10 Best Avengers 4 Fan Theories

It's fair to say that the vast majority of fans had good money on either Tony Stark or Steve Rogers meeting their end in Infinity War.

So when Thanos drove that spike into Tony's belly, it felt like the inevitable end had come. But then, Strange saved him by giving Thanos the time stone. Considering that Strange had stated explicitly earlier in the film that he would happily trade any life for the safety of the stone, it's more than a bit shocking, even to Tony.

But Strange saw all fourteen million different possible outcomes and therefore his line of "it was the only way" seems to reinforce the idea that he knows the Avengers can overcome Thanos, but that they need Stark alive in order to do it.

This is also teased by the interaction between Stark and Thanos. Stark tells Strange earlier in the film that he's had Thanos inside his head for years, referring to his PTSD after venturing into space at the end of Avengers. But the fact that he knows it to be Thanos is entirely new information. Similarly, Thanos immediately recognizes Tony. He calls him by name and speaks of his legacy as a hero even as he is about to kill him.

When it comes down to it in Avengers 4, Stark is going to be the key to winning it all. Between Strange's vision practically confirming that he is the key and his weird neurological link with Thanos, Robert Downey Jr. will get the chance to be the world's greatest hero one last time.