What If…? has made a habit out of killing Tony Stark’s Iron Man repeatedly, but finally does the MCU hero justice at the fifth time of asking.
Caution: spoilers ahead for What If…?
What If…? eventually does Iron Man’s death the right way… but only after killing off Tony Stark a total of 5 times. Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man served as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s heart and soul for over a decade, so it was vital that Avengers: Endgame give Tony Stark a fitting sendoff. Only those with a heart as stony as Korg’s and icy as Baby Loki’s would’ve felt unmoved by Stark’s epic final snap to defeat Thanos, especially when punctuating his noble sacrifice with “I am Iron Man.” Widely regarded as the ideal death scene for Marvel’s very first MCU hero, Iron Man’s live-action farewell truly meant something.
Can the same be said for his animated death in Disney+ anthology series, What If…? That depends which version you’re talking about. What If…? takes a fresh scenario each week and asks how a small alteration to the timeline would impact MCU history. We’ve seen Thor growing up an only child, Yondu abducting T’Challa instead of Peter Quill, and Peggy Carter becoming a super soldier. While subverting typical Marvel tropes in each and every episode, What If…? also delights in finding new and exciting ways to murder Iron Man, racking up an impressive total of 5 “final” scenes across season 1 alone.
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