Ahead of Robert Downey Jr.’s return inAvengers: Doomsday,Vision Questwill put Iron Man’sMCUlegacy and public image to the test. It only took oneAvengersmovie for Robert Downey Jr. to return to the MCU, this time as Doctor Doom instead of Tony Stark.Robert Downey Jr.’s return as Doctor Doomraises a lot of questions and fan theories, from theAvengers: Doomsdayvillain being an evil Iron Man variant to Doctor Doom adopting Tony Stark’s physical appearance in order to torment the Avengers.
BeforeAvengers: Doomsdayreveals Doctor Doom’s origin and motivations,Vision Questwill bring back White Vision. The original Vision died inAvengers: Infinity War, but he soon came back to life in two separate ways. Scarlet Witch protected Vision’s memories and personality inside her Westview hex, and SWORD turned the synthezoid’s body into a weapon inWandaVision. However,White Vision seemed to recover his original memories in theWandaVisionfinale, and he will star in his own MCU show soon.
The MCU Has Never Gotten Over Iron Man
No One Has Taken Iron Man’s Place As The Face Of The MCU
Iron Man’s death inAvengers: Endgamegave Robert Downey Jr. a fitting farewell after a long and arduous MCU journey. It also paved the way for a new generation of Avengers who could follow in the original team’s footsteps and lead the franchise throughout the Multiverse Saga. Yet,the MCU hasn’t introduced a proper Avengers team, andnobody in the MCU has reached the same level of popularity and importance as Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man.Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange are particularly popular heroes, but they aren’t often considered the MCU’s main characters.
Iron Man’s status as the face of the MCU is still up for grabs over five years after his death
What’s more, characters like Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Ironheart, and Earth-838’s Illuminati have repeatedly reminded audiences about Iron Man’s absence. Iron Man is known as the hero who saved the universe not only across the Earth, but also across the multiverse, as the TVA knows about Tony Stark’s feat and ensures it remains untouched in the Sacred Timeline. Younger heroes like Ironheart look up to him as a role model, but Iron Man’s status as the face of the MCU is still up for grabs over five years after his death.
Ultron’s Return Is Set In The MCU
Ultron Finally Makes His Presence Known In The MCU After More Than A Decade
The biggest complaint about the MCU’s Ultron adaptation might be his seemingly definitive death inAvengers: Age of Ultron. Ultron’s defeat was disappointing not only because it made him look weaker than most of his comic book counterparts, but also because Ultron should be an invincible villain by definition. After all, the first thing Ultron did was upload his conscience to the internet, which suggested that he could have unlimited copies of himself for as long as the internet existed. More than ten years after his apparent defeat,Ultron is set to return inVision Quest.
The MCU’s Biggest Villain Cliffhanger Got An Answer 6 Years Before It Even Happened (& It’s Not Looking Good)
While the MCU hasn’t paid off Eternals' ending cliffhanger, a Phase 2 movie already answered what would happen if Arishem judges the Earth.
It makes a lot of sense for Ultron’s return to be left for a Vision-led series. Ultron designed Vision to be his own ultimate body, and Vision was the Avenger who took care of destroying the very last Ultron Sentry standing at the end ofAvengers: Age of Ultron. Since White Vision seems to be embarking on a quest to recover his memories inPhase 6’sVision Quest, there’s no better character to bring back than the villain that helped create him. In fact, White Vision’s attempt to tap into his hidden memories might be the very reason Ultron gets reactivated.
Ultron Is A Harsh Reminder Of Tony Stark’s Darkest Mistake
Tony Stark Never Faced The Consequences Of Ultron’s Creation
Although Ultron’s betrayal was one of Tony Stark’s biggest regrets,Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man was never shown facing any kind of legal repercussions or mass public backlash for Ultron’s actions outside the United States. Naturally, one would expect Ultron’s complete destruction of Sokovia and attacks on South Korea and South Africa to result in huge legal and financial issues for the Avengers and the United States government. But if it weren’t for Thaddeus Ross' Sokovia Accords initiative, Tony Stark and the Avengers would have left Ultron’s havoc behind scot-free.
All The Ways MCU Proved That Iron Man Was Right In Civil War
Years after the release of Captain America: Civil War, Marvel Studios has proven that Iron Man was ultimately right about the Sokovia Accords.
There’s a theory that Iron Man and the Avengers somehow covered up Ultron’s origins. While it would be realistic for Tony Stark to be a problematic public figure, it would be extremely unrealistic for the world to forgive him for creating the supervillain who obliterated an entire country and nearly destroyed other major cities. If true, thenUltron’s return inVision Questcould test Tony Stark’s posthumous messiah-level fame, as Ultron could reveal the true extent of Iron Man’s involvement in the robot’s rampage ten years before.
