Marvel May Love Iron Man, But the Hero Has Been Killed In Some Seriously Awful Ways

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Death follows everywhere a superhero turns, especially for someone like Iron Man. It’s the nature of the comic book business. As much as they can deprive storylines of a proper ending, death and their inevitable resurrections have become the industry’s biggest selling point. This isn’t a Marvel problem or a DC Comics problem, but something that carries throughout the comic industry.

It’s rare to see someone in a comic book die and stay dead. The death-to-resurrection pipeline is far greater. Every superhero is expected to have died and come back at least once, and even more so for the top heroes of their respective universes. Any story titled “The Death of…” sporting the biggest hero names is a guaranteed top seller, so each company tends to go to that well more often than not. The bigger the name, the more likely that the hero has died on multiple occasions, and few names in the Marvel Universe are bigger than Iron Man.

10

Sacrificing Himself to Kill Thanos

Avengers: Endgame, directed by The Russo Brothers, written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

This is the only entry that does not reference a comic book moment. The onscreen sacrifice of Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.) has become so synonymous with the character that it’s hard to exclude it from a conversation about the death of Iron Man. His MCU death is just too iconic to not talk about whenever discussing Tony Stark.

In the end, Thanos regains the Infinity Gauntlet, ready to snap half the world away as he did in Infinity War. The effort, along with the Gauntlet itself, proves useless without any Gems attached. To the Mad Titan’s surprise, Tony has the stones, who, in one final declaration – “I am Iron Man.” – wipes away the last remnants of Thanos and his horde in a sacrifice. It’s the perfect, selfless summation of Iron Man’s arc, not only in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but overall considering his comic history.

9

Decapitated by Thanos’ Underling

Infinity Gauntlet #3 by Jim Starlin, Ron Lim, George Perez, Josef Rubinstein, Bruce N. Solotoff, Scheele/Laughlin, and Jack Morelli

Iron Man wasn’t as lucky to walk away from Thanos in the comics as he was in the MCU. Thanos’ arc in the movies is loosely based on the six-part 1991 miniseries Infinity Gauntlet. The series is set up with him being ordered by the physical embodiment of Death to restore a universal imbalance by slaughtering half the universe. When the deed is done, The Avengers trace everything back to Thanos, leading to an inevitable confrontation.

Despite their best attempts, the heroes cannot fend off the power under Thanos’ thumb, nor his army. While Thanos manages to kill most of the superheroes single-handedly, Stark doesn’t even get close enough to a face-to-face with Thanos, as his ultra-powerful wife, Terraxia, decapitates Iron Man off-panel and presents it to Thanos on-panel. In contrast to the movies, Iron Man isn’t presented as the face of the franchise facing down the franchise’s biggest threat, but an instrument written in passing to highlight the power of said threat.

8

Killed by Captain Marvel

Civil War II by Brian Michael Bendis, David Marquez, Justin Ponsor, VC’s Clayton Cowles, and other “Future Artists”

Civil War, the series in which a Team Captain America vs. a Team Iron Man conflict ends with the death of Steve Rogers, has been well-documented by now. What doesn’t get as much attention is the sequel where the introduction of a clairvoyant Inhuman named Ulysses puts Iron Man at odds with Captain Marvel. The final straw is when a premonition of Spider-Man killing Captain America is seen, despite Miles Morales showing no signs of wanting to harm his idol. A pro-destiny Carol Danvers was adamant about apprehending him, while a pro-free-will Tony wanted to protect him.

The comic’s ending framed Tony’s defeat as a death until it was eventually retconned into a coma. Dead or not, this conflict shattered the core Avengers group and split the superhero community for years to come, until Stark and Danvers reconciled if only to remain civil as co-chairs of the Avengers.

7

Killed by Captain America

Avengers #44 by Jonathan Hickman, Kev Walker and Stefano Caselli

Marvel’s Secret Wars Prelude, Time Runs Out, puts Iron Man in direct conflict with Captain America. During this time, Tony Stark is an active member of Marvel’s all-powerful Illuminati group, doing questionable things from the shadows of the Marvel Universe. Steve Rogers is the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the midst of all this, and not only is he furious to learn of their secrecy, but to learn that his memory was once wiped to maintain the secret. He unleashes fists of fury upon Tony after the latter’s failed attempts to manipulate and gaslight Rogers. In return, Cap beats him to death.

If not for the universe being rebuilt upon the conclusion of Secret Wars, Tony would still be down and out. Story arcs like this showcase the worst traits of Iron Man, even when his intentions are pure. It’s hard to feel remorse for Stark when he has it coming.

6

Beaten to Brain-Death by Norman Osborn

The Invincible Iron Man #19 by Matt Fraction, Salvador Larroca, Frank D’Armata, and Joe Caramagna

Tony’s support of the Superhuman Registration Act created a domino effect of misdeeds, one which includes H.A.M.M.E.R. director Norman Osborn trying to acquire the Act’s files to gain every hero’s secret identity to commit further misdeeds. To protect them, Tony downloads the files into his mind, prompting Norman Osborn in his Iron Patriot armor to beat Tony in front of a global audience. This was all by design, part of Tony’s plan, hence why he hardly fights back. Tony is left braindead, destroying the files in his head. Even though he’s eventually resuscitated, he essentially dies to the point his will transfers his power of attorney to Dr. Donald Blake, his physician.

