An Iron Man statue is erected in Italy honoring Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) death in Avengers: Endgame. Marvel Studios kicked off their entire Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise with Iron Man in 2008, portraying Tony Stark’s origin story as the superhero. Downey Jr. and Iron Man have been a central figure in the MCU ever since, helping to lead the Avengers and starring in his own trilogy. However, Iron Man’s time in the MCU came to an end with Avengers: Endgame, which featured Tony Stark’s death.

After the events of Avengers: Infinity War, in which Thanos (Josh Brolin) acquired the Infinity Stones and snapped away half of life in the universe, Endgame saw the original six Avengers unite with some new allies and recover the Stones in order to bring everyone back. To do so, they constructed their own Infinity Gauntlet using Iron Man tech. Though Hulk was the one to use Iron Man’s Infinity Gauntlet to bring everyone back, arguing that he’s the only one who could survive it, Tony himself ends up wielding the gauntlet later. When he realizes the Avengers can’t defeat Thanos and his army, Iron Man uses the Infinity Gauntlet to snap them all away, and doesn’t survive the gauntlet’s power. It’s a fitting death scene for Iron Man, who makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the world.

In the time since Avengers: Endgame hit theaters, Marvel fans all over the world have offered up various ways to honor Iron Man in the MCU. The latest, as reported by Krypton Radio, is an Iron Man statue erected in the town of Forte dei Marmi in Tuscany, Italy. Titled “Man of Steel,” the Iron Man monument was sculpted by Daniele Basso for the “Oltre Verso” art exhibition that opened on Aug. 9. On the monument is a plaque with the following inscription:

The Iron Man death scene in Avengers: Endgame is one many Marvel fans will remember for years to come, especially since both Tony Stark and Downey Jr. were such staples of the MCU. As such, it’s entirely understandable that Basso would construct a sculpture honoring the character who’s now so ingrained in popular culture it mirror’s the fictional world of the MCU. As fans saw in Spider-Man: Far From Home, Iron Man tributes sprung up around the world honoring the fallen hero. Though in the real world Iron Man is only a fictional character, his impact on people around the world is undeniable.

The first monument dedicated to Iron Man in the year of his death in the cinematic world, we celebrate Tony Stark as a man who dedicates his life’s fortunes to fight for the ideals he believes in … reminding us that we are all the protagonists of our time - that the future of humanity depends on our decisions … that all of us must be heroes!

However, with the deaths of Iron Man and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) as well as retirement of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) as Captain America, the MCU is moving into a new era in Phase 4. After the Black Widow solo movie, Marvel Studios will be largely focusing on new, legacy or Phase 2 heroes. With Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster becoming Thor, Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson becoming Captain America and Kate Bishop being introduced in the Hawkeye TV show, many MCU heroes are passing the torch. Perhaps that means the mantle of Iron Man won’t remain dormant forever, though it remains to be seen who will become the MCU’s new Iron Man - perhaps Marvel Studios will take a cue from the comics and introduce Riri Williams.

Next: Who Could Be The MCU’s New Iron Man

Source: Krypton Radio, Pagem45/Reddit

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