18 Most Heartbreaking Moments In The MCU (So Far)

Though fans would have to suffer through his "death" in Age of Ultron much later, the moment in which Tony loses his AI J.A.R.V.I.S. after crash-landing in Tennessee is is alarmingly sad.

The tragedy ties into most of the film's theme of Tony having to deal with his PTSD, his trauma from the events of Avengers that plagues him throughout. Having had his Malibu home blown up by agents of The Mandarin, Tony's near-death experience, coupled with his nightmares and erratic behaviour, all compound with losing J.A.R.V.I.S. at his most desperate moment, wearing him down hard.

Losing the support of the AI who he modelled and named after the Butler that seemed a better father figure to him than Howard Stark himself, one that's taken care of him for years and been his eyes and ears in the Iron Man suit, is as dispiriting to the audience as it is to Tony himself. He even sounds like a lost child when he begs J.A.R.V.I.S. not to leave him alone.

For all that losing him to Ultron is painful later, this was the first taste audiences got of a Tony without his most trusted AI partner. And it was a bitter one.