Endgame Director Is Wrong About Iron Man's Death: It Was About Stark's Ego

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Co-director Joe Russo's reasoning for why Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) sacrificed himself in Avengers: Endgame is wrong. As the third anniversary of Marvel Studios' culminating film approaches, fans are once again revisiting the 2019 flick even as the MCU moves forward with Phase 4. Avengers: Endgame was packed with a lot of moving elements. Aside from resolving the cliffhanger ending of Avengers: Infinity War, it also functions as the swan song for several original Avengers members. This includes Tony Stark, who died by sacrificing himself for the greater good. 

Ever since kicking off the MCU in 2008, Iron Man had been the poster boy of the franchise until his demise in Avengers: Endgame. His death further emphasized the end of the Infinity Saga as it meant that the franchise would have to move forward without its leading character. More than a decade since he took on a new calling to be a superhero, Stark ended his arc by giving up his life to defeat Thanos (Josh Brolin). When asked why the ultimate sacrifice had to be executed by Iron Man and not Captain America (Chris Evans), Russo explained that because it was more impactful to see it from the notoriously egotistical character like Iron Man than it would have been with a traditional hero like Steve Rogers. 

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There are some issues, however, with the filmmaker's reasoning. For starters, Stark had time and again proved that he was willing to die for the greater cause, implying that he's able to put his ego aside. In The Avengers, he willingly flew through the wormhole to stop more Chitauris from coming in. He was also willing to do the same in Avengers: Infinity War and had it not been