FanSided 250: Robert Downey Jr. fans recognized among the best of 2019

Robert Downey Jr. fans are among the best for good reason.

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are not strangers to Robert Downey Jr. His role as Tony Stark/Iron Man remains one of the greatest comic book performances of all time. In fact, it may be the best. RDJ only got better after every Marvel Studios movie he was in. Not just in acting, but the character has evolved, as well. In Iron Man, he was still very much a drunken playboy who was more than happy with selling weapons to make a fortune. Fast forward to Spider-Man: Homecoming, and he had become a mentor who took his role as a superhero seriously. But what was it that made Robert Downey Jr. remain popular among his fans? Characters can become stale and tiresome after being around for a long time. Honestly, it’s because Robert Downey Jr. is damn good at being himself, Tony Stark, and one of the coolest people on the planet.

Staying Classy

Despite being on top of the comic book movie world for over a decade, Robert Downey Jr. has never let the success go to his head; a quality that most fans appreciate. He could just as easily become a narcissistic jerk that doesn’t care about the fans. Instead, he’s remained who he is. When Martin Scorsese criticized comic book movies, he took the high road. He could have easily gone on a rant and insulted Scrosese to gain fanfare. But that’s not his style. Doing this showed class that some people lack. When the radio legend Howard Stern asked him about it he simply said:

"“I mean it plays in theaters. I appreciate his opinion. I think it’s like anything where we need all of the different perspectives so we can come to center and move on.”"

If that’s not enough, he just recently surprised a United States Marine and his mother on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. How cool is that?! The joy on their faces when he popped out of the box was touching. Things like this are telling. Robert Downey Jr. doesn’t have to do things like this, but he does them anyway.

Because he’s Iron Man

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Let’s be honest, Robert Downey Jr. has been known mostly as Iron Man over the last ten plus years. He’s been in some incredible movies in the past ten or so years like Sherlock Holmes , The Soloist, and Tropic Thunder. However, this past year he’s been known for being Iron Man. Especially after how he completed his legacy in Avengers: Endgame.

His eleven-year run as Tony Stark ended with him saving the universe and saying the exact four words he said at the end of the first MCU movie, “I am Iron Man.” With a snap of his fingers, he saved the day yet again. It wasn’t just the ending that made him phenomenal in Avengers: Endgame. It was everything he did in that movie from start to finish. The emotional moment when he gave up being Iron Man by ripping the reactor off his chest, his triumphant return to save the day, and the heartwarming moment with his daughter all helped end his final MCU journey perfectly. There was no way he wouldn’t be in the FanSided 250 after this movie.

Robert Downey Jr. will now start a new phase in his life. In his next role, he’ll be playing Dr. John Dolittle in nex year’s Dolittle. We can fully expect him to knock this role out of the park, as well. Robert Downey Jr. was a great actor before he was Iron Man, and he’ll continue to be one until he retires.

What do you think of Robert Downey Jr. in 2019? Let us know in the comments below.