Say what you will about Tony Stark, but the man’s willing to risk life and limb for the greater good – even if that means piloting a nuclear warhead through an alien wormhole with no guarantee of a safe return.
Such was the case during The Avengers finale, in which Stark redeemed himself and became Marvel’s ultimate martyr, only to do something similar when Age of Ultron arrived three years later. All of this guilt-driven heroism really begs the question: will Robert Downey Jr.’s MCU veteran lay his life on the line during Avengers 4, perhaps haunted by his inability to save Peter Parker (and some of his closest allies) from the rampaging Thanos?
It certainly presents food for thought, as evidenced by this recent YouTube video from That Film Theory which (you guessed it) makes a case for Tony Stark being killed off during Avengers 4. Not that TFT is advocating for Stark to go; simply that his death would be totally in character, particularly if it involves sacrificing himself to save the world.
Assuming this is really the case, and Joe and Anthony Russo plan to kill off the MCU’s beating heart, it would surely involve Tony Stark suffering from PTSD in the aftermath of Infinity War.
Based on early rumors, the loss of Peter Parker, in particular, will reduce Stark to a shell of his former self, which, coupled with the alleged time jump between the two Marvel sequels, creates a situation in which Stark’s recklessness gets the better of him, ultimately leading to the moment when he lays his life on the line to topple Thanos (and presumably save those fallen heroes).
All of this (and more!) will be revealed once Avengers 4 begins its theatrical rollout on May 3rd.