Whenever I Start Getting Scared That Tony Will Die In A4 I Read Your Stuff About How He Is Going To Live

Whenever I start getting scared that Tony will die in A4 I read your stuff about how he is going to live and I feel better. I have recently been freaking out more so I was wondering if you have any more information or theories that you haven't posted yet about why he is going to survive?? I really like your account by the way. It's a nice Tony support group❤️

I am so glad I’m helping alleviate some worries for fans. I’ll gladly keep posting uplifting and optimistic theories.

I’ll start with the biggest evidence Tony will live:

Gwyneth Paltrow said in an interview that Tony and Pepper get married and have a baby (and also slipped and called RDJ her “fake husband” at the premiere). Given Tony doesn’t have a wedding ring on in the Avengers 4 set photos, it’s safe to assume the wedding will be something that happens after the Thanos situation is taken care of. I mean… it just makes sense. I don’t see Tony, after what happened in Infinity War, being in the headspace to have a child in a world where Thanos is still alive. After Peter disintegrated in his arms. Tony won’t stop, he won’t sleep, he won’t rest, until the threat is over.

While RDJ has expressed interest in leaving the role, he has likened this move to “hanging up a jersey,” which is a euphemism for retirement – not dying. Barring that? I don’t think RDJ wants Tony to die. Tony is a redemption story that RDJ relates greatly to on a personal level. Why would he be okay with Tony’s story ending in death? After all Tony has been through? If RDJ has any pull at all, I think he’d do everything in his power to make this not happen. It’s worth noting that even back during Iron Man 3 days, RDJ was pushing for Pepper and Tony to settle down and have a kiddo – and lo and behold? (To go along with this? The only time RDJ said he wanted Tony to go out “in a blaze of glory” was during the Civil War press tour – and that was when there was no guarantee Gwyneth Paltrow would ever reprise her role as Pepper Potts again. It’s possible RDJ’s second choice for Tony’s end was a sacrificial bang, but his preference has always been the “family man” happy ending if that were possible.)

Arguably, of all the original Avengers, Tony’s arc is the one most set up for retirement. There’s an easy exit for him that doesn’t involve death – so why the hell not take it? Feige himself said that the characters’ endings won’t necessarily involve death: “People always will jump to [death]. That’s not necessarily what we’re talking about. I talk a lot, because I’m a big-ass nerd, about Star Trek: The Next Generation, “All Good Things.” That to me is one of the best series finales ever. That wasn’t about death. Picard went and played poker with the crew, something he should have done a long time ago, right?”

… That, to me, is a pretty good indicator that Tony will stick around.

Now as for other stuff? Like themes and foreshadowing and what not that suggest Tony will live?:

Pepper and Tony having a child fits the thematic that has been building for several films now. Tony has been growing into the role of a father since Iron Man 3. He discussed settling down and building Pepper a farm in Age of Ultron. Steve asked Tony if Pepper was pregnant in Civil War. Tony has explicitly expressed interest in having a child of his own in Infinity War. It seems like a natural conclusion to his story – and to derail that with a gut-wrenching death would be cruel. As dark as these Marvel movies get, they’re never cruel.

I also wrote about this earlier, but Pepper is Tony’s anchor. So long as Pepper is alive, I don’t see Tony drifting away. She won’t let him.

If I were to imagine a “coda” to the film, a few of the scenes would have to involve Tony: a wedding (hinted at several times in Infinity War) to lift the spirits (because seriously how better to end this journey but with a wedding?). Tony still has Cap’s shield, and it feels fitting if Tony were the one to hand it over to the heir to the Captain America mantle. Tony perhaps following in his father’s footsteps, shown telling his kid stories about Captain America. I mean… there’s a lot of material that could be mined once Thanos is gone involving Tony.

Most important? Tony needs a win. After the events of Age of Ultron, where Tony’s paranoia almost destroyed the world, Tony needs vindication where his mania, where his rabid drive to fix actually pays off and works. I’ve written a lot about how I think Tony will be the one to ultimately wields the Infinity Gauntlet (or at least he’ll be the key factor in making it work). It goes back to what Tony says in Iron Man 3 – and what Wanda said in Age of Ultron.

“That’s what I do. I fix stuff.” - Tony Stark, Iron Man 3

“He will do anything to make things right.” - Wanda Maximoff, Avengers: Age of Ultron

While that doesn’t mean Tony will survive (and it’s scary to think of a mortal like Tony being involved in anything that has been portrayed as dangerous and unstable like using Infinity Stones), I think there’s something to be said about how Thanos and Tony have been set up as parallels. Both are father figures (one dispassionate, one emotional) who have an overriding need to remedy potential disaster. Thanos’s madness has driven him to destroying half the world so that another Titan calamity doesn’t occur. Tony’s madness over the threat Thanos presented led him to nearly destroying Earth (and we will most likely see Tony’s madness again in Avengers 4). And, if we’re to believe the two are parallels? What did Thanos do after using the gauntlet? He got to “finally rest, and watch the sunrise on an ungrateful universe.” Given Tony has been characterized as a man who never rests, it would be fitting if Tony, after saving the universe, got to rest and see the world he saved bloom.

I mean, come on. Tony is “the futurist,” which means the future is going to need him – and he’ll be there to see it.