10 Characters Who Could Replace Iron Man In The MCU

Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man departed from the MCU with Endgame, leaving a hole not only in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but also in our hearts. It’s impossible to truly replace him, but somehow, Marvel must.

He was many things in the MCU, and it’s difficult to imagine any one character filling every role. He was the face of the franchise, along with Captain America, who’s also departing. However, there you’ve got Sam stepping up and Bucky sure to be involved, so Steve Rogers’ replacement is easier; he literally picks him.

Also, while Steve, Natasha, Nick Fury, Phil Coulson and Maria Hill have all been shown running the Avengers to some degree, it’s always felt like Tony was the one who was actually in charge.

Then there’s the fact that he was Iron Man, equipped with no superpowers, just a suit.

There are certainly some candidates who could fill some combination of being the franchise face, the Avengers MVP or de facto leader (with no Steve or Natasha, this is especially needed), or literally slip on his suit and become Iron Man. With five existing MCU characters and five newbies, there are a lot of directions Marvel could go.

The obvious choice.

Spider-Man is far and away Marvel’s biggest hero, played a part in two of Infinity War and Endgame’s most touching moments, and is the superhero with the biggest link to Tony Stark.

However, his greatest asset is also his biggest drawback. Being Spider-Man might give him great power and responsibility, but it’s a very different responsibility to the kind Tony had. Mentoring someone like Miles Morales is one thing, but leading the Avengers? That’s a whole other ask.

He’s also going to be off doing Spider-Man stuff. The Far From Home trailer makes it clear that Iron Man’s legacy will be felt very strongly by Spidey, but he’ll still be his own man at the end of the day. As face of the franchise, he’s one of Marvel’s biggest hitters. As the other stuff Tony Stark did though? Frankly, he doesn’t have a chance.

If they go back to Avengers, he’ll likely play a major role in the group, but is far too immature and inexperienced to be a leader. He already has some Tony Stark designed add one too, so the closest he’ll get to the Iron Man suit is being the Iron Spider.