If there’s one character that has arguably had a bigger impact on Kevin Feige’s Marvel Cinematic Universe than any other, it’s Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark/Iron Man.
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After launching the MCU with Jon Favreau’s Iron Man (2008), formerly troubled RDJ went on to star in 11 total Marvel Cinematic Universe films — Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
The popular billionaire sacrificed himself to save the world from Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Endgame, thus ending the Sherlock Holmes actor’s time as a Marvel star. Downey, Jr. himself has confirmed that he’s “done all I could with Iron Man,” but that certainly hasn’t stopped Marvel fans from hoping for his return.
It seems unlikely, however, that Stark will come back to the MCU — although there have been rumors that Tom Cruise (Top Gun) will play a variant of the fan-favorite character in Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness (2022).
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Now, however, some Marvel fans are irate that others believe they’ve found a real-life Tony Stark in the form of Tesla and Space X founder, Elon Musk. A billionaire in his own right, the new largest Twitter stockholder has now made a $43 billion cash offer to purchase the social media platform outright.
Musk Tweeted:
I made an offer
He followed up the post with a comment reading:
Will endeavor to keep as many shareholders in privatized Twitter as allowed by law
Will endeavor to keep as many shareholders in privatized Twitter as allowed by law
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022
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George Hahn has clearly taken issue with the comparison, writing:
Elon Musk is just like Tony Stark, minus any charm, wit, style, manners or ethics.
Elon Musk is just like Tony Stark, minus any charm, wit, style, manners or ethics.
— George Hahn (@georgehahn) April 13, 2022
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Shayne Smith shared a laundry list of reasons he does not believe the real-life billionaire is anything like his fictional counterpart:
He’s Tony Stark if Tony Stark didn’t actually invent things, didn’t help people, wasn’t funny, didn’t have a woman who loved him, and instead of a father who worked to defeat the Nazis his dad owned an apartheid era emerald mine. Besides all that he’s just like Tony Stark.
He’s Tony Stark if Tony Stark didn’t actually invent things, didn’t help people, wasn’t funny, didn’t have a woman who loved him, and instead of a father who worked to defeat the Nazis his dad owned an apartheid era emerald mine. Besides all that he’s just like Tony Stark. https://t.co/j6sTDapYxf
— Shayne Smith (@Shaydozer) April 8, 2022
Mehdi Hasan took a direct shot at Tesla’s cars:
Nothing more annoying than the Elon Musk/Tony Stark comparison. There is none. Stark came up with time travel and gave his life to save the universe.
Musk makes cars that keep getting recalled and has never done anything brave (that I am aware of).
Nothing more annoying than the Elon Musk/Tony Stark comparison. There is none. Stark came up with time travel and gave his life to save the universe.
Musk makes cars that keep getting recalled and has never done anything brave (that I am aware of). https://t.co/lMGsRM522T
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 14, 2022
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Mrs D shared a screenshot from Iron Man 3, in which Stark befriends young Harley Keener:
This is Tony Stark.
Elon Musk doesn’t come close to this character.
This is Tony Stark.
Elon Musk doesn’t come close to this character. pic.twitter.com/5b8ld1NrLB
— Mrs D says Common Sense tells you…🌊🌐🍃 (@Mrs_Cldh) April 14, 2022
As with anything, though, there are those Marvel fans who believe Musk is the very embodiment of Stark.
Jared Ledford, for instance, posted:
@elonmusk really is our Tony Stark
After you buy Twitter, and get us to mars; When can we expect to see your #Ironman suit?
@elonmusk really is our Tony Stark 😂
After you buy Twitter, and get us to mars; When can we expect to see your #Ironman suit?— Jared Ledford (@9tails113) April 14, 2022
What camp do you fall into in regard to Elon Musk vs. Tony Stark?
You can stream Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and the six series in Marvel’s Phase Four so far — Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany’s WandaVision, Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, Marvel’s What If…?, Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye, and Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight — on Disney+ anytime.