stark/Iron Man’s sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame was probably one of the most emotional moments in the MCU, with grown people crying because of Robert Downey Jr.’s acting talent and the Russo Brothers’ direction. “I am Iron Man” are words that will forever remain etched in digital history as one of the best and most bad-ass one-liners to have ever been said on the silver screen.
Things haven’t been the same since the Infinity saga concluded; the MCU has gone downhill with each subsequent release, up to the point that a lot of people have completely stopped watching new releases. Quantity over quality is Disney’s motto, and it incurred heavy costs at the expense of the latter. With that said, recent comments about Robert Downey Jr.’s return as Iron Man in future releases has sparked new hope that things might go back to the way they were before.
However, if these rumors turn out to be true, there’s the question of continuity, considering that Tony Stark died towards the end of Endgame. Fortunately, with the MCU introducing the concept of the multiverse, there are ways for Robert Downey Jr. to come back as Iron Man in the MCU without breaking continuity. Here are five of them.
Multiverse Variants
Just like the initial releases slowly teased Thanos’ appearance as the Big Bad of the Infinity saga, so too did the MCU slowly work the concept of the multiverse into its narrative, mainly through Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: No Way Home. This concept allows for the existence of different versions of characters from different realities, and RDJ could easily return as a variant of Tony Stark from another universe.
This version could be an evil Tony, who had adapted the Extremis virus and infected humanity, or simply a version of the character that has never faced Thanos or has faced the Mad Titan and survived. Additionally, the concept of the multiverse also introduces other means by which RDJ could return as Iron Man in the MCU, like the use of the Soul Stone, which has the power to resurrect the dead.
Time Travel
Avengers: Endgame also introduced the concept of time travel, which the Avengers used to gather all the Infinity stones before Thanos of the past did. This allowed them to bring back the victims of the Snap — thanks, in no small part, to the genius of Tony Stark. However, this also sets into motion the chain of events that resulted in Iron Man’s death at the end of the movie.
But it could also be the key to his return. It’s rather interesting that Avengers never actually thought to go back in time and simply have the Hulk or some other superpowered being snap Thanos out of existence instead of Iron Man. Additionally, time travel could also be used to temporarily bring Tony Stark back for another adventure before returning him to his own timeline and fate.
AI or Hologram
Tony Stark didn’t just die on the silver screen but also in the comics, after which he spent time as an AI. This is yet another way RDJ could return to the MCU as Tony Stark and possibly even Iron Man. He could actually return as the voice of Iron Heart’s AI (which would be cheaper to produce). Or, he could get a new body, as he did in the comics, after which he turned evil.
The latter option also includes time travel, with Avengers going back and recruiting Tony’s younger self. This could potentially solve several other problems for the MCU, allowing them to keep Iron Man as a character without breaking continuity. The small issue with this one is that RDJ isn’t getting any younger, so the younger version of Tony would probably have to be portrayed by someone else — a great intro into Young Avengers.
Flashbacks or Recorded Messages
Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home both feature RDJ as Tony Stark/Iron Man in the form of pre-recorded audio and holographic messages he left to his loved ones. The “I Love You 3000” message he left for his daughter Morgan was especially heartbreaking. So, it’s not really outside the realm of possibilities to see RDJ as Iron Man in the MCU once again.
This is often a powerful storytelling tool in the MCU, as it reveals previously unknown insights about Tony Stark’s plans and his influence on the ongoing events. We see this in Iron Man 2 when Tony finds a message left to him by his father, Howard Stark, which helps him develop a new element for powering his arc reactor.
Resurrection via Soul Stone
The first appearance of Infinity Stones in the MCU happened in 2011’s Thor — more specifically, the Space Stone in the form of the Tesseract. The Soul Stone, however, was introduced in Avengers: Infinity War when Thanos sacrificed his daughter Gamora to acquire the stone since it requires a soul to be exchanged for it.
Thanos might’ve destroyed the Infinity Stones, but the Avenger already traveled back in time to retrieve them, use them, and return them to their specific timelines. Additionally, the introduction of the multiverse solves the issue of missing stones because each universe has a set of its own. So, bringing Tony Stark back is only a matter of traversing different universes and gathering all the stones.
Final Thoughts
Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the MCU isn’t outside the realm of possibilities, especially when we take into account that Disney and Marvel are trying to “restructure” the MCU. The ever-expanding multiverse gave us yet another Wolverine, portrayed by the original actor Hugh Jackman, after his character was officially put to rest in 2017’s Logan. So, who’s to guarantee that the same thing won’t happen with Robert Downey Jr. and his return to the role of Tony Stark/Iron Man?