After Tony's heart-wrenching death in Avengers: Endgame, the MCU is experiencing a Robert Downey Jr. sized hole. While the MCU started grappling with this loss in Spiderman: Far from Home, Marvel has yet to comprehensively address how Tony's death will impact other characters and projects. However, with the news that Ironheart is making its way from comic books to the small screen on Disney+, the Iron Man franchise is looking at a fresh face and new storyline to try and fill Tony's shoes with engineer and super-genius Riri Williams.
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While Ironheart will introduce fans to an entirely new cast of intelligent characters, including Riri who rival's Tony's intelligence herself, the Iron Man trilogy featured some of the smartest side characters and villains in the MCU.
Obidiah Stane
Obidiah Stane doesn't have the technological intelligence that some of the other Iron Man characters, but his conniving brain is not to be underestimated. After running the Stark Industries empire with Howard Stark for years, he was ready to steal the reigns from Tony.
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He initiated a hit on Tony and wasn't afraid to use Tony's technology against him when the hit failed. He even hired scientists to develop Tony's arc reactor technology. While he has the brain to steal Tony's tech from him, he doesn't have the intelligence to create it himself.
Harley Keener
His engineering skills are developing and, with the help of Tony Stark, he is bound to have a bright future in front of him. He gives Tony ideas for stealth mode Iron Man, assists Tony with rebuilding the Iron Man, and even saves Tony's life. While he is helping Tony he is also learning about creating technology and how to be a hero.
His appearance at Tony's funeral implies that Tony stayed in contact with Harley, likely acting as a surrogate father and mentor, and even sets up for the possibility of Young Avengers.
Ivan Vanko
Iron Man 2 is not without its geniuses. While Justin Hammer is the villain of Iron Man 2, Hammer would be nowhere without the brains of Ivan Vanko. As retribution for Howard Stark deporting his father, Ivan Vanko took on Tony Stark with his electric whips, beating up Tony's suit and attracting Justin Hammer's attention in the process. With his expert engineering skills, Vanko created an army of drones to attempt to defeat Tony. While he failed, Vanko still displays more intelligence than many of Stark's other villains.
Aldrich Killian
Easily the best Iron Man villain, Aldrich Killian created an entire business dedicated to getting revenge on Tony for snubbing him on New Year's Eve. His devious mind creates the Extremis program and recruits veterans to be tested on, devises multiple terrorist attacks and hires an actor to blame the attacks on, plans a presidential kidnapping, and the near-death of Tony and Pepper, all while also running a think tank that has made him rich. While rooted in revenge, Killian's well-thought-out destruction makes him Stark's most intelligent villain.
Nick Fury
Nick Fury is often one of the smartest in the room, simply because he is filled with secrets. He usually appears to tell a hero something highly classified that brings the plot full circle, and that is exactly what happens when he shows up in Iron Man 2 to reveal Natalie Rushman's real identity and expose why Yanko is after Tony. Fury also helps push Tony emotionally, revealing how Howard Stark actually felt about Tony. Throughout the entire MCU, Fury is a fountain of secrets and knowledge, and is always around to tie individual stories together.
Maya Hansen
Despite inventing a treatment that allows people to recover from serious injuries, Maya is overshadowed by Aldrich Killian and Tony Stark. Her work allowed veterans to regrow limbs and become super-soldiers, but was used for Aldrich Killian to get back at Tony for snubbing him. Originally a bright-eyed scientist, Maya was swayed by the deep pockets of Killian. Deep down she always believed the end goal was helping people with the Extremis formula she created, even though her methods weren't always so ethical.
Ho Yinsen
In addition to being one of the most heartbreaking deaths in the MCU, Yinsin is a brilliant character. He is not only a doctor, but performed heart surgery on Tony Stark while being imprisoned in Afghanistan. By placing a magnet in Tony's chest to protect his heart from shrapnel and helping Tony build the very first Iron Man suit, he essentially creates Iron Man. In addition to performing heart surgery on Tony, he also has the technical skill to help Tony build the first Iron Man suit. Without Yinsin's intelligence, Iron Man would be nothing.
Pepper Potts
Similar to Maya Hansen, she is frequently overshadowed by the men around her, but without Pepper, Tony would not have been able to become full-time Iron Man. Pepper begins the first film as Tony's assistant, but is named CEO when Tony steps aside to become Iron Man. Even in the first film, she is the one to discover that Obadiah is not the ally he seems to be, and helps Tony defeat him. Even as an assistant, she knew more about Stark Industries and running a business than Tony and becomes CEO without missing a beat.
Jarvis
Tony's personal Siri, Jarvis, is an endless wealth of knowledge. He serves as a personal assistant, a doctor, a security system, a search engine, and more. Jarvis has an answer to any question Tony asks and even has human emotional capability.
Jarvis is possibly one of Tony's greatest inventions and is part of all of Tony's tech, including the War Machine suit James Rhodes wears. Tony is lost when his suit dies and he loses Jarvis's knowledge. With the mind stone, Jarvis eventually becomes Vision, but still maintains Jarvis's knowledge of literally everything.
Tony Stark
Billionaire, playboy, philanthropist Tony Stark could not be anywhere but number one on this list. From creating the human-like AI system, Jarvis, to creating hundreds of Iron Man suits, to performing surgery on himself, Tony Stark is one of the smartest characters in the entire MCU.
He is one half of the Science Bros and is behind most of the science and technology used by the Avengers. His intelligence often gets him and the rest of the Avengers in trouble, but his brilliance is undeniable.