10 MCU Moments More Important Than You Realised

5. Tony Saves Yinsen's Townspeople (Iron Man)

Iron Man 2008 Gulmira scene
Disney

Considering Tony's ultimate sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame, Yinsen - the man who implored the self-absorbed billionaire to not waste his life, setting him on a more heroic path - is one of the most important characters in the MCU.

Tony doesn't waste any time in heading down that heroic path either, strapping on his new-and-improved Iron Man suit midway through the original movie, and using it to free the citizens of a small town from the Ten Rings' callous grip.

It's a badass action sequence and a real turning point for Tony, but the scene also has a much deeper meaning that isn't readily apparent on the surface.

The town that Tony liberates is actually the same town that Yinsen is from, a connection that isn't obvious unless you're paying close attention when Yinsen mentions its name - Gulmira - during a cave scene early in the movie, and again when Tony hears it while watching a news report.

This means that Tony isn't just helping these townspeople because the Ten Rings are stationed there with Stark weaponry - he's helping them so he can honour the fallen friend who saved (and changed) his life.

Contributor
Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.