Marvel Studios
For all of its wide spread adoration, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has never necessarily been considered the paradigm of emotional comic book movie storytelling.
Yes, the end of Guardians of the Galaxy may hit a nerve or two, but for the most part, the films that make up the MCU are largely popcorn affairs. Until Avengers: Endgame, that is.
Unlike most of the films in the MCU, not only is Avengers: Endgame a rollercoaster of an action movie, but it also sports some serious emotional depth, as it’s filled with tear-jerking, fist-pumping scenes, particularly when it comes to the film’s final act. And according to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, the inspiration for that heart-string-tugging ending was another iconic Marvel character.
Despite the fact that Logan is a much different type of comic book movie than Avengers: Endgame, Feige still points to the acclaimed X-Men outing as a reference point for how they wanted Tony Stark’s death to play out:
“We saw Logan like the audience did, in a theater having nothing to do with the making of that film and went, ‘oh my god, what an amazing ending for Hugh as this character.’ And there are only a handful of examples where an actor so associated with a character can go out perfectly. That’s what we desperately wanted to give Robert, and that was what our focus was on,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said in an interview with Empire Magazine.
While Logan and Avengers: Endgame are on opposite ends of the superhero movie spectrum, Marvel ultimately accomplished their goal of conjuring up similar emotions to Logan, as Tony Stark’s death scene is as emotional of a moment that you’ll find in the history of comic book films.
After wrapping up Phase 3 of the MCU with Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will kick off its “Phase 4” on May 1, 2020, with the release of Black Widow.