With the departure of Robert Downey Junior from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the stage is wide open as the void left by Iron man asks to be filled by a superhero of equal or maybe even greater calibre than the armoured avenger. But not just anyone can become Marvel’s Next Iron Man. To fill those shoes requires grit, suave, and panache, something that up until now only Tony Stark could exhibit. But the future of the MCU rests upon a hero who is good enough to take that job. Who it will be though is a million dollar question. That remains to be seen as the MCU announces its plans for the near future. For now, we have presented our very own list of candidates that could be the MCU’s next nexus character – Tony Stark. Presenting – 10 Marvel Superheroes that could be MCU’s next Iron Man!!!
Spider-Man
Our first choice is definitely one that everyone predicted to be on this list. Spider-Man was taught by Tony Stark himself. Peter Parker is Iron Man’s greatest protégé. Tony taught him whatever there is to know about being a superhero. Who else to take up the role of the nexus character than the very student itself?!?! Spider-Man has been touted to be similar to Iron Man and his character development is said to be akin to Iron Man’s as well by Kevin Feige, President at Marvel Studios, himself. With great power comes great responsibility. Spider-Man has still ways to go on the learning curve. He will get there but it will take time. Let us hope he gets there in time to take over the reins.
Rescue
The probability of her taking up such a huge role remains very, very slim. But there is still a chance. Marvel is all about equality nowadays. We would not be surprised if they turned a character as uninteresting as Pepper Potts into such a huge one. Gwyneth Paltrow may not be a very popular star in the action genre but she does have an Iron Man suit after all. Besides, she does not have to be a complete genius when it comes to being a superhero like Tony. She has what Tony Stark lacks – the human element. It would be really surprising to watch Gwyneth Paltrow fill in for Robert Downey Junior. Maybe she will. Maybe she will not. It is up to the Overlords at Marvel to decide.
War Machine
This guy screams discount Iron Man. But frankly, he is his own man now. Don Cheadle is an established star in Hollywood and he has had his fair share of roles in the action genre. Besides, War Machine is a very reliable and popular superhero in comic books and would be most welcome to be the nexus character. He may not be as popular as Spider-Man but he does not have to be. Spider-Man can be the face of the franchise and War Machine could be the group adhesive. It is that simple. Rhodey does not have to be as popular. He is a military man with a highly disciplined background. That is what a team actually needs right now.
Captain Marvel
Let us be honest – Brie Larson is the typical SJW activist. Nowadays, she screams diversity for things that have more than enough of it. It looked like she was campaigning for a good cause but all she sounds now is like white noise. If you put that facet of her aside, Captain Marvel is still one of the best bets the Avengers have of having an all-powerful leader that can destroy entire alien armadas with nothing but her fists. She is by far the strongest Avenger of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Strength might sometime equal leadership as far as Hollywood is concerned. But there is just one problem – Captain Marvel’s sole focus is never Earth but a multitude of planets. The Avengers are Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, not the Universe’s mightiest heroes. It seems likely that Captain Marvel will be around much to lead the Avengers into battle.
Black Panther
T’Challa is by far our best pick to become the new Iron Man-like character of the MCU. He is a King so he knows how to lead his people. He is a trained warrior and very disciplined in what he does. With the Avengers teeming with white characters, it would be good to see an African-American from another nation lead the Avengers. The Infinity War movie might have complicated things for T’Challa right now. Since he was not the King for a long time (as he was dead for many years after Infinity War before Endgame resurrected him), Wakanda might soon experience a power struggle. He needs to sort those matters out first. With Wakanda’s vast resources and Shuri’s technological brilliance, Black Panther would be the perfect replacement for Tony Stark.
Cyclops
The Disney-Fox deal being a done deal, the X-Men are coming home again. The leader of the X-Men, Cyclops, has been so undermined in Fox’s live-action X-Men adaptations that it is almost criminal. Cyclops is not just a guy that shoots lasers out if his eyes. He is one of the world’s greatest tacticians and has tremendous leadership qualities. None of the X-Men movies ever tried to focus on Scott Summers. And this might just be a good thing. With Scott Summers being a relatively unpopular character, Marvel almost has a blank slate when it comes to Cyclops. If Avengers vs. the X-Men movie ever happens, Cyclops could take up the role that Tony Stark had in the previous MCU movies.
Doctor Strange
The only thing that separates Doctor Strange and Iron Man is that one believes in magic while the other relies on science. Benedict Cumberbatch is a very popular actor who immortalized Doctor Strange in the Marvel movie of the same name. He has already shown to be a part of other major Marvel blockbusters like Thor: Ragnarok and even Infinity War. Whenever and wherever he has appeared, the audience has applauded and roared. Doctor Strange may not have the leadership qualities now but so didn’t Iron Man. There is always a path that every hero has to walk through to learn the qualities necessary to become the leader of the Avengers. So why should Doctor Strange be an exception to that rule?
Mister Fantastic
Just like Tony Stark, Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four has a brilliant mind and a genius level intellect to die for. Reed Richards actually played a huge role in the Infinity Gauntlet comic book series but since Marvel Studios did not have the movie rights to the Fantastic Four, they could have never made a movie that featured him. Disney has just cleared the deal with Fox and this means the Fantastic Four are coming to the MCU. The previous Fantastic Four movies have been huge disappointments but Reed Richards still remains a very popular superhero. Maybe it is time for the nexus character to be a genius family man instead of a genius playboy for a change.
Spectrum
Monica Rambeau actually exists in the MCU. That revelation came into being in the Captain Marvel movie. In the comics, Monica Rambeau is Spectrum, one of Marvel Comic Book universe’s greatest and most powerful superheroes. With the ability to harness the electromagnetic spectrum, Monica has godlike super powers that she uses to save the day. It will truly be an opportunity missed if Marvel does not make proper use of her and help Monica meet her destiny as the new leader of the Avengers.
Wolverine
Why the Hell not? Remember – the X-Men are Disney property now so Marvel can do whatever the hell they want with them and no one can do anything about it. Wolverine is a mutant superhero that was immortalized after Hugh Jackman played the character in Fox’s X-Men movies. Jackman has officially retired from the role and it is now up for grabs. Whoever grabs the claws next will also be just as popular since the character itself is very famous. Marvel could use the popularity quotient to make Wolverine the new Iron Man of the MCU.
