A new piece of retro fan art casts notorious bad-boy actor Charlie Sheen as Tony Stark in a 1995 version of the MCU launcher Iron Man. Sheen was a big star in the early 1990s, but, like Robert Downey Jr., the actor who eventually went on to play Tony Stark in the MCU, he was dogged by controversy and struggled with substance abuse. While Downey managed to turn his reputation around and went on to become the most bankable star in the world thanks to his role as Iron Man, Sheen didn't.

The rebellious star managed to get himself fired from Two and a Half Men. At the same time, it was the biggest network sitcom on television thanks to his terrible on-set behavior and later revealed that he had contracted HIV. Despite his troubles, Sheen was at one time a very bankable star. He rose to fame in Oliver Stone's brutal Vietnam war film Platoon and was the star of the Major League movies. He also memorably parodied his tough-guy image in the Hot Shots movies, which were a surprise hit.

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Now, Reddit user jasonandwho has posted his fan-made poster for a 1995 version of Iron Man starring Sheen. The retro image, complete with fold marks showing its age, remixes a real Iron Man poster. It also casts Cameron Diaz as Pepper Potts instead of Gwyneth Paltrow, with comic actor Shawn Wayans taking on the role of Rhodey, which was filled by Terrence Howard in the first movie. The poster also features a period-appropriate Iron Man costume, as opposed to the sleek version seen in the current iteration of the MCU. You can see the poster below.

1995 Iron Man poster starring Charlie Sheen Shawn Wayans and Cameron Diaz

The poster gives off major 90s retro vibes and is a reasonably accurate representation of the kind of movie Iron Man would have been if it was released 13 years earlier. Ironically, all of the actors that the artist has cast in his 1995 version of the movie are younger than, or the same age in the case of the now-retired Diaz, the actors who actually ended up in the 2008 film. So, the story would have skewed much younger.

However, it's still a fun exercise in figuring out what a 1990s MCU cast roster would have looked like. For sure, Sheen has the combination of charm, arrogance, and bad boy attitude to play Stark, and Diaz and Wayans are both excellent alternative versions of their characters. Whether the movie would have worked is another matter entirely. But it is incredible to imagine what this alternative 1990s version of Iron Man would have been like and whether it would have launched a 90s-themed MCU starring the likes of Tom Cruise as Captain America and Mel Gibson as Thor.

Next: MCU: How Powerful War Machine Is Compared To Iron Man

Source: jasonandwho/Reddit

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