Credit: Marvel StudiosRobert Downey Jr. decided to look back to his final entry in the MCU in Avengers: Endgame (2019). The legendary MCU actor admitted that he had a lot of other versions of his line before they settled with the iconic “I am Iron Man” line that made many Marvel fans tear up.
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Many Marvel fans see RDJ’s performance as Tony Stark/Iron Man as the MCU’s anchor — even though Kevin Feige claims Doctor Strange is. The MCU began with Iron Man (2008) which led to many great moments in the Infinity Saga such as The Avengers (2012), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Endgame. Iron Man was the heart and soul of the Marvel universe and his character has made a large impact in the MCU as well as becoming a fan-favorite character for several fans.
RDJ recently joined the Hypocondriactor Podcast and had a moment to reflect on his final scene as Iron Man in Endgame. The actor was asked if he remembered his final line in a mini-quiz which the actor immediately answered with and then added that he still remembered the other versions of his final line:
“Correct answer is ‘I am Iron Man,’ but I had so many alt lines that I wanted to put forward… Oh god, let me think. They were all super smart-ass lines like I was trying to, y’know, dumb stuff like, ‘You are so f-cked’ or whatever. You know what, I’ll have to go back to my notes… I get the Infinity Stones and then have the power to snap and have whatever I wanna have happen–Oh, tha- I was gonna say ‘Oh, snap.‘”
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RDJ admitted that if he had said those lines in the final cut it would have diminished his character arc in the movie. He credited one of the editors that suggested that the team go “right back to the first film” and look there for what his line should be:
“I’ll tell you why, it was too smart-ass and it was the whole arc of the character and it was, I think… maybe one of our great editors’ ideas, or one of the writers to say we need to go right back to the first film and have his dying words be the words of his origin… We love a bookend.”
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Going back to the first film was a poetic ending for the character. Even though Endgame was three years ago, the Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn’t moved on from Tony’s death. Marvel’s Phase Four has focused on Stark’s legacy as several characters have struggled to figure out how to live in a world without Iron Man. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man dealt with this in Spider-Man Far From Home (2019) and this theme will continue to be explored with Don Cheadle’s Armor Wars, and IronHeart.
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Tony was a “smart ass” in the movies as he had a lot of witty comments and sarcastic banter between the other Avengers, but he went from an eccentric billionaire to a loving father who sacrificed everything to save the world.
Now, the MCU is just beginning to add more superhero teams into the Marvel universe because now, the Avengers need all the help they can get. It is only a matter of time before we see the Young Avengers, Illuminati, Defenders, Midnight Sons, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and the Thunderbolts enter the MCU.
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Do you wish RDJ’s final line was changed? Are you happy with how Tony’s story ended? Let us know what you think in the comments section below!
Marvel’s Phase Four has started off with a lot of content for Marvel fans to look forward to in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. On Disney+ you can expect Moon Knight on March 30, Ms. Marvel in Summer 2022, and She-Hulk to debut this year. For movies, Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness comes out on May 6, followed by Thor: Love and Thunder on July 8, and of course, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on November 11.