Eternals Makes Iron Man’s Endgame Sacrifice More Impressive

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Eternals.

The events of Eternals make Iron Man’s sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame much more impressive. After years of living a life of self-indulgence, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) capped off his MCU journey by making the sacrificial play. In order to ensure a future free from Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) threat, he chose to wield all six Infinity Stones and snapped the Mad Titan and his minions away, killing himself in the process.

As seen in Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home, Iron Man was widely mourned for his heroic death. He was honored with a somber and emotional funeral service at his lake house led by Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and his daughter, Morgan (Lexi Rabe). Meanwhile, civilians around the world celebrated him through various tributes and murals as seen in Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) European school trip. Tony’s sacrifice has already been praised in various ways, including through an in-universe film that tackles his life. But, the events of Eternals make it all the more impressive as pointed out by a great line from Ikaris (Richard Madden).

Once the truth about the death of Ajak (Salma Hayek) comes to light, Ikaris’ real stance on the looming Emergence is also revealed. He’s convinced that it’s best for them to follow Arishem’s instruction and sit back as the birth of Tiamut happens. He questions the other Eternals’ belief in the altruism of humanity, asking, “If we gave humanity the choice, how many of them would be willing to die so that billions more could be born?” None of the others are able to counter this argument, proving his point–but also illustrating exactly why Iron Man’s sacrifice was so noble, because he did exactly that. Tony Stark was the human who willingly sacrificed himself so that billions could be brought back.

Admittedly, Iron Man wasn’t the only hero who sacrificed his life for the mission in Avengers: Endgame. Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson) gave up her life to save Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and secure the Soul Stone in Vormir. Nebula (Karen Gillan) killed a version of herself who threatened to derail the Avengers’ plan. Meanwhile, before Thanos’ existence was established, Captain America (Chris Evans) already proved that he would die for the greater good. All of the said heroes’ sacrifices are valid, but only Tony was driven by the idea of a better future for the next generation. He’d been always obsessed with what came after him; the genius, billionaire was more invested in leaving a legacy than anything short term. As early asThe Avengers, he was already working on promoting sustainability. By Avengers: Age of Ultron, he was looking at creating a suit of armor around the world that would keep people safe even without the Avengers. Tony was constantly looking at what was ahead, actively working on making sure that it’s better than what he had.

Iron Man is no longer in the MCU, at one point in Eternals, the cosmic beings even briefly discussed that. Despite continued clamor from fans to bring him back after Avengers: Endgame, it doesn’t seem like Tony is returning to the franchise any time soon. But, his legacy lives, and it continues to have a narrative impact in the franchise with upcoming projects such as Ironheart and Armor Wars.

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