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The Russos Are Wrong, Iron Man Didn’t Deserve To Die (But Loki Did)
Two of the most prominent deaths throughout the bout against Thanos actually bookend the two Avengers films. While the Titan didn't go out of his way to kill anyone, he ruthlessly murdered Loki in front of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) at the start of Avengers: Infinity War when the God of Mischief attempted to trick him. Five years later after the initial snap, Iron Man sacrificed himself to defeat Thanos and reverse the snap's effects. The Avenger wielded all six Infinity Stones to dust off the Titan and his minions despite knowing that it would likely kill him.
As beloved characters, there was understandably uproar regarding these MCU deaths and in a new interview, the Russos defend killing Iron Man and Loki by saying that they both "deserved to die." That isn't exactly true, however. While this over-simplistic explanation applies to Loki, it doesn't to Tony Stark. The God of Mischief's demise at the hands of Thanos was him finally being held accountable for his dalliance with the villain. Whether Loki was mind-controlled during The Avengers is still being debated with even Marvel themselves giving multiple versions of the events, but the fact that Loki decided to partner up with the Titan in the first place resulted in the deaths of countless civilians and the destruction of New York. If anything, Loki's bold attempt to kill Thanos to save the Asgardians completed his transformation as a reformed villain. Things were quite different for Iron Man, however. Ever since his epiphany in Jon Favreau's Iron Man, Tony Stark had devoted his life to making up for his past mistakes. Granted that Iron Man made some mistakes, but overall, he had proven time and again that he was willing to die for a cause. He would have served the MCU much better if he was allowed to live considering how instrumental he is to the Avengers. Even Captain America (Steve Rogers) acknowledged that he is "Earth's best defender."
Why Iron Man & Loki Really Needed To Die
So, why exactly did Iron Man and Loki really need to die? The Russos' answer was given as a joke, and they were fully aware of that. That being said, they also know why those two characters had to be killed off in the Infinity Saga-capper projects. Firstly, Loki's death effectively established Thanos as a dangerous threat. Starting Avengers: Infinity War with the Titan snapping the beloved MCU character’s neck sends a message that the villain is not messing around. The fact that it also definitively kills Loki after many fake deaths communicated that Thanos wasn't like any of the bad guys that the franchise has seen before. As for Iron Man, killing Tony Stark emphasizes that Avengers: Endgame is the end of an era for the MCU. After kicking the franchise off in 2008, the Avenger had been a fixture in the universe; Iron Man and Downey was its face for about a decade. More than the action sequences, Marvel Studios needed Avengers: Endgame to emotionally land on viewers, and they couldn't have done it better than killing the MCU's poster character.
Marvel Studios did find a way to bring back Hiddleston as the God of Mischief by introducing a Loki variant in Loki. However, the Sacred Timeline version of the character remains dead and as Thanos said, there are no resurrections for him this time. However, their decision to Kill Iron Man to save the universe had more staying power. While tragic, there's poetry to the way Tony Stark ended his MCU arc and that's why it's still a satisfying send-off.
