Fans are still moping about the loss of Tony Stark aka Iron Man in the MCU. On one hand, it’s easy to see why, he was a charismatic and very popular character that kind of integrated himself into much of the story in a lot of different ways. But on the other hand, it’s a way to keep moving forward in an attempt to find the next individual that can bring the MCU to the next level. While this might sound a little petty, that individual isn’t Brie Larson since her attitude towards the media and the fans has already killed that notion and her time as Captain Marvel has been decent and appreciated, but putting her up as the next big name doesn’t sound like the answer. That leaves a huge gap in the MCU unfortunately that the aging Robert Downey Jr. isn’t going to be used to fill any longer since his time with the MCU is done. It doesn’t sound as though Marvel executives are going to give away any surprises or state in any way that RDJ is coming back, which is a good thing actually. MCU fans might be wondering why that is, but the fact of it is that RDJ is done, out, and he left in a way that’s perfect since it not only breaks the mold that the comic books have brought to life by telling a realistic story within a fantasy world, it keeps things balanced.
Think of it this way, how long have a lot of the heroes we know and love been around? Most of them should be old men and women at this point, right? If not for the comic books and the need to continually redo and update the stories, a lot of them would be dead a few times over. Superman and Batman would be old men if they were still alive, as would Iron Man, Captain America, and many other heroes. There are only a select number of characters that would be able to remain capable of the feats they’re still achieving over the years, and those are either individuals that don’t age as quickly or are essentially gods, such as Thor. In the comics, this is remedied in a very easy way since death doesn’t hold a lot of power over most of the roster in both Marvel and DC comics, and can be cheated, thwarted, and otherwise countered by one trick or another. In the MCU, death is a little more permanent since excessive time travel, suddenly realizing that a character wasn’t really dead for one reason or another, or finding some way to bring them back isn’t bound to please fans as much as they want it to since after a while it becomes less of an action/adventure story and more of a soap opera when someone you thought was dead suddenly comes back to life with a story about how they didn’t really die. That’s best left in the comics to be certain since on the big screen it already feels as if it would come off as one of the cheesiest moves ever.
Plus, even with digital aging technology, RDJ is aging out of the role, and since The Irishman didn’t really show us how impressive this technology is since most everyone knows what Robert De Niro looked like in his younger years, it’s not a great idea for the MCU and RDJ. It’s best to let Tony stay dead and find another character that can hopefully carry the MCU since those that are currently a part of it are great in their own way but they’re not Tony Stark material and they’re not cut from the same cloth as RDJ, who walked into the role and nailed it without any difficulty since he was apparently born to play this character. To say that everyone else has been playing their character as well as they can is accurate and true, but none of them thus far have been able to bring to the MCU what RDJ has as Tony Stark, and keeping him dead is kind of an odd choice to some people, but it’s a rational choice that is bound to keep the MCU on an even keel since playing fast and loose with the rules at this time doesn’t sound like such a good idea, especially when it comes to building another phase of the MCU in which another large group of heroes and villains will be introduced.
While the multiverse is about to open wide, as it feels to many, the best thing to do is admit that it’s time to move on from Tony Stark and find another individual, or group, that can do for the franchise what he did, and bank on them to keep the show running.
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