Iron Man was, without question, the emotional core of The Avengers film saga. When Tony Stark ultimately sacrifices his life by wielding the Infinity Gauntlet to snap and defeat Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, it was an incredibly bittersweet moment. Stark's redemption went full circle and his hero's arc was complete.
While it was tragic for movie fans, in the Marvel comics, Iron Man has been killed multiple times, sometimes as tragic as his MCU death. It's important to note he has faked his death multiple times including in The Armor Wars by Bob Layton, David Michelinie, Mark D. Bright and Barry Windsor-Smith, as well as later in the same run in Iron Man #243.
To celebrate the many lives and deaths of Anthony Stark, here are the most notable times that Iron Man has died in Marvel Comics. No, none of them involved him snapping his fingers.
Iron Man's (First) Death In The Comics
One of the more convoluted times Stark met his demise was during Avengers' The Crossing arc. In the book, an older Tony Stark has been turned into a sleeper agent by Kang the Conqueror. He murdered a slew of people, including Yellowjacket. After the Avengers brought in a younger Tony Stark from the past of an alternate timeline to stop the future version of himself, older Tony ultimately sacrificed himself to stop Kang.
Things got wilder from then on out, as eventually the new Tony Stark was killed in a battle with Onslaught and an adult version of the character was brought back to life by Franklin Richards. Also, it was later retconned that it was Immortus in disguise, not Kang who manipulated older Tony. It's as confusing as it sounds.
Iron Man's Death In 'Invincible No More'
Including Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca's 2009 Invincible Iron Man arc might seem like cheating, since Stark technically didn't die, but he sort of did. In the book, Stark transfers the files from the Superhuman Registration Act from S.H.I.E.L.D. computers directly into his own brain to combat Norman Osborn and the newly formed H.A.M.M.E.R. organization from obtaining them and discovering the heroes secrets. Stark later deleted the files (and his own mind) and was declared brain dead. He later returned with a backup brain which conveniently wiped his memory clean of the damage he caused during the first Civil War.
Iron Man's Death In 'Civil War II'
In Civil War II by Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez, none of The Avengers trusted each other. It got so bad, Captain Marvel sent Iron Man into a coma after blasting him during a fight between the former allies. Stark's consciousness was later used as the A.I. to help mentor his protege, Riri Williams. Naturally, he was later rebooted and returns as Iron Man.
Iron Man's Death In Iron Man 2020
In Tony Stark: Iron Man #16 by Dan Slott, Christos Gage, and Francesco Manna, Tony's body has merged with his Iron Man armor as he wages a war with himself to discover his true form. Is he dead? It's unclear. However, Marvel has teased his death of Tony Stark in the upcoming Iron Man 2020. His brother Arno Stark will assume the role of Iron Man as Tony's life is once again thrown into the balance.
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Tony Stark has died quite a bit in the comics. It seems whenever he meets his demise, Stark somehow finds a solution out of death. So, the next time Iron Man is killed or his brain is shut off, take it with a grain of salt. You can kill Tony Stark, but he probably won't stay dead long.