Marvel theory: The real reason Tony Stark dies in Avengers Endgame

Iron Man was the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As a result, his presence has been a constant in the movies – until his demise in Avengers Endgame. Express.co.uk had an exclusive conversation with comic book expert Professor Chris Murray, revealing why this is a trope regularly seen in comic books.

Professor Murray has explained there are many factor for why superheroes die in comic books – either temporarily or permanently.

It seems there are countless reasons for this and it all depends on personnel within the comic book world, as well as creative and artistic choices.

Asked about why comic book heroes’ deaths are not always permanent, he said: “It is often said that death is rarely permanent in superhero comics, but that is also somewhat relative.

“Sure, a hero can appear to die in a story and return later in that narrative, but sometimes characters ‘die’ for several years, and that might represent a generation in terms of readership, where fast readership turnover is an issue.

“Also, new creative teams like to mix things up, and killing a fan favourite character is a good way to get attention.

“It’s also a good marketing tool when sales are facing a slump (the death of Superman storyline in the 1990s being a prominent example).

“There are so many reasons why death is rarely permanent from an industry point of view, but more abstractly, superheroes narratives have a mythic pattern.”

Of course, Tony Stark’s death in Avengers: Endgame is an example of one man sacrificing himself for the good of others – both his family and the entire world.

Fans have seen Stark grow from an egotistical inventor to a hero with true depths, and this is made clear in the mythology that can often help us understand the superhero narrative.

He added: “Superheroes are like Osiris, Adonis, Attis, Christ, etc – what James Frazer [famous folklorist] described as ‘dying and reviving gods’.

“The stories are cyclical and feature motifs of death and rebirth or transformation.

“That is one of the main recurring motifs of the genre, and the symbolism and meaning of the superhero is bound up in this pattern.”

Professor Murray explains how these patterns play out in a different way in films compared to comic books, as those patterns are consumed in a different way.

Speaking about the idea of Iron Man making a triumphant return, as can happen in comic books, Professor Murray explains there are various ways this could happen – but this may not be down to comic books.

He added: “From a narrative point of view the options are the same to a screen writer as they are to a comics creator – prequels, flashbacks, clones, parallel universe versions, time travel etc.

“But when talking about these films this is really a question of Robert Downey Jr’s career choices.

“I would doubt he would hurry to star in any kind of resurrection storyline as it would lessen the impact of the ending of Endgame, and the legacy of his character’s death.

“But I wouldn’t rule out a tear jerking cameo as a flashback or dream sequence somewhere down the line, perhaps when the next phase comes to a close and looks to establish links back to the previous phases of the MCU.”

Marvel has already confirmed Tony Stark will appear in Black Widow, the prequel movie about Natasha Romanov (Scarlett Johnasson).

How this will play out is anyone’s guess at the moment, but it seems clear that, while no one can be certain, Robert Downey Jnr looks unlikely to make a permanent return to the franchise – at least in his current form.