Will Tony Stark, Aka Iron Man, Die in 'Avengers: Endgame'? Maybe, But Not in the Way We Think

The last we knew of many of the Avengers we know and love, they either disintegrated into tiny flecks of dust, or were left unscathed, but in shambles. Avengers: Age of Ultron left us with the devastating effects of Thanos's plan to wipe out half the universe. He succeeded, and fans were left with many questions. Where did half the Avengers go? Are they still technically alive somewhere? Does this have something to do with the Quantum Realm? How will the remaining Avengers bring back their missing team? How will Thanos be defeated? 

But most importantly: Who is going to die in Endgame? Because unfortunately, the chances are high at least one of our favorite Avengers will perish. Many fans have been theorizing that it's going to be founding member of the Avengers, Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, who dies. 

First of all, Robert Downey Jr. has hinted around leaving the Marvel franchise. There are reports that his Marvel contract expires with Endgame, and Downey Jr. has other films he's signed up for, like a Sherlock Holmes sequel, as well as a Doctor Dolittle film. The actor told news.com.au, "I just never want to blow it for the last six or seven (MCU movies) I have done by dropping the ball because I decided to go to it one more time. I just want to hang up my jersey before it's embarrassing." This was back in 2017, though. 

Second, all of the trailers (save for the final one) show Stark isolated in space, talking into his helmet as a way to send Pepper Potts one final message before he knows (thinks?) he's going to die. "Food and water ran out about...four days ago. Oxygen is going to run out tomorrow morning." He says, "When I drift off, I'm going to dream about you." While we actually do know Stark makes it out of alive (in the most recent trailer we see him marching with the rest of the remaining Avengers fully clad in their new uniforms, it still doesn't erase the fact that much of the trailers have been focused on the possibility that Tony Stark might be a goner. 

Redditor teh_vr00m believes Stark will die, and that the scene we see with him recording his message to Potts is actually after a horrendous battle with Thanos:

"My idea is this — the scene with Tony and Neubla working together comes BEFORE he records his final message, I mean this is f**king Tony Stark we're talking about, the dude who made the first Iron Man armor in a cave, with a box of scraps, but like Infinity War showed us, the good guys don't always win. Tony in his desperation keeps trying multiple ways to somehow escape his coffin, but with each increasing failure his mental state gets worse and worse and he finally realizes the terrible truth - he can't escape this one, he's trapped and his hours are numbered and he looks back at his ruined armor and in one final attempt, rebuilds the helmet and records his final words... "Hello Ms. Potts"

In a special feature, we see that Iron Man is back in action...and he actually faces off with Thanos himself. Is this where Iron Man meets his maker? As the OG Avenger, wouldn't it be poetic that he sacrifices himself in order to defeat Thanos and to bring the new Avengers back? It could be an end of an era to make space for the new era of superhero. 

If you recall in Infinity War, Dr. Strange is able to see 14,000,605 different outcomes, and there is only one outcome that ensures Thanos's defeat. Strange must give Thanos his Time Stone and tells Stark, "There was no other way."

So, Dr. Strange has figured out a way to defeat Thanos, and it has something very much to do with Iron Man. It's theorized that Dr. Strange knows that only Iron Man can undo the total destruction Thanos has caused — he's the key to time travel (and so is Ant Man, but that's a different story). Watch the video below — at 5:11 you see Dr. Strange beg Thanos to spare Iron Man. And there is no way he would have given up the Time Stone in order to save another person — Dr. Strange's whole purpose in life is to protect that Time Stone. Unless...he knows Stark is the key to saving the universe.

In Spider-Man: Far From Home (which comes out summer 2019), Tony Stark, who is Peter Parker's mentor, is nowhere to be found. And there certainly aren't anymore slated Iron Man films. This could be so Marvel doesn't spoil what actually happens to Stark, but it could also mean that Iron Man's storyline has ended.

In an interview with the official Avengers: Infinity War Magazine, Paltrow actually says that Stark and Potts get married and have a child.

"Pepper and Tony have had a real long journey together. She obviously starts as his dutiful assistant, and then the relationship evolves, and now this decade later they're married, and they have a child. Their relationship has evolved in all the ways that great romances evolve," Paltrow states.

But could this also mean that Iron Man dies but Tony Stark lives? As in, lives on to lead a normal life as a husband and father — something he's wanted with Potts for a long, long time?

The only way to truly find out the fate of one of our favorite Avengers is to watch Endgame. Only a couple more days until we find out.