How Iron Man’s Final Line Launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Avengers: Endgame is back in theaters now, which has sparked an online debate about whether just four minutes of added material is worth the price of admission. People have missed the point. While bonus scenes offer a reason to revisit Avengers: Endgame, the movie itself and the chance to immerse yourself in it on a big screen free from distractions is reason enough to attend. Back in 2019, Avengers: Endgame brought the 23-film Infinity Saga to a satisfying conclusion. Plus, the time-travel element offered a chance to revisit previous entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

On top of all that, the movie contains the greatest Tony Stark quote in the history of the MCU.

Robert Downey Jr. delivers a fast-talking and quotable version of Iron Man. He had directors like Jon Favreau and Shane Black on his side, along with screenwriters like Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, which led to many great lines. “I shouldn’t be alive,” he says in the first movie, “unless it was for a reason.” In 2010’s Iron Man 2, one of his best and most arrogant lines comes during a senate hearing when he says “I’ve successfully privatized world peace.”

There are also solid lines in the pre-Endgame Avengers movies. In the first Avengers, when Captain America asks Tony Stark what he is without his suit, Tony snaps back “Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.” An even better line comes from Avengers: Age of Ultron, when Tony says, “I see a suit of armor around the world.” That line spoke to his darker tendencies and his willingness to sacrifice liberty for safety. If Robert Downey Jr. takes on the role of Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday as a Tony Stark Variant, we might get a glimpse at a Tony Stark who actually put that suit of armor around the world and the darkness that came of it.

Similarly, his line from Avengers: Endgame, where he tells Captain America, “You mess with time, it tends to mess back,” may end up being a prescient one for Doctor Doom.

Tony Stark’s best line

That said, Robert Downey Jr.’s best line as Tony Stark and Iron Man has nothing to do with Doom. Instead, it is the line delivered just as Tony Stark snaps his fingers with the Infinity Stones on his hand:

“And I… am… Iron Man”

The line “I am Iron Man” is an obvious best choice for the character because hardly any other line comes close.

He first said “I am Iron Man” at the end of the first Iron Man movie under extremely different circumstances. When Tony Stark holds a press conference after the major events of the film, it seems he will go forward with the alibi provided by SHIELD agent Phil Coulson, played by Clark Gregg. Instead, he goes off script and says, “Truth is, I am Iron Man,” before the movie jumps to the end credits.

Apparently, that line was improvised by Robert Downey Jr. himself, as the original script had him go along with the prepared alibi. At least one version of the script online has the “I am Iron Man” line in it. That said, Iron Man was notorious for not having a finished script at all, so it is entirely possible that the line was improvised and added to the script afterward.

Regardless, the fact that Tony Stark publicly stated he was Iron Man was a major turning point for the MCU and for superhero cinema. While Iron Man is a solid film, it did not break the mold of superhero films on its own. The interconnectedness it had with other MCU films was the most novel aspect. Tony sharing his identity with the world caused major repercussions in-universe, with other heroes and villains coming to prominence because of it. Up until that point, most superhero movies dealt with private struggles between superheroes and their secret identities, but having Tony Stark’s alter-ego be public changed everything.

That is why repeating the line for Avengers: Endgame became such a monumental moment. At the end of Endgame, when Thanos, played by Josh Brolin, thinks he has all the Infinity Stones and is about to snap his fingers, Thanos says “I am inevitable.” Once it is revealed that Iron Man has the Stones, Tony gives a snarky and boastful reply while gasping for breath by simply saying, “And I am Iron Man.” Then he snaps his fingers, saving the universe from Thanos and sacrificing his life.

Similar to how “I am Iron Man” was improvised in Iron Man, the line was not in the Endgame script either. Originally, Iron Man just snapped his fingers without saying a word. In post-production, editor Jeff Ford thought that the callback would be a fitting finale for the character. The Russo brothers, who were directing, agreed and decided to reshoot the moment to include it.

It was a lot of trouble to go through for one single line, but it provided a full-circle moment for the franchise. It harkens back to a pivotal moment from the beginning of the MCU and created a brand new one to close the chapter on Iron Man.

That is why “I am Iron Man” is Tony Stark’s best-ever MCU quote and why nothing else comes close.

Source: Polygon