Marvel Fans Celebrate 15th Anniversary of Iron Man and Start of the MCU

Iron Man turns 15 today and Marvel fans are remembering the movie that started it all. The movie landscape is completely different than in 2008. Marvel Studios is a big reason for that, and you can thank Iron Man for forging that path if you're a fan of the franchise. A lot of viewers would argue that Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark is the bedrock character of the entire MCU. His sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame made a lot of people very sad, and they want him back. While that may not happen, it's clear the memories are still living on after all this time.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania producer Stephen Broussard addressed the calls for original Avengers to return in an interview with io9. A lot of fans want nothing more than Robert Downey Jr. walking through that door for Avengers: Secret Wars. But, that doesn't sound like the case at this point in time. The producer says we should be expecting more of the modern team rather than the big triumphant return of Robert Downey Jr.

15 years ago today #IronMan pic.twitter.com/SD4BafvfAl

— Asad Ayaz (@asadayaz) May 2, 2023

"I think one of the meta-narratives of Phase Four was about new characters. It was about new people stepping into mantles," Broussard explained. "If you look at, like, Cassie [Lang in Quantumania] getting a suit and Kate Bishop [in Hawkeye], new characters being introduced like Jack in Werewolf by Night. After these first 10 years of Marvel storytelling, torches are being passed, like with Robert Downey Jr. no longer being [on the] table and stuff like that. So it was kind of like a new generation stepping to the forefront which, again, has always happened in the comics."

Do you think Iron Man will return? Let us know down in the comments!