The MCU Has Two Big Opportunities To Bring Back RDJ's Iron Man

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) may have died in Avengers: Endgame, but Marvel has created two chances to feature more of Iron Man in the upcoming Disney+ series Ironheart and Armor Wars. As Spider-Man: Far From Home demonstrated, Tony's heroic sacrifice made him more beloved around the world than ever, and Stark's protégé Peter Parker (Tom Holland) saw Iron Man's image everywhere he went during his European vacation. However, both Armor Wars and Ironheart could involve Iron Man even if Robert Downey Jr. doesn't reprise the role on Disney+.

Armor Wars finally gives Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes the spotlight as War Machine. Although Rhodey joined the Avengers, War Machine was largely a supporting character during his entire run in the MCU. In Armor Wars, Rhodey takes center stage as "Tony Stark's worst nightmare" comes true and his Iron Man technology is stolen and proliferates amongst their enemies. This plot seems to be a result of Rhodey's actions in Iron Man 2 when he stole the War Machine suit from Stark and temporarily turned it over to the U.S. Air Force, which gave Stark's rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) access to Stark's tech. Armor Wars' story seems poised to involve the entire supporting cast of Iron Man's corner of the MCU, which could mean appearances from Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), and possibly even Tony's young daughter Morgan Stark (Lexi Rabe).

Meanwhile, Ironheart introduces a new character, Riri Williams (Dominque Thorne), into the MCU. Riri debuted in Marvel Comics in 2016 and she is a 15-year-old African American super-genius who built her own version of Iron Man's armor while she was matriculating at M.I.T. (which was also Tony Stark's alma mater). Mentored by Stark himself, Riri became the lead character for a run of Invincible Iron Man, and she later gained an A.I. of Tony to guide her in her suit when Stark ended up in a coma after the Civil War II event. In the MCU, Riri wouldn't have Stark as a direct mentor, but since she's said to build "the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man," it would make sense if this puts her under the tutelage of Pepper Potts and Stark Industries in Ironheart, in order to directly tie Riri into Iron Man's legacy.

Riri Williams as Ironheart on the cover of a comic.

Robert Downey Jr.'s glorious exit from the MCU would seem to belie the actor reprising the role of Tony Stark, which would defeat the purpose of his epic farewell, but with Marvel, anything is possible, and if something is potentially in the works with Downey, it's shrouded in secrecy. Regardless, even if RDJ doesn't appear in the flesh, there are several innovative ways for Tony to be part of both Ironheart and Armor Wars while still ceding center stage to Riri and Rhodey as the heroes of their own stories.

For instance, as in the Invincible Iron Man comics, an A.I. of Tony (which Downey could voice) might be part of Riri's Ironheart suit, which would let her interact with Stark the way Tony bantered with Jarvis and Friday in the Iron Man and Avengers films. Tony could also appear in a holographic form the way he did when he gave his own pre-recorded eulogy at his funeral in Avengers: Endgame. There is also so much footage of RDJ as Tony Stark that there could certainly be flashbacks of him from the previous films, which would tie into the present-day stories of both Ironheart and Armor Wars.

Of course, Tony is so ubiquitous in the MCU that his image would likely be seen anywhere Rhodey or Riri traveled, just like in Spider-Man: Far From Home. And speaking of the wall-crawler, it's possible Peter Parker could interact with War Machine in Armor Wars and Riri Williams in Ironheart, since, like them, Spider-Man wears Stark Tech and he is certainly a part of Iron Man's "family" and legacy.

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