Marvel: All 6 Avengers ranked from worst to best

2. Tony Stark / Iron Man

That brings us to the man who started it all. When Tony Stark built himself a suit of armor to escape a life-or-death situation, he never could have imagined the journey that awaited him. Neither could fans, because as awesome as the idea of seeing the Avengers together on-screen was, a shared universe the scope of the MCU seemed unfathomable in 2008. And yet, the success of Iron Man made it possible.

Robert Downey Jr. was the perfect choice to bring Tony to life. His suave demeanor, he just radiated charisma in a way that only Tony Stark could, and that made the character inherently likeable right from the offset – in spite of every single infuriating decision he ever made (and he made a lot of them in the early days).

Tony experienced perhaps the greatest character journey of anyone in the MCU. A good intentioned, but selfish and immature billionaire, he grew into a selfless, noble, and respected hero, who was willing to put his pride and arrogance aside to fight for those around him who needed his help. And there was no greater example of that than when he laid down his life in Avengers: Endgame to save the universe from Thanos.

If we call The CW’s shared universe of superheroes the Arrowverse in honor of Oliver Queen, there’s an argument to be made for calling the MCU the Starkverse. Honestly, I see the vision.