Avengers: Endgame - Every Mystery The Russos Have Answered (So Far)

10. Tony Stark And The Final Snap

The Question

When there's a team made up of gods, super-soldiers and mutant scientists, why is it that one of the only non-powered characters is the one to take it upon himself to snap and kill Thanos? It's not like that was a defining characteristic of the one outcome where the Avengers won - as the Russos qualified, the only thing that marked that one as different was the mouse.

Anyone else more powerful could have snapped and not died...?

The Answer

The Russos have offered an explanation that essentially boils down to the fact that it fits Tony's arc best and because he was closest:

Thor in this movie couldn’t do it. Only the Hulk was strong enough to do the snap without dying. We are still not sure whether Captain Marvel can also withstand all the power of Infinity Stones at once. The reason we choose to let Iron Man do it in the end was because he was the closest one to Thanos at the time. In all the futures Doctor Strange foresaw, Iron Man was the only one who could get close to Thanos and do the snap.

People usually think the death of a hero is a horrible tragedy. But we think this is different. When his death was able to bring back hope, to save half of the universe, then his death was powerful and meaningful. We shouldn’t feel too sad or angry about it.

Look, it's a contradiction to say Tony got close to Thanos multiple times, because without the mouse - the thing that happened only once - Thanos would have still been in the past, Ant-Man would still be in the Quantum Realm and the battle wouldn't even have been possible. But aside from that, a fitting answer.