Iron Man’s decisions in Civil War are arguably unforgivable, but this is a sacrifice that allows him to at least try to atone for those sins. Taking a beating is his best means of redeeming himself.

5

Sacrifices Himself to Save His Son

Avengers: Twilight #6 by Chip Zdarsky, Daniel Acuña, and Cory Petit

This Orwellian dystopia is heralded by James Stark, the son of Tony and Janet “The Wasp” van Dyne. Rather than become a superhero, he uses Stark Tech to plague the world under surveillance, all while being unknowingly manipulated by the Red Skull. When the truth is out, James has a change of heart and tries to sacrifice himself to make things right, but in his dad’s own words, “You’re just getting started, Iron Man.” He sacrifices himself on his son’s behalf.

This is far from the only sacrifice to Iron Man’s name in the history of the character, nor will it be the last. However, what makes this sacrifice so special isn’t that Tony does so to save people, but he does it to save the future, ensuring that the next generation will have a hero to protect it.

4

Dies Fighting His Iron Man Suit to Save Captain America

Iron Man #12 by Daniel and Charles Knauf, Patrick Zircher, Scott Hanna, Studio F’s Antonio Fabela, and VC’s Joe Caramagna

Thanks to the son of Tony’s former mentor, Dr. Ho Yinsen, one of Tony’s Iron Man suits is on the loose and out of control. The only way to stop his suit is to stop himself, firing a 10,000 volt blast at his own arc reactor to stop his heart. His theory works at the cost of his own life. He doesn’t hesitate to do just that when he sees this giant Iron Man suit gripping Captain America by the head.

Years before their relationship would become strained due to Civil War, they were the closest of friends. This comic would release right before the CIvil War comic event would begin, but to see Tony sacrifice himself for Steve reiterates just how far he’d be willing to go to save a friend. It’s worth noting that Tony is revived almost immediately after the fact, making this perhaps his shortest time being dead.

3

As a Zombie, Killed by Zombie Hulk

Marvel Zombies 2 #5 by Robert Kirkman, Sean Phillips, June Chung, and VC’s Run Wooton

In the comics, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have come to terrorize the earth they’ve been sworn to protect, thanks to a zombie apocalypse. That is, until they’re cured of their hunger and they become ready to rebuild the planet again. The only one not onboard is the Hulk, whose hunger withdrawals are too great for him to suppress alongside his anger. The only thing scarier or stronger than the Hulk is a hangry (hungry and angry) Hulk, so any hero in his path either gets tossed aside with ease or killed. Iron Man falls in the latter option.

Yes, even zombies can die for good, as anyone stomped in the chest by the Hulk would. It’s almost bittersweet that he’s killed mere seconds after being cured of his desire to eat human flesh, before he has a chance to atone for his sins.

2

Arrow Through the Brain by Trickshot

Dark Avengers #190 by Jeff Parker, Neil Edwards, Terry Pallot, Sotocolor, and VC’s Joe Caramagna

As they’re being sent to Raft Prison for their crimes, the Dark Avengers’ transport crashing and gets tossed into an alternate reality where New York City is taken over by an evil Tony Stark. The newly militaristic Iron Man is one who has not been seen in his armor for years, and when he finally is after a giant Wasp stomps his suit out, it turns out that Tony has been reduced to a talking brain. Tony detaches itself from his suit, promising to return in a new body, until Trickshot puts a stop to that idea by shooting an arrow through the brain.

The Tony Stark of Earth-616 has shown his worst colors at times and, in the past, has been a little too pro-government to the point of bordering on militaristic. This alternate reality amplifies his worst characteristics and punishes him for taking the worst path possible.

1

Killed Saving His Younger Self and Sacrifices Himself to Stop Kang

The Avengers #395 by Bob Harras, Terry Kavanagh, Mike Deodato Jr., Emir Ribeiro, Frank Lopez, Malibu Color, Bill Oakley, NJQ, and Michael Higgins

It feels apropos to end things on Iron Man’s first death in the comics, but be forewarned: it’s also his most confusing to date. The Crossing storyline originally saw Kang the Conquerer manipulate an older version of Tony Stark to commit murderous atrocities, leading to the Avengers using a time machine to bring in a younger version of Tony from an alternate timeline for help. When the teenage Tony is mortally wounded in battle, it helps the older Tony see the error of his ways.

He gifts the young boy his arc reactor chest plate to save his life before sacrificing his own life to defeat Kang. Teenage Tony would take his place on Earth-616 until he himself is killed by Onslaught. Things get all the trickier to understand during Avengers 2000, where the all-powerful Franklin Richards finds a way to merge the original Tony with the teenager. Confusion aside, there’s nothing more fitting than Iron Man sacrificing himself to save people.

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