Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, may have died during the events of Avengers: Endgame, but his legacy will live on in the future of the MCU. Already, new heroes are set to carry on his memory long after his death, particularly in series like Ironheart and Armor Wars.
Though Tony Stark is thought of by many as one of the greatest heroes to ever live, he remains a very controversial figure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As Iron Man, Stark saved countless lives, but he is also responsible for many characters' early deaths.
Obadiah Stane
Obadiah Stane was the Marvel Cinematic Universe's very first supervillain, with Jeff Bridges playing him in 2008's Iron Man. The businessman was revealed to be the villainous mastermind behind a plot to kidnap and kill Tony Stark, eventually stealing Tony's ARC-reactor technology in order to become the Iron Monger.
Stane dies shortly after becoming the Iron Monger after battling Tony Stark, who is wielding his own Iron Man suit. Tony orders Pepper Potts to overload a server beneath the site of their battle, thus killing Stane and ending the fight before he can continue his rampage. Though Tony may not have been the one to kill his former mentor, he is nevertheless responsible for providing Stane with the technology that he would use to spell his own demise.
Ho Yinsen
In Iron Man, Shaun Toub portrays Ho Yinsen, one of the people who changed Tony the most in his early years of redemption. Yinsen finds himself held captive by the Ten Rings terrorist association, helping the kidnapped weapons manufacturer develop a suit of armor that would allow them to break free from their imprisonment.
Yinsen is killed by Ten Rings soldiers while buying time for Tony to finish setting up his first Iron Man suit. The heroic man deliberately allowed himself to die in order to give Tony Stark a second chance at life, making sure to tell the burgeoning superhero not to waste his life thereafter.
Olek And Irina Maximoff
Olek and Irina Maximoff were a couple living in the war-torn Eastern European nation of Sokovia and the parents of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Their deaths in a violent shelling sparked a life of pain and heartache for the Maximoff twins, who would grow up to become powerful Avengers.
Olek and Irina Maximoff are killed when a bomb collides with their family home. It is eventually revealed that the bomb was indeed created by Stark Industries, leading Pietro and Wanda to blame Tony for their parents' death. Though Tony was likely unaware that his weapons were being used in the Sokovian conflict, his lack of oversight in his company nevertheless brought about the deaths of two innocent people half a world away.
Pietro Maximoff
Pietro Maximoff was an enhanced individual also known as Quicksilver, making his most substantial film appearance in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Alongside his sister Wanda, he battled against the Avengers at the whim of Ultron but eventually joined Earth's Mightiest Heroes when Ultron's true motives were revealed.
Pietro is killed during the Battle of Sokovia after he shields Clint Barton and a civilian child from an onslaught of bullets fired by an Ultron sentry. While the superhero selfishly sacrificed his own life to save others, he would have never been put in such a position if Tony Stark and Bruce Banner had not taken it upon themselves to build Ultron in the first place. This colossal folly on their part would lead to many innocent lives being lost during the Battle of Sokovia.
Maya Hansen
Rebecca Hall makes a memorable appearance in Iron Man 3 as Tony Stark's spurned former lover, Maya Hansen. Maya is revealed to be working with AIM's Aldrich Killian, who seeks revenge against Tony Stark for a perceived slight over a decade earlier. She helps him capture Stark during the events of the film, holding him captive in their secret laboratory.
Maya is one of the many people who were slighted by a less heroic Tony Stark in the years before he became Iron Man. Had Tony been a more gracious man in his early years, he would have made far fewer enemies for himself and thereby saved the lives of many would-be supervillains, including Maya, who is killed after she outlives her usefulness to Killian.
Quentin Beck
Jake Gyllenhaal's Quentin Beck, also known as Mysterio is one of the best villains in the MCU. Making friends with Peter Parker during the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Mysterio plans to steal Tony Stark's drone technology to become the greatest superhero the world has ever seen.
Quentin Beck seemingly dies after being shot by one of his drones during a battle with Spider-Man. Though the supervillain pit himself against Tony's prodigy rather than Tony himself, Beck would have never been inspired to take up a life of crime if not for his poor experience working for Stark Industries. Stark mistreated the brilliant scientist, sending him down a path of villainy that would result in his demise.
King T'Chaka
John Kani portrays King T'Chaka of Wakanda in Captain America: Civil War. T'Chaka was once the Black Panther before handing down the title to his son, T'Challa, who would later go on to become the next king of Wakanda and later join the Avengers after his father's death.
King T'Chaka is killed when the United Nations is bombed by Helmut Zemo during his speech regarding the Sokovia Accords. It is later revealed that Zemo's villainy was inspired by the loss of his family during the Battle of Sokovia, a conflict started by Tony Stark's pet project, Ultron. Had it not been for Ultron's attack, many of the events of Civil War would never have occurred, including the bombing at the UN.
Charlie Spencer
Charlie Spencer is an unseen character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, whose death during the events of the Battle of Sokovia indirectly sparks the beginning of the superhero civil war. Alfre Woodard portrays his grieving mother, who confronts Tony Stark after his presentation at MIT during the opening act of Captain America: Civil War.
It is revealed that a building collapsed on Charlie Spencer while he was building sustainable housing in the war-torn nation of Sokovia. Upon learning of Spencer's death, Tony begins to embrace the notion of superhero registration, believing that he nad his fellow Avengers needed to be put in check so that no one else would be killed by their actions.
Vision
Vision is a sentient synthazoid built from the intersection of Tony Stark's artificial intelligence J.A.R.V.I.S. and the Mind Stone. Portrayed by Paul Bettany, Vision became a significant member of the Avengers for much of the MCU's third phase, sparking a relationship with Wanda Maximoff in the process.
Vision is one character whom many Marvel fans miss dearly, as he was killed by the Mad Titan Thanos during the Battle of Wakanda. While Tony was not present during this conflict, the fact remains that, had Tony and Cap not fallen out during the events of Civil War, the Avengers would not have been divided during Thanos's conquest. Had the team faced the villain on a united front, they likely would have emerged victorious, with Vision still alive when all was finished.
Thanos
Thanos is the Marvel Cinematic Universe's greatest villain, who scours the galaxy in search of the six Infinity Stones so that he can wipe out half of all life and restore his twisted sense of natural balance. He battles the Avengers during the events of Infinity War and Endgame, proving to be the greatest threat that any of them had ever faced.
Tony Stark placed himself as Thanos's direct opposition during the Mad Titan's conquest. As such, he is ultimately the one responsible for the supervillain's demise, using the combined power of the Infinity Stones to wipe Thanos and his armies out of existence forever. In so doing, Tony saved the universe from the one threat that had haunted him since the very foundation of the Avengers Initiative.