Marvel Comics may have Tony Stark return to the live-action MCU

A new Marvel comic may open the window for Tony Stark to return to the live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe.

When it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole, there’s no one more loved and respected than Iron Man, also known as Tony Stark.

The 2008 film Iron Man kicked off the entirety of the live-action universe. Therefore, when he was killed in Avengers: Endgame almost a decade later, the loss absolutely devastated fans.

However, it seems like a new Marvel comic could lead to Tony’s return to the big screen as it sees him become the big bad of Phase 6.

Marvel comic has Tony become the ultimate conqueror

Marvel Comics’ Ultimate Invasion #4, published in September 2023, sees Tony Stark follow in his father, Howard’s, footsteps by donning a suit of armor and dubbing himself Iron Lad after Howard’s death, per ComicBookMovie.com.

Tony then used Howard’s time-travel device to undo The Maker’s damage to Earth-6160. This created a new Ultimate Universe and inadvertently became Kang the Conqueror. Fans soon learn that the Iron Man they’ve come to know has become one of Kang’s variants.

This comic has huge implications for the live-action MCU. Jonathan Majors, who played Kang in Loki and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, has an uncertain future due to a host of legal issues.

If Majors is convicted of his assault charges, he would no longer be feasible as the leading man in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, the grand finale for the MCU’s Phase 6.

And, if Marvel is looking for someone to take up the Conqueror mantle, they already have an established leading man in Robert Downey Jr. who, according to CBM, could maybe be persuaded to come back to the MCU with a “dump truck full of money.”

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