There's Not One but Five Ways RDJ's Comeback to the MCU Could Work After All
After a lot of time as a planned Disney+ series, Armor Wars has officially been announced as a Don Cheadle-led feature film.
With a plot revolving around Tony Stark's technology falling into the wrong hands, fans have been wondering if there is any feasible way Stark himself could make an appearance – bringing Robert Downy, Jr. back as the beloved character.
As it turns out, there are five feasible ways.
Artificial Intelligence
This one is pulled straight from the comics. Constant danger is an occupational hazard of Stark's, so he created an A.I. version of himself so his essence could be preserved. This takes an important turn in the story of child prodigy Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, who is mentored by the artificial Stark.
A likely scenario for the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that Stark created the technology before the Time Heist in Endgame. If that's the case, Armor Wars would be the perfect film for it to debut, even as a cameo.
Flashbacks
Stark's legacy in the MCU universe will be heavily focused upon in Armor Wars, so it would be a great time for a traditional flashback. There might be flashbacks of Pepper Potts first taking the PA job that led her to meet her future husband; maybe a flashback of Rhodey and Stark when they were young, or even when they'd teamed up as Avengers; maybe it's as simple as Morgan having a heartfelt memory of her father.
While not as exciting as some other options, a simple flashback seems more reasonable and still gives fans their fill of RDJ.
The Multiverse
As they say, anything in the multiverse is possible. Hayley Atwell was brought back as a new version of Peggy Carter, fan-favorite Spider-Man characters were resurrected to the big screen, Reed Richards even made a cameo appearance. That's all just in the first two years of the Multiverse Saga. Who knows what more lies in store?
There's evidence that an alternate version of Stark was slated for a Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness appearance before being cut. If there were any place to introduce a multiversal Tony Stark before the next Avengers team-up ends the Multiverse Saga, it's in Armor Wars.
Skrulls
D23 announced that Armor Wars and the upcoming series Secret Invasion have more connections than audiences realize. Ever since their introduction in Captain Marvel and the Talos/Fury revelation to end Far From Home, audiences have been clamoring for answers to how deep the shape-shifting Skrull invasion goes. Stark's technology may be so sought after that Skrulls attempt to get a piece of it.
Even if it's just a cameo, fans will go ballistic to see a Skrull shape-shift into the form of Tony Stark.
Clones
In comics, anything goes. Even clones. The precedent of cloning in Marvel Comics has been set, as Spider-Man had several throughout the poorly-received 1990s comic run. Stark himself had been cloned, including when his clone battled the Spider-People of Earth-802.
Cloning hasn't even been mentioned in passing in the MCU, but when Stark's brilliance falls into the wrong hands in Armor Wars, perhaps cloning technology will become an in-universe reality.