Avengers 4: Why Death Is The Perfect Ending For Tony Stark

2. Tony Will Never Just Retire

Infinity War Iron Man
Marvel Studios

Tony Stark has toyed with the idea of giving up being Iron Man before, with his dreams of retirement and a world without superheroes forming core elements of the narratives to both Iron Man 3 and Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Both of those movies, however, simply reinforced the idea that this isn't something he can just walk away from, and nor does he even want to anymore. His boasts in The Avengers may point to a man who has it all outside of the suit, but his PTSD, guilt, and hero complex suggest otherwise. Given everything he's been through, and all the things he's seen (those that have happened and the visions he's had), there's no way he'd leave being a superhero behind, because he puts the job of saving the universe on himself before anybody else.

When he announced "I am Iron Man" back at the end of that first solo movie, it was a hurrah moment, but 10 years on it speaks to a much deeper truth. Tony Stark can't stop being Iron Man just as much as Iron Man cannot stop being Tony Stark; the two are now one and the same, intrinsically linked, their fates intertwined with only one exit point.

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Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.