10 Most Overrated Performances In MCU History (So Far)

While Downey began the series with a knock-out entry in Iron Man, and acted as the lynchpin for the extended franchise for the better part of a decade thereafter, he also let this success and career revival go to his head.

With each film, the standards slipped and, soon, he was sleepwalking through the role, giving us little from the Tony Stark character that we hadn't already seen one way or another – a snarky, sarcastic suit with a goatee.

Iron Man 3 was a highpoint in terms of expanding the character and attempting to bring greater gravitas to the role, but the suit gradually became more interesting than the man inside – and, given the suits post-Ultron (the film which delivered the ingenious Hulkbuster) swiftly became regurgitations of things we had seen before, this was a concerning position to be in.

Endgame may have cemented his legacy and redeemed the character in one final act, but it is hard to deny that even through this gargantuan conclusion to the original Avengers series, Downey was not serving anything world-shattering.

To make matters worse, Avengers director Joe Russo has revealed that Downey used an earpiece to have lines fed to him while on set. Fans and critics alike have made the far from compelling case that this allows him to get on with the serious business of 'acting' without being impeded by such nonsense as learning the words he is speaking, but try telling that to Daniel Day-Lewis.