Marvel Cinematic Universe: Ranking the 20 greatest superheroes

2. Iron Man

The second part of Marvel’s “Big 3” goes to Iron Man, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first character and titular character of its first movie. He’s arguably the father figure of the MCU, and one of the two heroes that make this comic book world go round.

Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark represents everything the MCU stands for. He’s an evolving character that proved to be far from perfect, but became one of the veteran Avengers over the years. From his heroics in all three Iron Man movies to some of his most infuriating moments, as ScreenRant noted, it’s what makes Tony special.

However, in 2018, the future surrounds Iron Man’s character. With Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers on the way, it puts almost every MCU character in danger. Who knows what Thanos will do to the Earth’s mightiest heroes, especially to someone like Iron Man, one that would be a grave loss for the Avengers.

If it’s the final ride for Iron Man, then let’s take these next two movies to enjoy the character and Downey Jr.’s performance. It will be difficult to match, no matter if there’s five, 10 or 20 more Marvel movies lined up. Someone different will eventually captain the MCU, whether it’s Spider-Man, someone from the Guardians of the Galaxy, a member of the X-Men or if a Red, White and Blue-wearing hero sticks around. There will never be another Stark, but there’s someone that just edges him out.