Huge MCU Phase 4 Twist Retcons Iron Man's Avengers: Infinity War Story
Warning: SPOILERS for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness!
Marvel Studios changes Iron Man's Avengers: Infinity War story in a huge way after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness delivers a major Phase 4 twist. Once the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tony Stark's death in Avengers: Endgame has meant the popular franchise had to move on without him. The MCU has primarily avoided reflecting too much on the death of the great Avenger, as Iron Man took the spotlight once more to close out Phase 3. His role in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame allowed Marvel to wrap up Tony Stark's story in a nearly perfect fashion. Aspects of this satisfying conclusion, however, are now in jeopardy.
Iron Man's absence from Phase 4 doesn't mean that the MCU can't and won't continue to alter his past, legacy, and general role within the shared universe. Marvel Studios already has plans to continue his corner of the franchise through the Armor Wars and Ironheart Disney+ shows, the latter of which will introduce his likely MCU replacement in Riri Williams. Even as Robert Downey Jr. has distanced himself from his iconic Marvel role, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was the subject of much speculation about Tom Cruise appearing as an alternate universe Iron Man. That didn't happen, but one of the movie's biggest revelations retcons Tony Stark's story.
During the events of Doctor Strange 2, a major multiverse twist arrives that changes Iron Man's Avengers: Infinity War story. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness reveals that dreams are actually glimpses at the multiverse. The stunning MCU Phase 4 twist directly connects to Tony Stark and the start of Avengers: Infinity War. The movie includes a conversation between Tony and Pepper where he says he had a dream the night before that they had a son. Avengers: Endgame delivered its own twist with the revelation of Morgan Stark being their daughter. Now, Doctor Strange 2's dream twist means that Iron Man actually viewed an alternate universe where he and Pepper did have a son named Morgan, who is named after Pepper's uncle. This presents the emotional core of Stark's Endgame story in a very different light.
The change to Iron Man's Avengers: Infinity War story will come as a huge shock to fans, but there is a sense in the movie that even Tony knew that there was something different about it. He tells Pepper that it felt "so real" to have a son with her. While that feeling likely increased once they had their daughter Morgan, the multiverse explanation provided in Doctor Strange 2 adds another layer to the realness. Tony Stark wasn't just dreaming of a possible future, he was actually seeing how his life played out in another reality. It is through this Phase 4 twist that Iron Man's Avengers: Infinity War story can even be connected to the multiverse now.
With the multiverse twist of Iron Man's dream in Avengers: Infinity War that Doctor Strange 2 provides, it opens up several possibilities for the future. Katherine Langford's Morgan Stark could very well still return in the main MCU timeline, but there is now an avenue for the male version of Morgan Stark to also appear through the multiverse. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness could mean that Tony Stark's son from another universe could one day visit Earth-616. Perhaps this version of Morgan Stark could even become Iron Lad, keeping the character's multiverse connections and possible placement on the MCU's Young Avengers team but removing the Kang/Fantastic Four ties. Even if that doesn't happen, Avengers: Infinity War's Iron Man story will hit differently now that the multiverse implications are known.
Source: Screenrant
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